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 Ģ������ƵStories      October 4, 2024

By Bill Studenc

The sense of community discovered by staff member Alexandra M. Fields upon her arrival at Ģ������Ƶ seven years ago inspired her to establish an annual scholarship fund to help attract future students from her hometown to WCU.

Director of the Office of Student Conduct, Fields and her partner, Travis A. Frazier, have made gifts and pledges totaling $5,000 over a five-year period to create the scholarship fund.

Although she is not an alumna of WCU, Fields said she feels compelled to provide philanthropic support to students in pursuit of higher education.

“I believe in Ģ������Ƶ and our mission and values,” she said. “Since joining this community in 2017, the opportunities I’ve had have been innumerable – professional development and growth, a community of people who support and encourage me, and a place that has helped me truly realize my purpose and vocation.”

Through her employment at WCU, she has obtained the financial stability to enable her to pursue her doctorate in education through the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

“It is important to me that people who want to pursue higher education have the chance to do so regardless of what their circumstances may be. When I graduated from high school, my twin sister and I – first-generation college students – would not have had the opportunity to do so if it weren’t for the scholarships we were awarded,” Fields said.

The Alexandra M. Fields, MSW and Travis A. Frazier Annual Scholarship Fund is designed to support students who graduated from John A. Holmes High School on the Albemarle Sound in Edenton, where Fields attended high school.

Fields said that her decision to help provide scholarship support to students from Holmes High School is multifaceted.

“It is inspired by and in honor of the incredible educators who helped me become the educator I am today, and with the recognition that students graduating from John A. Holmes probably aren’t often thinking about WCU, all the way on the other side of the state, but they should,” she said.

“The landscape, of course, would be completely different, but we offer a community and culture that will feel familiar for someone who has grown up in that small-town atmosphere. The educators, both faculty and staff, here at Ģ������Ƶare not only top-notch, but are ready to cheer them on, encourage them, and help them figure out who they are,” she said. 

Fields came to Ģ������Ƶto work in the Department of Residential Living, first serving as an area coordinator and then associate director of residence life. She became interim director of student conduct in October 2022 before being named permanent director.

Her partner is a real estate agent in Sylva who comes from a long line of educators. The couple lived in campus residence halls for five years during her time in the Department of Residential Living.

“Ģ������Ƶbecame as much Travis’ community as it was mine. He has witnessed everything that Ģ������Ƶdoes, not only for students, faculty and staff but also our community and region, and he believes in our mission,” Fields said.  “He has such has a deep appreciation and value for education. When I mentioned that I would like to establish something here at Ģ������Ƶfor students from my high school, he was immediately supportive.”

Fields is among the more than 560 faculty and staff members of the Shetland Society. One of four giving societies established in 2020 to celebrate the impact of philanthropy, the Shetland Society acknowledges faculty and staff gifts made on an annual basis.

An initiative to increase membership in the Shetland Society is underway through Wednesday, Oct. 23.

“Giving is a personal thing – and I completely understand and respect people who aren’t in a position or place to do so. Our decision to give is driven by our desire to ensure we are doing everything we can to make this world a better place, to give to the future and to ‘pay forward’ all the blessings and support that we’ve received in our lives,” Fields said.

“Travis and I aren’t wealthy, but our lives are full and rich because of the communities we’ve been part of and are part of. We wanted to do something that might scratch the surface on repaying all that we’ve had come to us,” she said. “The reality is every little bit helps. You can make a difference even if you can only give $5 – but if you can’t, maybe you can tell someone else about the opportunity to give.”

Fields said that staff in the Division of Advancement made the process of establishing a new annual scholarship fund easy.

“They answered every question I could think of, and they’re still there to answer any questions that come up. If you don’t feel comfortable diving into establishing your own fund, there are so many worthy funds to consider contributing to,” she said.

“I always thought that scholarship funds were set up by really wealthy or famous people to honor loved ones, or organizations committed to education through their missions, but that doesn’t have to be the case,” Fields said. “When I was a kid, I used to say that I wanted to change the world. As I got older, I realized changing the world is pretty hard for one or two people to do on their own, but we do have the chance to change one person’s world. And, who knows what they’re going to do next?”

For information about the faculty-staff giving initiative, contact Rebekah Cheney, director of annual giving, at 828-227-2868 or via email at rcheney@wcu.edu. To make a gift, visit the website .