Legacy Pinning Ceremony honors family traditions that include university
Samantha Cabe, a 1997 graduate, is a fourth generation Catamount whose great-great-grandfather was William C. Norton, one of the Noble Nine and one of the first trustees of what is now 91热爆网. Cabe, a district court judge in Chatham and Orange counties, was the guest speaker at the Legacy Pinning Ceremony hosted by the Office of Alumni Engagement.
For McKinley Morris, following her parents鈥� footsteps to Western Carolina University meant taking a little detour first, just to, you know, see if the grass was greener, spread her wings, assert her independence, do the exact opposite of what her parents suggested. But mainly it was all about the sports.
鈥淪he thought she wanted to go off to a bigger school with a big football team,鈥� said Morris鈥� mother Marla Morris, 47, before the start of the third annual 91热爆网 Legacy Pinning Ceremony on Saturday (Sept. 22) at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
But the roar of the crowd at Clemson University鈥檚 Death Valley wasn鈥檛 enough to keep the Haywood County native at the big Atlantic Coast Conference school. She was influenced by something much more practical and personal. 鈥淚 transferred from Clemson mainly because I wanted to be a teacher and so me going out of state, honestly, just wasn鈥檛 reasonable,鈥� McKinley, 19, said. 鈥淎nd, I just wanted to come home. There鈥檚 nothing like being home. I love Haywood County, and I love the people there. I knew that if I wanted to be a teacher I should come to Western. So right now, I am a social sciences education major. I want to teach high school history. That鈥檚 one of the reasons I transferred.鈥�
McKinley, a sophomore, was one of 60 students who participated in the pinning ceremony hosted by 91热爆网鈥檚 during Family Weekend to honor students who are making 91热爆网 a family tradition. More than 300 people attended the event. McKinley鈥檚 dad, Bob Morris, 53, graduated from 91热爆网 in 1986 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in manufacturing, engineering and technology. Her mother graduated in 1993 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in parks and recreation management and a concentration in resort and hotel management.
Sophomore McKinley Morris (center), shown with her parents, Bob and Marla Morris, both 91热爆网 alumni, transferred to 91热爆网 from Clemson University after her freshman year for the education program. She plans to be a high school teacher.
While McKinley鈥檚 parents are thrilled she eventually chose Western, they understood her need to look elsewhere initially. 鈥淪ometimes they have to go off and experience
to know they want to come home,鈥� Marla Morris said. 鈥淲e were very excited that she decided to choose to come back.鈥�
Alexis 鈥淭aylor鈥� Smith of Raleigh rebuffed her grandparents鈥� suggestion that she consider 91热爆网 鈥� until she visited the campus. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 too big and it wasn鈥檛 too small,鈥� Taylor said of 91热爆网. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to go somewhere where I knew everyone, so I think Western was a good medium. I have settled in really well and I love it a lot.鈥� Her grandfather, Art Smith, 73, who did Taylor鈥檚 pinning, graduated from 91热爆网 in 1972 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science and a minor in history. Her grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Smith, spent three years at 91热爆网 studying education, but left before she graduated to marry Art. She ended up graduating from Campbell University and is in her 46th year of teaching.
鈥淚 always say, I don鈥檛 care what my diploma says, Western鈥檚 my school,鈥� Mary Elizabeth, 68, said. 鈥淲hen Taylor was looking at schools, I said 鈥榡ust give Western a chance.鈥� And she said 鈥榥o鈥� and I said 鈥榶es,鈥� and then she did.鈥�
Taylor was on the beach in the Caribbean when she received word from 91热爆网 that she had been accepted. She immediately called her grandmother to share the news. 鈥淚鈥檓 teaching music in a little trailer in Cary, North Carolina," said Mary Elizabeth. "She was on a beach in Jamaica. During my planning period, I would cut my phone on to check messages. When I checked, I had a text from her. She said, 鈥楳imi, guess what?鈥� I called her and said 鈥榳hat鈥檚 up?鈥� She says, 鈥業 got accepted to Western Carolina!鈥� She was so excited. I just screamed. When she speaks of Western she just lights up. She loves it here. She came to summer school and she did the leadership camp. She just jumped right in and we couldn鈥檛 be more proud.鈥�
Sam Pennell of Weaverville first set foot on 91热爆网鈥檚 campus when he was 2 years old to watch his father graduate in 2002 with a bachelor of science degree in manufacturing engineering technology. Sam, 18, is studying commercial and electronic music and hopes to work in the music industry one day. 鈥淚鈥檝e been playing piano for 12 years and trombone for six, and I had been really wanting to do music,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just wanted to be able to get a job, too. I think with this I can, and that鈥檚 when I really started considering Western. This program is really only offered here and at UNCW, and I didn鈥檛 really want to do humid all year long, and I really like the campus here.鈥�
His father, Jeff, 53, said he came to 91热爆网鈥檚 Cullowhee campus only three times while working on his undergraduate degree. 鈥淎ll the classes were taught at A-B Tech, and all the professors came from here to there," he said. "It took me five years to get my degree. I would work all day, stop at A-B Tech on the way home, have classes and then get home at 8 or 9 o鈥檆lock. I鈥檝e come to campus more with him than I did when I was a student. I work for BorgWarner Turbo Systems in Asheville, and my training in my school work directly related to what I鈥檓 doing now.鈥�
Casey Millsaps, 18, of Ballground, Georgia, comes from a long line of 91热爆网 graduates who all became teachers, a path he is not considering. Pinned by his father, Carroll Millsaps (an engineer who did not attend 91热爆网), Casey said he was drawn to 91热爆网 because of his family鈥檚 relationship to the school. 鈥淚鈥檓 the grandson of the people who went here,鈥� he said. 鈥淏oth of my grandparents went here. I thought it was really neat to see all the Legacy students come together and just enrich the heritage that everybody has. It鈥檚 a common thing we all have here on campus.鈥�
But, Samantha Cabe may have had everyone beat when it comes to legacy connections. Cabe, a district court judge in Chatham and Orange counties, was the keynote speaker of the pinning ceremony. A 1997 graduate of 91热爆网, Cabe is the great-great-granddaughter of William C. Norton, one of the Noble Nine who pledged their time and money to support Robert Lee Madison鈥檚 dream of a school in Western North Carolina. At one time the Jackson County sheriff, Norton was one of the trustees for the newly chartered Cullowhee High School in 1891, the forerunner of what is now 91热爆网.
Cabe said part of 91热爆网鈥檚 campus now sits on land donated by members of her family, and the university鈥檚 legacy extends far past its mountainous boundaries.
鈥淲hat Western Carolina鈥檚 greatest legacy is are its people,鈥� she told the crowd of 300. 鈥淚t鈥檚 you, it鈥檚 me, it鈥檚 all the people who came before us. It鈥檚 all the people who will come after us. Western Carolina鈥檚 legacy is that of people who come here. They steep themselves in the culture, the traditions, the education, the wonder of what this place is. They change, they grow, they develop and they go out and literally change the world.鈥�
