Zoe McCumber '27

Sophomore Zoe McCumber '27 says UNCW has given her space to explore who she is and what she wants to do. 

“When I first arrived at UNCW, I was an education major; however, I quickly changed to business the day before the first day of classes my freshman year — this was incredibly stressful, I do not recommend it — to work in public relations and advertising,” she said. “After my first semester in business, though, I decided that Communication Studies would best fit my career goals and general interests.” 

She is now majoring in communication studies with minors in journalism and English and hopes to graduate early in spring 2027. “Post grad, I would like to secure a job in public relations or advertising,” she said. “My biggest dream is to live in New York City, and I hope to spend at least a year there immediately after graduation as an intern at a beauty company.” 

As a first-generation college student, McCumber said she has always had to rely on herself. “I have always needed to be academically independent. The joke in my family is that my parents haven’t been able to help me with homework since second grade. Not because they didn’t want to, but because they hadn’t done a homework assignment in ages, and they didn’t even know where to begin to help.” 

Being accepted into the Honors College means more to her now than it did at first. “When I got accepted into the Honors College, it didn’t feel like a huge accomplishment of mine,” she said. “But don’t get me wrong, I am overjoyed to be a part of the Honors College. The more I think about it though, the more proud of myself I become for getting so far academically as a first generation student.” 

In June 2025, she joined a short term, faculty-led Honors study abroad program in Switzerland. “At the time, the only thing I knew about studying abroad is that I really wanted to do it,” she said. “When they were going over the trip at this meeting and looking at the beautiful pictures, I knew I had to go.” 

McCumber researched Dada Sound Poetry while abroad. “I was becoming less and less confident in my research topic as time went on; however, once we arrived in Zurich, I was greatly surprised about how big an influence Dada has on the city,” she said. “It was so enthralling to make the connection about Dada between two classes and a whole other country.” 

Zoe did not want to leave. “After our 10 days in Switzerland, my best friend who I went with, decided we wanted to extend our trip and travel to Austria for five days,” she said. “This was a particularly unique adventure. We lived with her old neighbors who are from Austria and essentially got to live like the locals.” 

Back on campus, McCumber serves as a Seahawk Link mentor. “I knew I could be, and wanted to be, that person for someone else,” she said. When working with students, she tries to understand their point of view first. “I first empathize with them and validate their feelings and then try to relate to their challenges and problems by providing a personal story,” she said. “Sometimes we just need someone to listen to us, so advice isn’t always the right route.”