Diversity Highlights
Featured Stories and Scholars
Global Grads Featured Scholar – Angelica Gomez
Angelica Gomez is a global grad from Medellin, Colombia. She is in her second year in the Ph.D. program in Geography. 1. What made you choose UNC/NC when deciding on a program/place to study? I decided to enter the Department of Geography because I was looking for skills that allow me to integrate environmental sciences and GIS ...
Military-Affiliated Grads Featured Scholar – James O’Connor
James Patrick O’Connor, is in the first year of the MSN-PNP program. He retired in 2006 as an infantry Master Sergeant serving in the United States Marine Corps, U.S., Army, and California Army National Guard, with deployments to Egypt and Afghanistan. As a civilian, he works as a pediatric emergency room RN. 1. What is the ...
Global Grads Featured Scholar – Alessandra Bassalobre Garcia
Alessandra Bassalobre Garcia is a third year PhD candidate in Health Policy and Management at the Gillings School of Global Public health. She is a global grad from Marília, São Paulo, Brazil. 1. What made you choose UNC/NC when deciding on a program/place to study? I started researching the best Public Health schools in America before deciding ...
Carolina Grad Student F1RSTS Featured Scholar – Joanna Ramirez
Joanna Ramirez is a first-year Master’s student in the Health Behavior Department in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is also the new Graduate Assistant for the Carolina Grad Student F1RSTS. What made you decide to pursue a graduate degree? I have always loved the idea of public health, and was considering a dual degree ...
Carolina Grad Student F1RSTS Featured Scholar – Kathy Do
Kathy Do is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. Her research focuses on how brain development and social processes contribute to behavior change during adolescence. What made you decide to pursue a graduate degree? My interest and enthusiasm in pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology and neuroscience was inspired by my undergraduate mentor, ...
Military-Affiliated Grads Featured Scholar – Tom Kerr
Tom Kerr is a first-year PhD candidate in the Political Science department. He served eight years on Active Duty in the Navy. During his first four years he was a Surface Warfare Officer serving as the Strike Warfare Officer on USS Anzio (CG-68) and the N3-A at Riverine Squadron Three. He finished his Active Duty ...
Global Grads Featured Scholar – Rigo Liao
Rigo Liao is a global grad from Brazil. He is a first-year candidate in the Master’s in Public Health program in the Department of Health Behavior. 1. What made you choose UNC/NC when deciding on a program/place to study? I moved to the US one year before the start of the program at UNC. At the time, ...
Carolina Grad Student F1RSTS Featured Scholar – Michael Strayer
Michael Strayer is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the mathematics department. He works under Robert Proctor in the area of combinatorial Lie theory. 1) What made you decide to pursue a graduate degree? I have always loved math and wanted to keep learning more of it. My father had a good career that paid our family’s ...
Military-Affiliated Grads Featured Scholar -Marissa Rock
Marissa Rock is a first year graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology program. She served four years Active Duty in the Air Force as a Geospatial Intelligence Imagery Analyst and Weapons & Tactics Analyst. 1. What is the biggest difference you’ve noticed in transitioning from military life to civilian life? Independence! Military life revolves around teamwork, while ...
Carolina Grad Student F1RSTS Featured Scholar – Charlotte Leitch
Charlotte Leitch is in the first year of the MS in Library Science in the School of Information and Library Science. She is also a staff member in the UNC Writing and Learning Center. 1. What made you decide to pursue a graduate degree? I have always loved learning and loved being in school. After graduating ...