WORDS OF WISDOM
WORDS OF
WISDOM Mentorship program pairs student-athletes with experienced wisdom BY ANDREW STILWELL PHOTOS BY UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
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n October of 2019, The Rams Club launched FORevHER Tar Heels, an initiative to build and inspire a Carolina community that champions and empowers women student-athletes not only through financial support of scholarships, facilities, and teams, but also through enhanced career development and mentorship. The FORevHER Tar Heels mentorship program was announced on February 29, 2020, and paired 40 female student-athletes with 40 Carolina alumnae and friends who are passionate about supporting these young women and helping prepare them for life after Carolina. “Doing research on that particular demographic, it showed that female donors are more interested in transformational engagement as opposed to transactional engagement,” said Shelley Johnson, Director of Carolina’s Baddour Leadership Academy. “Transformational engagement is more interpersonal, and through a mentor program, it allows a donor to be on the ‘front lines’ of seeing how student-athletes are impacted by their investment.” Johnson got involved with the FORevHER Tar Heels mentorship program at the suggestion of former Rams Club Associate Executive Director Sue Walsh, in order to provide an element of form and structure to the program. “Research shows that one of the things where mentor programs
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