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  • Publications (documents)
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• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
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  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2010-05-31_Vol76_No06_07

Page 7 WESTERN CAROLINIAN FEATURES 4 May 31, 2010 From WCU baseball player to country singer Matt Stillwell discusses past and present Brittney Burns | Staff Writer Western Carolina Univer- sity has graduated several celebrities throughout the years, ranging from profes- sional athletes, to senators, to comedians. We can now in- clude a very charming Nash- ville recording star to the list of notable alumni. . Matt Stillwell graduated from Western in 1998 with a degree in business manage- ment. Stillwell, who cur- rently lives in Nashville, TN, was born and raised in neigh- boring Sylva and attended Western to play baseball for the Catamounts. During Still- wells recent visit to the cam- pus, The Western Carolinian was able to sit down and speak with the handsome, in- triguing, musician about his time at Western as well as his career. While at Western, Still- _well lived in what used to be the Leatherwood dorms; he was a part of the Souther Conference winning baseball team and played all four years of college. Stillwell credited Dr. Terry Kinnear for helping him with his song writing by teaching him to trim the fat. While pursuing a business management degree, Still- well took Dr. Kinnears In- trapersonal Communications course; during the course, Kinnear had his students read portions from a book in class every day. The pages would normally be 3-4 pages long; after reading the pages, Kinnear encouraged students to condense the readings to a one page written summary, ultimately teaching Stillwell to learn to trim the fat, or make his writing more con- cise. When asked what the big- gest change he saw at West- em since he attended was, Stillwell laughed and replied, The parties. He continued by saying, Now all the fra- ternity houses are on campus, which is completely differ- ent from when I was here. Tailgating is a lot different too. When I played baseball it was expected for students to tailgate behind the dugout; the Pikes brought their fire truck and everyone else was up on the hill with kegs. It was awesome! We really en- joyed them being there while we played, but I guess thats differentmow foo.) 4.j 4.) _ Matt was also responsible while at Western. Stillwell was extremely active in the club Athletes in Action while attending Western. Athletes in Action is an organization similar to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The organization Getting your game on A look at the impact of video games Doug Pope | Staff Writer At two oclock in the moring, you're still up, creeping around the edge of an embankment, your sniper rifle at the ready. Fatigue is setting in, but the mission isnt complete yet. The only thing you can be sure of is that the ground will be lit- tered with bodies like ciga- rette butts before its all over. Maybe one of them will be yours, You sense movement out of the corner of your eye. You raise the rifle to your shoul- der, zoom in with the scope, and survey the horizon. On a ridge overlooking the en- trance to the base, you spot the enemy-a member of the Covenant forces. He pa- "trols the ridge, armed witha plasma rifle. He hasnt seen you yet. You take aim, line up your crosshairs; youve got the perfect shot. You take a deep breath, shudder with anticipation, and fire. At the last second, your thumb hits the joystick--you miss! Quickly you correct the shot and fire again. Blood and brain matter spray across the screen. Excited, you jump up and knock your can of Moun- tain Dew all over the coffee table. According to: the an- nual Nielson Active Gamer Benchmark, there are more than 177 million active gam- ersthose who play video games on a regular basis in the United States. Video games are not just for kids anymore. Outselling Holly- wood box office receipts for the last few years running, video games have become a major media force in the United States and throughout the world. It is only recently, however, that researchers have begun to study the im- pact of video games on col- lege students. From March 2002 to Oct. 2002, Professor Steve Jones of the Department of Com- munication at the University of Illinois at Chicago con- ducted his study, Let the Games Begin: Gaming tech- nology and entertainment among college students. A study conducted by Pew In- ternet Research discovered that 70% of college students play video games at least once in a while and re- veals that college students who. regularly play so-called shoot em up games have sharper visual skills than those who dont. There have long been a number of stereotypes associ- ated with gaming enthusiasts, such as the widely held per- ception that they are socially awkward males with little to no romantic prowess. This stereotype is prevalent even inside the gaming industry itself. In March of this year, focuses on maintaining and promoting Christian values and moral responsibility, Stillwell was adamant in acknowledging the roll his time at Western has played in the success of his career. Being a business manage- ment major has helped him tremendously. When. start- ing out in Nashville, Still- well established and built his own record label from the ground up. Even now when he has people working: for him, Stillwell still plays an active roll, inthe ,manage- ment and production of his own record: label. Stillwell believes that without his fans he wouldnt be as success- ful as he is, which is why it is SO important for him to run his own Facebook,. Myspace, and Twitter sites. Stillwell said that he responds to all GameCrush, an online gam- ing community, launched a service offering lonely male gamers the option of paying to play online PC or con- sole games against attractive female counterparts. The female players, called Play- Dates, can change settings to reveal whether she is feeling dirty or flirty. After the gaming session is over, cus- tomers then rank the Play- Date on her hotness, playing skill, and flirtiness. Avail- able only to gamers eighteen or older, the cost of this ser- vice is $8.25 per ten minutes of game time. The Pew study appears to refute this stereotype, re- vealing that 60% of women versus 40% of men report playing computer and online games. The ratio of women to men who report playing console game systems is ap- proximately the same. Col- lege students are not anti- social recluses shut away in | How not to make chicken nuggets __ Jared Hopkins | Contributing Writer of his fans messages and ev- | erything that is posted on the sites is written by him. week 2010. How do you Being a resident of Nash- | think that Im celebrating it? ville, Stillwell was affected Not at El Pac, Im staying in by the recent flooding. He to study for my MGT 300 said, Our condo is up on a exam at noon the next day. As hill, so I wasnt affected di- I come to an end of studying rectly, but my producer had | Chapter 13, I decide to cook to move his entire studio be- something up for myself to cause of the damage. Still- get my mind off my stom- well also recalls seeing areas ach and back on the books. around his home being 3-6 I look in the cupboards and feet under water, and seeing nothing entices my appetite. cars in a nearby Wal-Mart I then look in the fridge but parking lot being completely _ still nothing would seem to submerged because of the please me. Then the freezer, flood, _ ah yes, the chicken nuggets The successful star has a my grandma had given me busy summer ahead of him. _ earlier that week! Thats what Stillwell headlined at the I'll make. Orange Peel in Asheville on __I_ poured oil into a skillet May 29 and on July 10 will to attempt to fry them. Over perform in Austin, Texas at _ the skillet, I put a sheet of Aquapalooza. Stillwell said aluminum foil down. After 1 he was especially looking had switched the stove top on forward to this event because | to about 6 I sat back down it is a huge annual show that to open my book up to the features The Brad Paisley next chapter and began read- tour this year. On August 13 _ ing, waiting to hear the pop- and 14 Stillwell will be at the ping and cracking that oil 3rd annual Stillwell Shine- makes when it begins to heat. fest in Fontana Village, NC. _ I know now that I put far too Stillwell is also anticipating much oil in the bottom of the the release of his new album, _ skillet. : titled Shine Deluxe, on June = Cooking lesson here kids: 15. Stillwell also encour- When attempting to deep ages his fans to download _ fry anything in a skillet, use his new, free, application for _ about 2-3 tablespoons at the I-Phone, I-Pod or I-Pad. _ most. I used about % of a cup. The application is basically While seated on the couch a website with information 1 spotted a flame, so first about Stillwell, his music, _ instinct, grab the fire extin- and upcoming performance guisher, it quickly fails as 1 dates. Information and up- | now know that it had been dates about the singer can dispensed earlier and put back also be found on his website, | on the wall. Thanks landlord www.mattstillwellnet. .__ for equipping our house with _. Stillwell doesnt currently: the proper fire extinguisher! have any visits scheduled for In a last ditch effort to keep Its Cinco de Mayo, exam Western, but said he would | love to perform on campus on the UC lawn. their dorm rooms, living off | of vending machine drinks | and pizza delivery. An over- | whelming trend among these | studies is that most college | students see video games as | a way of spending time with | their friends. While gaming is fun and a great medium for social | networking, it is important to remember that it is not al- | ways conducive to academic _ progress. The Pew report | States that nearly half of col- | lege students who play video, Or va lot. of avoiding studying. But, as cute girl across the hall. | participated the four foot flames from taking down the house, | again soon. Stillwells last | performance was fall 2009 | for Homecoming weekend | _ all over my hand, knee and _ foot while the flames shot up Thriving in the Real World: Recent graduate Cody White = grabbed the skillet to take it outside...that was when di- saster struck. The oil spilled Brittney Burns | Staff Writer Its no secret that the cur- : rent job market has future _ Western graduates worried _ about the future of their ca- reers. Recent WCU graduate, _ Cody White, was fortunate and was able to find a job | utilizing his degree, although _ it was not an easy process. _ White graduated from West- _ em in the spring of 2009 with _a Criminal Justice degree. | Right after graduation, White _ began working for the Swain County Police Department aS an investigator. White is _ still. currently working as _ an investigator and also just / received the position of a probation officer for Swain _ County. While at Western, White _ was a member of the Kappa _ Sigma fraternity and actively in intramural _ sports, which taught him the _ leadership and organizational ' skills that were essential to _ his success. White said that | Dr. Duane Davis and Dr. Lisa computer, or online games admit that gaming prevents Pe eee wae them from studying some _ influential and inspirational Bi Aviproabiately | professors he had. He said 9% say that gaming is a way herr ReGIe Anon and satin _ for criminal justice encour- the old saying goes, all things aged him to pursue his career in moderation and if your _ and challenge himself. When grades dont suffer for it, _ asked about ways that his ex- game away...though, if you perience and time at WCU want some company, save has benefited him in his ca- 1698.95 Pe reer, White said C.J. profes- yourse 5 tid taht the _ sors at WCU focused less on _ theory and more on practical my body, My biggest mistake yet. I was the only one home (Cinco de Mayo is a national college drinking holiday), so I drove myself to the hospital. Upon arrival they knew I was in bad shape, worse shape than I could tell. I was still in shock, They geared me up and be- gan the 3 hour trip by ambu- lance ride to Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NCthe closest Burn Unit to Sylva and as | know now, one of the best in the nation. There, I received treatment and I was: released the next day, still in pain and completely immobile. I missed the final I was studying so diligently for, but luckily my fraternity brother, David Salinas, cov- ered for me. He was. one of the first people who came in to the hospital to see my con- dition. Dave said Woah! Im guessing someone needs to tell your professor youre not going to make it tomorrow? He e-mailed and visited my professor, | took the make-up almost 2 weeks later and gota 93. Thanks for the extra study time! Actually, I spent it heal- ing so I could walk and work again. | am back on my feet and now my index and mid- dle finger are all that have yet to heal in the 3 weeks since the accident happened. The moral of the story is, celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but if you decide to fry some- thing yourself, use 2-3 table- spoons of oil at most! If you. suffer from a burn, get to the hospital A.S.A.P, they can take care of you better than you can take care of yourself, Dont worry about any other commitments you may have, like a final exam,. you will find the world pretty much stops for a burn victim as it is one of the most painful inju- ries I have ever had, and hope to never have again. experience in the field. Also my involvement with Kappa Sigma fraternity provided me ~ leadership opportunities and proof to my employers that I had the ability to take on and delegate numerous responsi- bilities at the same time. White encourages future graduates to be patient while looking for a job right out of college. He said that the hardest part of transitioning to the real world was be- ing able to find a good job in the current poor state of our economy. White said, When applying for a job | had the educational background, but not the experience that oth- ers had; while I was gaining a degree for four years, others were gaining experience. White added the best ad- vice he could give to future graduates is to keep in mind that, you will more than likely not get your dream job. at first, but you must take small steps to move up the ladder. In the years to come, White intends to continue working in order to grow within his current career as well as return to school to continue his education with a masters degree in Criminal Justice. He is adamant in the belief that in order to con- tinue to be successful in his career, he must, further both his education and real world experience.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2010-05-03
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 12.5"
  • Pages: 12
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2010-05-31_Vol76_No06
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library