Back to School

BACK TO SCHOOL: Kaitlyn Anderson Spencer was a volleyball team captain in 2014 and three-time All-ACC Academic pick, and will graduate from dental school this spring.

TAR HEEL STUDENT-ATHLETES HAVE FOUND THE SKILLS THEY LEARNED AS AN ATHLETE TRANSLATE SEAMLESSLY TO GRAD SCHOOL

BY LEE PACE

PHOTOS BY UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

AAs undergrads and student-athletes at the University of North Carolina, their alarm clocks went off at 5 a.m. for off-season conditioning work. As graduate-school students, they’re up early to catch up on reading or class assignments.

“I was up at 4:30 every morning in high school and 6 a.m. in college,” says Emma Nunn, a Tar Heel swimmer from 2012-16 now in law school at Carolina. “I personally like to get to school early and knock out a couple of hours early before class. It boggles my mind that people sleep through an 8:45 class.”

As undergrads, they knew the sting of losing a tennis match or a baseball game. As grad students pursuing degrees in medicine, law or business, they’re accustomed to bouncing back from a bad day and getting back on track.

“As athletes, we all experience failure of one form or another,” says Malia Cali, a distance runner from 2010-14 now just graduating from med school at LSU. “So you learn to deal with it. Okay, I lost my game. I lost my heat. You learn to formulate a plan and fix what went wrong.”

And as Tar Heels on the fields and courts, they perfected their athletic technique— be it a serve in volleyball or pass protection in football. That process works in a graduate field like dentistry, where students have to learn to prep crowns and fabricate dentures.

“The mindset of an athlete translates very well to dentistry,” says Kaitlyn Spencer, a volleyball player from 2010-14 and a recent ECU dental school graduate. “I have used the same competitive mindset that fueled my drive to get better in volleyball to becoming a better clinician in dental school. We’re used to challenges.”

Each spring hundreds of Tar Heel student-athletes take the next step—a few to professional sports, most to the working world and others to grad school. Some find their way back to grad school several years after dipping their toe into the business and professional world.

They unanimously find that the structure, discipline, resilience and drive that served them well in athletics are integral pieces to the toolbox of survival and ultimate success in working toward master and doctoral degrees.

“Sport itself is temporary,” says Cam Holland, the Tar Heels’ starting center in football from 2009-11 who’s just completed year two in the UNC School of Medicine. “At some point in time, your career is going to end. But the things that you learn while taking that journey—that’s for the rest of your life. All the bumps in the road—I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Maybe I’m not the biggest, strongest, fastest, smartest. But you won’t outwork me.

“It was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to do—finding the sheer discipline that you have to have to juggle the athletic part and the academic part. Having learned that, I don’t think there’s anything that I can’t do now.”

Holland is part of a distinguished group of offensive linemen on the 2008 roster, with four players eventually going to grad school: Morgan Randall, med school at the University of Kentucky (2015); Lowell Dyer, law school at Tulane (2014); Mike Ingersoll, law school at UNC (2017); and Holland.

That hardly jibes with the news feed that emanated for several years of academic scandal around the football team of that era.

“It’s very sad because there are a lot of very talented, very good guys, very intelligent people who I shared a locker room, shared the field with,” Holland says. “And nobody hears these stories. No one hears just what these players are about or what they accomplish or what they have to do. People kind of know of the other things that happened during that time.”

Ingersoll came to Chapel Hill from Mint Hill in 2006 knowing he wanted to be a lawyer. But he had a solid playing career and got a chance at the NFL after his senior year in 2010, bouncing between several teams and one in the Canadian Football League before a knee injury knocked him off the field for good. He entered law school in 2014, graduated in 2017 and today is an associate at Womble Bond Dickinson in Charlotte.

“Fourteen and sixteen-hour days were relatively normal for me during football season, and the NFL was no different,” he says. “So when you get to law school, you know how rigorous the days can be and you’re equipped to face it. Other kids who haven’t learned

through sports struggle with the time commitment and how hard it is.” Holland and Darien McNeil, walk-on wide receiver in 2012-13 now in med school, had the same foundation. “That first year, a lot of my classmates were talking about how long the days are and the down time they just don’t have any more,” Holland says. “Darien and I just looked at each other. This is a normal day. This is how it is.” Kelly McFarlane played soccer for Coach Anson Dorrance’s program from 2010-13, and then moved to a year of professional soccer followed by a stint with a health-care consulting firm. She just completed her second year at Harvard Medical School and in two years in Cambridge has come to appreciate how the 12 “core values” that Dorrance established for his program apply to life beyond college and the soccer field. “Those values have been applicable in various says,” she says. “The work ethic and discipline are obvious. But things like caring and teamwork are important. Around teamwork, one quote we read was, ‘No man is an island.’ Teamwork is huge in work and grad school, especially in medicine being part of a health “ “Sport itself is temporary. At some point in time, your career is going to end. But the things that you learn while taking that journey—that’s care team providing care for patients.” Chase Jones learned as a baseball player on Coach Mike Fox’s squads from 2006-11 how to take constructive criticism from coaches, team captains and teammates “and not get angry or irate about the message, but turn it around and execute in a positive manner.” He for the rest of your life....Maybe I’m not the biggest, strongest, fastest, smartest. But you won’t outwork me.” just completed in May 2018 his MBA at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and was also elected president of the Wharton Graduate Association. Many of the lessons he learned about building a culture from Carolina baseball apply in his studies at Wharton and leading school government. “I think back on the positive culture we had,” Jones says. “It’s not an easy thing to replicate. There are many challenges along the way. But it’s amazing how much being a part of a baseball team translates to business school. We’re working in small groups—usually five or six—but the idea is the same.” Using “quotes of the day” and starting meetings at very specific times are two of the tricks he borrowed from his Carolina days to apply to business school and student government. “I took a page out of the Coach Fox and Dean Smith playbooks—we start meetings at 7:02 p.m.,” he says with a laugh. Former student-athletes know how to deal with pressure and failure. Those experiences give them a leg up in grad school over other students who’ve never missed a foul shot in front of thousands of people or made a double-bogey in the ACC golf championships. Cali ran track and cross country at Carolina from 2011-14 and then entered med school at LSU, graduating in May. Two years into her med school journey, she received a grade in the standardized “Step 1” med school exam below her personally established goal. “In my first big exam in med school, I fell a little short,” she said.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Cam Holland was a standout center who blocked for Gio Bernard, and then turned his participation in the Medical Education Development program at Carolina into an opportunity to attend UNC’s School of Medicine.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Before enrolling at the Wharton School of Business, Chase Jones created the very successful Vs. Cancer Foundation. BACK TO SCHOOL: n addition to her academic exploits, Malia Cali also traveled to Kenya on a mission trip with Student-Athletes Leading Social Change during her Tar Heel undergraduate career.

“So I knew how to address it. I changed my game plan. I took the situation, analyzed it, formed a plan and went after it. In my Step 2 a year later, I did much better.”

Shelley Warner was on the rowing team from 2013-16, graduated in 2016 and recently began her third year in the UNC School of Medicine. She cites the stress of concentrating for eight hours during her Step 1 exam as comparing to the rigor of focus and exertion during a race like

the 2K—with four to eight rowers stroking for “ might miss competition, they make up for six to eight minutes for a distance of 1.24 miles. “When I am having trouble concentrating or doubting my ability, I get the same feelings “I think back on the positive culture we had. It’s not an easy thing to I had during certain difficult practices and races,” Warner says. “Rowing was an extremely tough sport mentally. For the 2K, the whole race is pushing with everything you have from replicate. There are many challenges along the way. But it’s amazing how much being a part of a baseball the start. Figuring out how to create dialogues in my head that push me through and get to team translates to business school.” the finish line was a great skill that I use now, especially when I’m doubting myself in an exam setting.”

Michelle Ikoma was a Tar Heel gymnast from 2010-14 and used her degree in business and exercise & sports science to enter the business world for 18 months. She worked 60 to 70 hours and “burned out quickly,” she says, and after deciding to apply for med school (she entered UNC’s program in 2017), she had first-hand knowledge of the importance of balance to take to the next chapter of her life. “You can easily study 60 hours a week in med school if you wanted to,” she says. “But I knew that I had to make a priority of keeping other things in my life. I feel I can be my best self with maintaining balance. There’s classwork. I enjoy tutoring. Exercise is important.” While all of these former student-athletes it by remaining physically active. McFarlane runs regularly and, when she can fit it in, works as a graduate manager with the Harvard women’s soccer team. “You have to get away from the classroom and the books,” she says. “You have to have things that keep you sane and keep you grounded.” “Running in college was like the source of my stress,” adds Cali, who rises regularly at 5 a.m. for five- to 10-mile runs. “You want to do well, you feel like that is why you are there. I still compete some, but now running is fun and a way to keep in shape. It’s stress relief. People ask, ‘How do you find time to work out?’ I have to find time. You learn there are other things in life—health and sanity are two of them.” The voice of experience—from undergrad and grad-level views.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Kelly McFarlane was a two-time All-ACC Academic pick at Carolina and a member of the 2012 national champions.

COACHING UP GRADUATES

MEN’S LACROSSE COACH JOE BRESCHI WITH SOME ADVICE TO TAR HEEL GRADUATES

BY JOE BRESCHI

PHOTOS BY JEFFREY CAMARATI

In 2012, men’s lacrosse coach Joe Breschi was asked to address the student-athlete graduation event. The following is the text of his remarks, which remain just as applicable today as they were the day he delivered them.

“As a fellow alum, I commend all of you in this room on a wonderful accomplishment and a great achievement today…as a coach, I want to challenge all of you.

As a graduate in 1990 from UNC, I had no strong conviction of what I wanted to do with my future or where I wanted to live…and to me that was OK, for my parents, not so much. I had tackled a few internships during my summer months and worked lacrosse camps on the weekends throughout my four years. Not having a firm grip on my future plans like some of my classmates and friends was a little stressful at times, But I did have a plan…not with regards to what I was going to do or where I was going to live, but what was important to me when I left this amazing Institution and all the experiences that helped define who I am today. There were four key questions that marinated with me as I started off on life’s journey outside the protective “Bubble” we call Chapel Hill: I want to challenge all of our student-athletes here today to reflect on these questions before you hit the real world in the coming months.

1 SUCCESS:

How will you define Success in your life?

2 ADVERSITY:

How will you handle Adversity as it appears in your life?

3 LEADERSHIP:

How will you apply the Leadership skills you’ve learned as a student-athlete to your own life?

4 ENTHUSIASM:

Will you go through life with great energy, embracing every moment of every day?

These are simple, yet defining questions as you enter life’s biggest challenge: being on your own.

1 SUCCESS

• Is success to you, graduating with a degree from the

University of North Carolina…YES • Is it sharing four, sometimes five years of your life with friends, teammates, administrators and coaches…through the blood, sweat and tears of practice to compete to your fullest potential both in the classroom and on the field of play for the

Carolina Blue…YES • Is success leaving UNC with relationships that will last a lifetime…YES

As you get older like me…your vision of success changes to its simplest form:

Success is being happy.

Success is being a good dad or mom, husband or wife, or a good friend to others.

Success is staying true to yourself and your values.

Success is doing what you love to do every day.

Success is following your dreams.

I challenge you to ask yourself when you leave the Blue Cups of He’s Not Here, Football Saturdays at Kenan Stadium and the grind of daily practices in your sport…what will SUCCESS mean to you?

• Is it job security, and the amount of money you’ll be making? • Is it the size of the house you’re living in or the make and model of the car you’re driving? *I CHALLENGE YOU TO HAVE A CLEAR DIRECTION ON HOW YOU WANT TO DEFINE SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE…AS MOST OF YOU WILL FACE LIFE WITHOUT A FINAL SCORE!

2 ADVERSITY

It’s a part of everyone’s life.

The last four years, adversity to you may be getting a tough grade on a paper or an exam.

Maybe it was riding the bench, and not getting the playing time you (and your parents) felt you deserved or were entitled to. Maybe it was a season ending injury that made you feel a little distant from the team and not a key part of the program’s success.

*I CHALLENGE YOU TO ASK YOURSELF WHEN YOU LEAVE THE COURT, FIELD, POOL OR GYM, HOW WILL YOU HANDLE A NEW SET OF ADVERSE SITUATIONS ON YOUR OWN?

3 LEADERSHIP

Make no mistake, Every student-athlete in this room is a leader. You are all on a path to graduate from UNC because your high school coach, a club coach or someone we, as college coaches, trusted, and told us that you were a good person, a solid student…..a great leader. You have the skills to make a difference and the University of North Carolina has helped you develop these skills at all levels through the Leadership Academy and being part of an athletics team and department that is second to none.

*I CHALLENGE YOU TODAY TO USE THESE ACQUIRED LEADERSHIP SKILLS TO BETTER YOURSELF, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, TO BETTER THOSE AROUND YOU.

4 ENTHUSIASM

You’re probably thinking…Sure coach, I’m enthusiastic.

I know all of you have embraced competing with great enthusiasm to win events and games with your teammates and coaches. I know most of you at some point have had tremendous enthusiasm and energy to experience fraternity row or Franklin Street on Friday and Saturday nights.

My point is this: everyone in this room is so gifted but the daily grind of life will sometimes test you, and you will need a positive attitude and confidence to truly reach your full potential. You are just scratching the surface of your true talents and being positive is contagious and will help you make the most of who you are and who you will become.

I challenge you to take a moment to laugh and smile at some point every day. Embrace having an enthusiasm for life and the impact it will have on others, as none of us ever knows what tomorrow may bring.

Finally, as an alum, I thank you for making our University and athletic department a better place the last four years and I wish you all the best. As a coach, and I’m sure I can speak for all the coaches here today…we are proud of you and we believe in you.

A fellow employee gets a promotion over you, how will you react? Will it make you work harder like you did as a studentathlete, or will you look for an excuse? Maybe it’s a job you love but you’re underpaid and overworked? Maybe it’s as simple as a relationship where you’re in love… but the man or woman doesn’t feel the same way about you.

I challenge you to use the skills and strength you acquired through being a student-athlete at UNC to persevere through tough times, I know I did. Tragically I lost my only son, Michael, in 2004 at the age 3 ½ when he was hit by a car at his pre-school. If it wasn’t for the amazing support system of friends, teammates and coaches I had as a student-athlete, and still have here today at UNC, I would not be standing before you today with an amazing wife Julie, four precious daughters (Samantha, Abby, Lucy and Emily) with an opportunity to coach at the greatest University on earth. I share this with you because adversity hits in so many ways and most of the time it’s unexpected. My message is simple and I share it with my players all the time: 10 percent of life is what happens to you and 90 percent is how you react to it! Carolina Athletics is and will always be your family.

Great leaders always think about how to make the team better before themself.

Great leaders sacrifice one’s personal achievement so others will be recognized. Great leaders are innovative and take risks to challenge themselves and those around them to step out of their comfort zone to achieve greatness.

Cherish the opportunity to have a positive impact on others by using your leadership skills to make a difference!

‘A growth mindset’

YYou may be surprised to hear that in a culture of success such as Carolina, my definition of success actually changed over the course of my four years. It wasn’t that I realized winning isn’t everything, because as Mia Hamm put best: “The person who said winning isn’t everything, never won anything.” I found in Carolina a place where my competitive fire was stoked and valued more than ever before; however, I realized that the small wins in each day, and the process of striving for those wins with a group that I truly cared about, was more important than the end result.

The women’s soccer program at Carolina is an environment that nurtures this process in a way that impacted my life far beyond the field. Our program may have the reputation for churning out Olympians, but this environment also prepares us better than most for endeavors outside of athletics. I’m no Olympian, but I was fortunate enough to pursue a childhood dream of playing professional soccer in Sweden and Scotland after graduating early in December 2016. It was an amazing experience and culmination of my soccer career that has undoubtedly shaped my worldview. Now, at the ripe age of 23, I have officially hung up my cleats to work for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. I always knew the impact of Carolina soccer would be a part of me for the rest of my life, but what I didn’t realize is how much the culture Anson has built would pervade the work culture that I am a part of now. Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella has implemented a culture shift centered around psychologist and author Carol Dweck’s concept of the “growth mindset.” This is a page taken right out of Anson’s book, and the perfect way to describe what his program is all about. The “Competitive Cauldron” is Anson’s system of driving improvement by measuring, recording and ranking every possible drill in training. It may sound intense, which it certainly is, but there is no better way to tangibly track growth. Anson calls this goal of constant improvement the “neverending ascension,” while Dweck calls it the “growth mindset,” but they are essentially the same thing and applicable to any effort of achievement. In addition to the growth mindset, in reading Satya’s new book, I was delighted to come across many other quotes and philosophies that I first heard from Anson Dorrance and the Carolina women’s soccer core values. One specifically that stood out to me is John Donne’s quote that pairs with the core value for “caring.” It reads, “no man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main...”

At UNC and at a tech company in a rapidly growing industry, both uber-competitive environments, we can’t forget to work together and care about each other. Successful teams aren’t just successful because they are the most talented, they are successful because a group of individuals has collectively decided that the team is greater than its individual parts. Successful teams have cultures built on caring and the notion that your teammates are inherently valuable, not only for their talents but because they are human. If you care about each other, then you have the ability to constantly push yourself and each other to get better, working towards a common goal – and you also have a lot more fun doing it.

The UNC women’s soccer program encouraged me to embrace the daily challenge of living a growth mindset, while also instilling the importance of caring about each other along the journey, lessons applicable no matter where life takes me.

DARCY MCFARLANE

Women’s Soccer, 2013-16 Illustration by Jason McCorkle