What I love most about Carolina

“Oh my sweet Carolina…” - Ryan Adams

There are many things to love about Carolina. What I love the most about Carolina are the people. This past Saturday night, February 26 th, one of my organizations (namely Conservative Women’s Voice) hosted a concert to benefit Interact of Wake County, a non-profit dedicated to the assistance, advocacy, and support of women and children whose lives have been ripped apart by domestic and sexual abuse. This is an organization with which I’ve worked extensively in the past and I know how much good they do.

Well, the people here at UNC responded well to what we lovingly named Rock The House 2005. We made almost $250 for Interact and while that doesn’t seem like a whole lot, it’s enough to make a difference in some woman’s life. That’s what motivated us to do the show in the first place: the thought that we could even slightly change just one person’s life was enough for us to go through the entire dramatic and stressful process of putting the whole thing together.

Also this past weekend was UNC Dance Marathon 2005. The whole program raised almost $200,000 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. Hundreds of students stood on their feet for 24 hours for the kids and there’s something amazing about that to me.

Sure, you’ll find a lot of people at any university who care a lot about charities and volunteering. But here at Carolina, we don’t see it as something we feel obligated to do, but rather something we’re passionate about. It’s something we incorporate into every single day of our Tar Heel careers.

There’s an atmosphere at Carolina that truly allows one to feel connected to the community. There is always a new cause to work for and it’s virtually impossible for someone to come to Carolina and not find their niche. Looking back on my freshman year and what there is of my sophomore year, I’ve realized that I’ve grown so much more passionate about finding ways to serve the community around me in constructive ways. I feel that if one is to be a part of a community, one must also contribute to the community. This is why I helped with voter registration drives, went around right before the election to rural neighborhoods to remind registered voters to vote, organized Rock The House 2005, and am currently coordinating with UNC Young Democrats on a CD and DVD drive for the troops overseas.

It was John Donne who once said, “No man is an island.” I wholeheartedly believe that Carolina gives everyone the opportunity to become a part of the main and to serve a truly worthy purpose. Hark the sound!