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Say what you want about millennials, or even the up and coming iGen (generation Z), but one thing is for sure: there has never been a generation that is as passionate about social causes and raising awareness. As a whole, millennials are more generous with their time, money and influence through social media platforms.

During Hurricane Florence, a student-lead 501c3 non-profit organization was created, known as WeWilmRebuild. This organization started gaining awareness through Instagram. In fact, all administrators met each other via Instagram. WeWilmRebuild has teamed up with Technology For The Future, who helped fund and create the WeWilmRebuild website. When the Instagram page was first created, the administrators had no idea that it would become as popular as it did so quickly. The organization did not just gain a strong Wilmington follow, but from other cities, states and even countries. I spoke with Jaz Vanscoy, the program director, who mentioned that they even had people contact them from Italy wanting to help.

After their Instagram page gained popularity, they started their Facebook group page which helped them reach an older demographic than their followers on Instagram. Their popularity reached to local artists, who have offered to donate a percentage of their proceeds to the organization. Love Your Local Co is one local business that donated 80% of their profit to WeWilmRebuild. Love Your Local Co is a small, local business that is ran by UNCW students and creates hats, stickers and more that are designed specifically for Wilmington and the Wilmington area.

WeWilmRebuild also has t-shirts and mugs for sale on their website, with an art design and their name on the front. The way this college team has branded themselves in such a short amount of time through primarily Instagram is something that future relief non-profit organizations can use as a reference. Jaz mentioned that the donations have been kept in a warehouse in High Point, North Carolina but are expected to be brought to Wilmington within the next week. After organizing the supplies, the donations will be ready within the next few weeks. She mentioned that while they are all frustrated with the donation supplies taking a while to get to Wilmington, they are overjoyed with the awareness and support they gained through their social media accounts and donation drives.

Abigail Moorman

As a senior undergraduate student, the last thing I expected to happen during my remaining time in school was a major hurricane. Being a local, born and raised here in Wilmington, hurricanes and tropical storms never really had an impact in my life. I never worried about any of the storms that had come our way in the past. When most people in Wilmington hear about the potential for these kind of weather events, they immediately start planning hurricane parties. With Florence, there was no reason to celebrate.

With a month off from classes, everyone has had an interesting time adjusting to the new reality of an even tighter knit fall semester. Schedule changes, make up assignments, and the lack of proper classrooms and housing for some has made this semester one for the books. Despite all of the negative aspects of the disaster being mentioned, there’s plenty of positivity flowing throughout our campus community. Student led organizations and benefits have helped to bring us together more than ever. Efforts like We Wilm Rebuild have raised money and gathered supplies for various members of our community who were affected by the hurricane.

As students taking steps to enter the professional world, learning how to brand ourselves is crucial to our success. Our university community (UNCW) has taken steps to brand ourselves as a consistent entity that is focused on the safety and dedication for one another. Timely hurricane updates, which were clear and concise, helped comfort not only myself, but others in a time where all we wanted to know was if our school was okay. The idea that we should be supportive and accommodating to anyone in this time of need proves that our university cares about all of our students and our faculty and staff. For students with damaged dorms, UNCW has been able to help by providing alternate locations for students to live in. By going through plenty of hoops, our university has taken steps to make sure that as students we continue to get the educational experience that we signed up for. Even through tough times, our love and dedication as Seahawks shines on.

~ Logan Matthews

As we start to re-build our lives after the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Florence, I cannot begin to try and explain the emotional heaviness that was felt. Every social media post, news report, and weather alert- sent my emotions in a frenzy. And from what I could see from others, they felt this wave of emotion as well. News reporters accused of falsifying coverage, Citizens outraged because there were not enough resources to sustain life.

I couldn’t help but think, however, how fortunate I was to have these various outlets- News Reports, Facebook groups posting closings and routes to get to-and-from Wilmington. Even if I didn’t want to face the reality of the information I was reading, I was fortunate any information could be relayed at all, especially since I was evacuated and had virtually no idea what the picture of our beautiful city would look like, except for the one I painted in my mind.

Once I began to appreciate the transparency of these outlets that provided continuous updates, I could only be thankful. Thankful that the people providing these updates, most being citizens of Wilmington or surrounding areas, took time out of dealing with their own personal losses, to update us.

These updates placed our needs first. It was a shining example of crisis management and leadership. You don’t have to be responsible for a problem to find a solution. But you do have to acknowledge it’s existence. This community has turned this crisis into positive change. From benefit concerts raising $1.5 Million dollars for storm victims, to small business owners establishing #OverFlo which includes small businesses running monthly specials for part of the proceeds to go to area non-profits serving the community. These are a few of the reasons I am proud to be #ilmstrong.

-Kelsey Holmes

It’s no question that Wilmington has been through a lot since Hurricane Florence hit. What I love to see is how well the community has come together. The efforts being taken to rebuild and restore Wilmington back to its beauty are phenomenal.

As I am returning to school and attempting to settle back into my regular schedule, I have been looking for ways that I can give back to the community and help rebuild the place I love to call home. One of the organizations I came across is WeWilmRebuild. This is a grassroots, Hurricane Florence relief and Wilmington rehabilitation project, led by (but not exclusive to) students. They did an amazing job connecting through social media and spreading the word on how people could help while Wilmington was closed off from the world. On their website wewilmrebuild.org you can help by donating or by dropping off supplies at one of the community drop offs.

Some other great ways to help are to shop local or volunteer to help clean up. Many local businesses lost up to two or more weeks worth of revenue they count on to support their lives and families. These next couple weeks consider stopping by a farmer’s market or making a trip downtown to the Cotton Exchange with your friends. There is a Riverfront Farmers Market on Saturday’s from 8am-1pm located in Riverfront Park on Water Street in Historic Downtown Wilmington. Other farmers markets include Wrightsville Beach Farmers Market and Carolina Beach Farmers Market.

Although the roads are now cleared and school has started back up there is still damage all around Wilmington. Many people have lost their homes for good and are having to completely relocate. I hope we can continue to give these people the support and help they need to get back on their feet as we recover from this tragedy. #ilmstrong

~Kirsten Pascale

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Five and a half years ago I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. Little did I know then it would be one of the best decisions I have ever made. My story is a little different than most, not only did I come to UNCW because of its incredible academic reputation but largely in part to the fact that I had been given a scholarship to play golf on the women’s golf team. I had visited several schools for golf but when I visited UNCW there was something special about this place and finally four years later I can put that special feeling into words.

At the time of my arrival as I freshman I had plans to major in Exercise Science but that would quickly change when I found out that the required labs for Biology and Chemistry would take place during the midafternoon and cut into my golf practice. Not only that, I sat in class watching the clock, waiting so anxiously for class to be over. My heart and soul was just not interested in that field that I once thought it was. I would find a new passion in me besides golf and thanks in large part to Dr. Weber, Dr. Persuit, and Dr. Pullum the classes I would take from these phenomenal professors and wealth of knowledge I would gain is one of the many reasons I am graduating as a Communication Studies major.

As I reflect on my past four years with graduation quickly approaching I think about all the professors and classes that I have taken, but two classes in particular stand out. Integrated Marketing Communication II and Advertising II. These classes aren’t your typical lecture and take notes with a lengthy exam periodically. These classes have clients and this is where you get to put all your skills and everything you have learned to use. I have been fortunate to work on projects such as Hurricane Zephyr (a full scale exercise in preparation for the potential of major category 4 or 5 hurricane to hit campus) and learn the steps to the renaming process. This semester in AD II we worked on transforming the IMC Curriculum, planning the first ever COM Studies Week and running the 5^thannual ETEAL Instagram Contest. These projects have helped me grow with unparalleled experience as a student.

UNCW is more than a place to earn a degree, more than a university located by the beach, more than just a school. UNCW has become my home and has become a major part of me. I have learned more than I could have imagined, made more memories than I could have dreamed of, and built friendships to last a lifetime. To current students and students to come I encourage you to try things outside of your comfort zone, be spontaneous, and enjoy these years. They have truly been the best four years of my life and I hope they will be for you too! Don’t let anything or anyone hold you back from achieving your wildest dreams!

Thank you to all my coaches, teammates, professors, and friends for making these past four years the best four years of my life!

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”  –Eleanor Roosevelt

-Kayla Thompson

Everyone has their own path and that’s okay–it’s the point. It’s what makes your college experience special and molds who you into become at the end of it. I was fortunate enough to attend UNCW for five years and I’ve never been more grateful to have this opportunity.

As with everything in life, there will always be ebbs and flows. Over the past five years there have definitely been some ups and downs, but my time here exceeded all my expectations. I didn’t know what to expect, especially coming from such a small island over 1300 miles away, but if I had to go back I wouldn’t have changed a thing. The first time I heard about UNCW I was a sophomore in high school and for some reason I had a gut feeling it was going to be the place for me. It’s crazy for me to think I had no clue at the time that this place and school would become a second home. The Greek meaning of the word sophomore translates to “wise fool,” which I think is pretty fitting. I still view myself as a bit of a wise fool, just with a liiittle more experience. With every year that passes you begin to recognize how you’ve changed and how much knowledge you’ve gained, both in school and life in general.

College is this pivotal stage in our lives where we really get to know ourselves for the first time. Don’t get me wrong, no one has it all figured out and if they think they do they’re in denial. We are all constantly learning and growing. That’s why it’s impossible to determine what we’re going to do if we don’t even fully know who we are. That being said, one of the biggest misconceptions about graduating is having to know what you want to do. Some people are fortunate enough to find their passions early on, but for some of us it’s simply just going to take more time. I never fully accepted that concept until this past year. I spent a lot of my time being discouraged by the fact that I didn’t know what direction I was going in. Let’s just say there many a phone call to my mom saying, “what am I doing with my life??” meanwhile I’m crying in a study room in the library at 2am. Cut to 3 years later and I MADE IT!!! And so will you!!! I still don’t know what I’m doing with my life, but I’m loving every moment. Cherish the time you have here because you’ll never be at this age or at this point in your life again.

I’ll keep my words of advice short and in no particular order:

First, go to class. Just do it. I know it’s so tempting sometimes, especially with the beach right there, but it makes all the difference in the long run. Be smart about your absences, it will bite you in the *ss.

Second, figure out your priorities. This applies to the courses you take, the people you surround yourself with, and how you decide to spend your free time. Life is all about the opportunity cost of doing one thing over another.

Third, don’t forget to be a wise fool sometimes. Work hard, but remember to give yourself a break. Right now we’re all at that age where we know better, yet still make decisions that aren’t the best, but that’s what we’re supposed to do!! You live and you learn and it’s never a loss if you learn from your mistakes.

THNAK YOU UNCW FOR GIVING ME SOME OF THE BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE!!! NO matter where I go or what I do, I will always be a Seahawk at heart.

It’s been real!
Magdalena

As a transfer student and only having been at UNCW for 2 short years, I decided to take advantage of my time here at the dub and be as involved as much as I could. I’m not going to list out every single thing you should do during your time at UNCW because everyone is different and each one of you will have different goals within your college career. But what I am going to tell you to do is to be involved on campus and within your community as much as you can!

Volunteering at the Azalea Festival as a part of my Spring 2018 internship at CFCC

If you want to join a club or an organization on campus, DO IT. If you want to volunteer at the Azalea Festival or complete an internship (or a couple), then DO IT. Don’t stick with things that make you comfortable. Do what will benefit you in the long run! This is your time to learn and grow. You’re young and you will make mistakes. Mistakes will only make you wiser. Don’t be afraid to speak up in class or in a group project (trust me, you’ll have plenty of group projects if you haven’t already). Because I was that girl. I was that girl who was afraid of what others thought about me or if I might say something dumb in class.

Photo from my Fall 2017 internship at Wilmington Design Company

Don’t forget to balance your life. Work hard, play hard. Enjoy the beach life but also remember to explore the historic downtown Wilmington. Visit the museums and learn a little (outside of school). Eat at local restaurants, like Tower 7 or Fork ‘N’ Cork. Go paddle boarding at Wrightsville Beach and visit the Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Wilmington has a lot to offer and taking advantage of UNCW and the city itself will get you far.

Photo from the Conference on Applied Learning in Higher Education (CALHE) where I was one of several student coordinators

Lastly, don’t forget to network along the way! Make connections anywhere you can. Don’t be afraid to talk to a complete stranger because you never know who that stranger might be… 😉

Make an impact on UNCW, Wilmington and your future!

Until next time…UNC-DUB!

Emily Holt