Ana Zurita Posas ’24 grew up in Bladen County, a rural area in southeastern North Carolina.
“At first glance, Bladen County was quiet and isolated compared to nearby Fayetteville and Wilmington. However, as I grew up, I constantly recognized one of its strongest features: community,” said Zurita Posas.
“When Hurricane Florence hit Bladen County with huge gusts of wind and tremendous amounts of water, it was the community of families, students, small business owners and local politicians that inspired unified rebuilding.”
Bladen County is one of many rural, tobacco-dependent areas in the state of North Carolina: often rural communities struggle to improve economic vitality and have a lower rate of secondary degrees than urban areas. Rural North Carolinians make up 46% of the state’s population but only 38% of UNC System undergraduates.
State funds from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies are stimulating rural economies and helping rural students complete degrees of their choice.
The Golden LEAF Foundation, established by the State Legislature of North Carolina, administers a portion of the settlement money by sending it back into rural communities. The foundation aims to increase economic opportunity for the state’s rural and economically distressed communities through a variety of grantmaking – including scholarships.
In 2020, Zurita Posas was awarded the Golden LEAF Scholarship to attend UNC-Chapel Hill. This four-year scholarship aids students from qualifying rural and economically distressed counties of North Carolina who will attend a participating North Carolina institution of higher learning.
The Golden LEAF Scholarship aims to help talented young students from rural areas gain knowledge and skills that they can take back to their communities. Scholars who receive the Golden LEAF Scholarship get more than just financial support; they receive access to paid rural internships.
“The Golden LEAF Scholarship has inspired me to return to rural southeastern North Carolina in order to enhance mental health education and resources for children and families,” said Zurita Posas who is studying both Geography and Human Development and Family Science.
Golden LEAF Scholars, university officials, and representatives from the Golden LEAF Foundation networked at a luncheon on campus in February 2023. Scott Hamilton, the president and chief executive officer of the Golden LEAF Foundation, and Kevin M. Guskiewicz, chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill, were in attendance.
“The Golden LEAF Scholarship Program is a component of Golden LEAF’s strategy to help rural communities thrive by creating a future generation of skilled, educated workers to come back home to live, work, and raise families,” said Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton. “We see this investment in students as a critical component to the continued success of rural North Carolina.”
“We believe that every student who gets into our university deserves the chance to come here regardless of their financial background,” Guskiewicz said at the event. “The Golden LEAF Foundation shares that passion with us. Carolina now has 109 Golden LEAF Scholars representing rural counties from across our state of North Carolina. Each one of our scholars are here to discover their career path and to be part of our community.”
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Chris Hall ’23 took a low point in his life and turned it into something positive, all in memory of his mother, Lynn, who died of triple negative breast cancer in 2018 at age 47. With a head for business and a drive to help others, Hall is working with the North Carolina Basnight Cancer Hospital to help fund a Parenting with Cancer Clinic through the hospital’s Comprehensive Cancer Support Program.
CCSP provides support to patients and their families, from diagnosis to treatment and into survivorship, and its goal is to help families just like Hall’s.
Hall, a business major who graduated in spring, has already put his business savvy to work, amassing more than $1.5 million in sales from his online enterprises, monetizing advertising on his social media channels and selling those for a profit — all to keep a promise he made to his mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“She was declared in remission when I was in eighth grade, and it sparked a little fire,” he said. “It made me think a little bit. I promised myself that I’d pay off her mortgage before I’m 25.”
After his mother passed, Hall wanted to find a way to repurpose his goal. He created the Lynn Hall Parenting with Cancer Clinic Fund to honor her.
The clinic’s mission is twofold: 1) to help cancer patients with minor children talk to their children openly and honestly about their cancer; and 2) to help with legal issues that can accompany cancer, such as end-of-life decisions, wills, trusts and custody agreements.
“Putting your affairs in order does not mean giving up hope. It’s a gift to your family to have a plan. Rather than worrying about what might happen, patients can have peace of mind that their families will be taken care of,” said Cindy Rogers, director of patient assistance at CCSP.
Read more about the Parenting with Cancer Clinic…"
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“Chineka is a wonderful, hardworking and deserving employee,” wrote one of the many people who nominated residence hall housekeeper Chineka Stanley for a C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award. “She is always here, bright and early.”
“Bright and early” is especially fitting, given that Stanley typically arrives before her student residents wake and lifts their spirits with a personality that shines.
Employed by UNC-Chapel Hill for nearly five years, Stanley maintains and cleans the Lewis and Everett residence halls off Raleigh Street, not far from the Coker Arboretum. She transforms the residential spaces each day with careful attention and hard work to ensure everything is in good shape and to care for the residents.
In addition to being a positive presence for students, Stanley also supports her fellow housekeepers by filling in for others when they are unable to come to work. During the pandemic, she took on extra work as other housekeepers left their jobs, and she banded with coworkers to advocate for better wages.
The C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award recognizes Carolina employees each year who have unusual, meritorious or superior contributions to the campus community. It is one of the most prestigious distinctions available for faculty and staff. Winners are selected through a campus-wide nomination process, and each winner receives a $10,000 stipend and an award citation. Among Stanley’s nominators were 37 of the buildings’ current and former residents and four resident advisers.
“I do think that most housekeepers get overlooked,” said Stanley. “For someone to even notice my work, it means a lot. So, to be nominated and to actually win this award just for being myself and doing what I like to do is huge.”
Read the complete Carolina Story…"
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Collards sizzle in a pan on a hot stove before a lid stifles their chorus. Cutting boards, vegetables, and dishes crowd the countertop in a small apartment kitchen. A nearby sweet potato pie exudes the warming aromas of cinnamon, allspice and bourbon, filling the room with its perfume each time the oven door opens.
“If apple pie is the most American pie, then sweet potato pie is the most Black American pie,” said Bailey Benson ’23, a Morehead-Cain Scholar majoring in food studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.
She pulls the pie from the oven to cool, then dons plastic gloves and reaches for a bag of chicken that has been marinating in a sweet-and-spicy peanut sauce. Her roommate, Serenity Bennett, clicks off the stove dial and removes the pan of collards. The mouth-watering meal is accompanied by sweet potato cubes, couscous and a spicy margarita — all recipes included in Benson’s cookbook.
“An Afrofuturist’s Guide to Cooking” is her undergraduate thesis project. Benson’s life experiences thus far culminate in pages that connect the reader to not only food, but also a rich history of Black Americans descended from people displaced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This displacement, known as the Black diaspora, occurred throughout the world, but Benson focuses on the borders of the U.S. for her project.
Benson weaves together art, music, recipes, interviews and historical documents to tell the story from the Black perspective, using her own life experiences to inform her process.
“It started as a cookbook,” she said, “but now I describe it as an educational celebration of Black joy.”
Her approach to the cookbook makes the recipes and cultural history more accessible, and she hopes to eventually publish it to help others relearn their past in an inclusive way.
“I want everybody to be able to not only read it and enjoy it, but also cook from it and have a good meal.”
Read more about Benson’s project…"
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