- Academic Programs & Support
- Academic Success
- Student Retention
- Office of Student Retention Staff
Office of Student Retention Staff
Kristin Daiber
Director of Student Retention
Contact Info: kdaiber@wcu.edu or 828.227.7171
Hometown: Hershey, PA
Joined WCU: July 2021
Undergraduate Institution: Quinnipiac Univeristy - B.S. in Marketing
Graduate Institution: Bowling Green State University - M.A. in College Student Personnel | Western
Governors University - MBA
Favorite Quote: "I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that
there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment to rest, to steal a view
of the glorious vistas that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come." Nelson Mandela, A Long Walk to Freedom
Anita Puerto
Associate Director, MAPS Coordinator
Contact Info: acpuerto@wcu.edu or 828.227.3764
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Joined WCU: 2015
Undergraduate Institution: Radford University
Graduate Institution: Virginia Commonwealth University
Favorite Quote: 鈥淎 life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.鈥� 鈥� Jackie Robinson
Mosisah Mavity
Associate Director
Contact Info: pmavity@wcu.edu or 828.227.2957
Hometown: Thomasville, GA
Joined WCU: July 2023
Undergraduate Institution: Brevard College- B.A. in English, Minor: Music
Graduate Institution: Miami University- M.A. in Literature
Favorite Quote: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful"
-William Morris
Diandra Macias
Associate Director
Contact Info: dmacias@wcu.edu, (828) 227-2924
Hometown: Ronkonkoma, NY
Joined WCU: 2023
Undergraduate Institution: Monmouth University
Graduate Institution: New York Institute of Technology
Doctoral Institution: East Carolina University (2027)
Favorite Quote: Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.
Thomas W. Newkirk
Assistant Director, Finish in Four
Contact Info: tnewkirk@wcu.edu or 828.227.2469
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Joined WCU: August 2020 as a Graduate Student
Undergraduate Institution: University of North Carolina at Greensboro - B.A. in Dance Studies
Graduate Institution: California Institute of Integral Studies - M.F.A in Creative Inquiry, Interdisciplinary
Arts | 51看片 - M.Ed. in Higher Education Student Affairs
Favorite Quote: "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life
that is waiting for us." 鈥� Joseph Campbell
Carson Williams
Senior Advisor, Summer Bridge Programs Coordinator
Contact Info: williamscarson@wcu.edu or 828.227.7123
Hometown: Hickory, NC
Joined WCU: 2009 as an undergraduate student!
Undergraduate Degree: 51看片- B.S.Ed. in Music Education and B.M. in Instrumental
Music
Graduate Degree: 51看片- M.Ed. in Higher Education Student Affairs
Favorite Quote: "Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever." - Walt Disney
Madison Strickland
Student Success Specialist
Contact Info: mjstrickland@wcu.edu or 828.227.2956
Hometown: Nescopeck, PA
Joined WCU: August 2022
Undergraduate Institution: The Pennsylvania State University- B.A. in Film/Video
Graduate Institution: The Pennsylvania State University- M.Ed. in Higher Education
Favorite Quote:
鈥淚sn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?鈥� - L.M.
Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Meghan Harrison
Student Success Specialist
Contact Info: harrisonm@wcu.edu or 828.227.2810
Hometown: Shelley, Idaho
Joined WCU: 2023
Undergraduate Degree: B.A. in English
Graduate Institution: 51看片 鈥� M.A. in English
Favorite Quote: 鈥淚nstructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.鈥� Mary Oliver
Karin Kimenker
Academic Success and Events Coordinator
Contact Info: kkimenker@wcu.edu or 828 227 2786
Hometown: Dillsboro, NC
Joined WCU: March, 2018
Undergraduate Institution: University of South Florida, B.S. in Clinical Psychology
Graduate Institution: 51看片, M.Ed. Higher Education Student Affairs
Favorite Quote: 鈥淪tay away from those people who try to disparage your ambitions. Small minds will
always do that, but great minds will give you a feeling that you can become great
too.鈥� - Mark Twain
Maddy Gilroy
MAPS Academic Coach
Contact Info: mgilroy@wcu.edu or 828.227.2217
Hometown: York, PA or Mount Holly, NC
Joined WCU: August 2023 as a Graduate Assistant
Undergraduate Institution: University of North Carolina Asheville - B.A. in Psychology
Graduate Institution: 51看片 - Masters in Higher Education Student Affairs
Favorite Quote: "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'" - Audrey Hepburn
Elinda Forster
Administrative Support Specialist
Contact Info: swu@wcu.edu or 828.227.3895
Hometown: GA and Hong Kong
Joined WCU: July 2020
Undergraduate Institution: 51看片
Favorite quote: "You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated." -Maya Angelou
Lyric Larson
Graduate Assistant
Contact Info: llarson@wcu.edu or 828.227.2616
Hometowns: Collettsville & Hickory, NC
Joined WCU: 2022 as a student, 2025 as a staff member
Undergraduate Institution: 51看片
Graduate Institution: 51看片
Favorite Quote: "For the master鈥檚 tools will never dismantle the master鈥檚 house. They may allow us
to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about
genuine change.鈥� -Audre Lorde
Richard Antwi
MAPS Graduate Assistant
Contact Info: rantwi@wcu.edu or 828.227.2970
Hometown: Kumasi, Ghana
Joined WCU: 2024
Undergraduate Institution: University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Graduate Institution: 51看片
Favorite Quote: If you think you'll fail, you have failed. If you think you can't, you won't, and
if you think you shouldn't, you won't dare! For it all begins with the mindset!
