Students in the robes – blue for undergraduates, black with colored hoods for advanced degrees - waved and smiled at the audience of several thousand who whooped, shouted, pumped their fists, flashed pictures, and waved pompoms and bright flowers.
Gerson Aguilera never expected to be an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He had planned to attend a four-year university closer to his home in Thomasville, North Carolina, but Carolina’s C-STEP program lured him to Chapel Hill. Three years after applying for C-STEP, Aguilera is now just a few days away from becoming the first in his family to graduate from college.
Friends, professors and fascinating coursework helped guide senior Alice Bennett to the most meaningful aspects of her Carolina experience — and a degree in American studies.
When Tajahn Wilson arrived in Chapel Hill in 2018 as a first-year biology student, he thought he had the next four years all figured out: He’d spend his undergraduate years preparing for medical school and then become a doctor. His actual path to graduation, however, has been anything but the straight line he expected.