His family had some reservations about him studying psychology. “They saw it as a fringe career path – one that was reserved ‘for others,’” James Zanker '01 said.
He worked and paid for all of his schooling without having to take out any student loans. In addition to earning a bachelor’s in psychology from UNCW, he received a Master of Arts Service Agency Counseling Degree from UNC Pembroke and is now the proud owner of Zanker Counseling Services, located in downtown Wilmington, NC.
“I had known for my entire cognizant life that I was talented at subjects related to human services and psychology,” he said. “I chose UNCW because of its fine reputation, the fact that is was part of the reputable UNC system and because of UNCW’s excellent psychology department.”
While at UNCW, he was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society and Psi Chi Psychology National Honor Society. He also served as a Student Ambassador and was a member of the UNCW Crew Team.
A licensed professional counselor, nationally certified counselor and licensed clinical addiction specialist, Zanker loves what he is able to give others through mental health counseling, life coaching or music arts therapy through a related business, Zanker Music Arts Therapy.
“They are all a continual thrill for me and I am working on improving and increasing the level of services that I can provide within each format,” he says.
Read more at We Are UNCW.
