COMMITTED TO LEADING POSITIVE CHANGE

Launched in fall 2021, the Human and Organizational Leadership Development (HOLD) program graduated its first students in spring 2023.

Students enrolled in the multidisciplinary program take courses from across campus, in disciplines including education, business, communication, public policy, sociology, and more. To graduate, this year’s 21 HOLD students turning their tassels completed capstone projects, putting their knowledge and skills around leadership and organizational change into practice at organizations that included an education nonprofit, Carolina Athletics, and a nonprofit aiding refugees.

“The HOLD program attracts students committed to change as individuals, in their communities, and in organizations that make local or global impact,” said Jemilia Davis, Ph.D., HOLD program director. “Their energy gives me hope that they will Propel the World to be a better place for every human.”

“To me, leadership is driven by passion, knowledge, and commitment to a team or organization. An e ective leader serves their people and consistently learns and evolves.”

Destiny Moore

Hometown: Harrisburg, N.C.

After graduating from the HOLD program, Destiny Moore aspires to work within higher education and help students realize their fullest potential.

Moore’s capstone site was the Carolina Leadership Academy in Student-Athlete Development at Carolina. For her project, Moore rebuilt the Carolina Leadership Summit, a leadership development camp taught by UNC varsity student-athletes for youth passionate about sports and hoping to grow as leaders. The summit will relaunch in 2024. During her time at the Carolina Leadership Academy,

Moore had the opportunity to take a hands-on leadership development approach, examining her personal leadership style and implementing it in a variety of situations. To Moore, the primary lessons of the HOLD program encourage students to remain authentic in their leadership journey and conscious of how they show up in a team.

“HOLD gave me an opportunity to go into my community and instill real change about things that I genuinely care about,” Moore said.

Rachell McDonald came to Carolina as a psychology major and quickly applied to the HOLD program when she found her passion at the intersection between human behavior and organizational development. To garner a sense of how leadership impacts human and organizational growth, she combined both majors and now strives to utilize what she has learned to foster her future career endeavors.

McDonald’s capstone site was a consulting and corporate training business, where she designed learning strategies, content, and deployment to impact business outcomes,

Rachell McDonald

Hometown: Louisburg, N.C.

specializing in sales-force development and continuing medical education. McDonald said while her psychology background helps her understand human behavior, her capstone project, along with HOLD’s curriculum, has cultivated her knowledge of behavior within organizations.

“The sense of community in the HOLD program is extremely unique,” McDonald said. “Community and friendships are built through the group-exercises, small class sizes, and openness to learn from one another.”

Romallus Dew

Hometown: Wilson, N.C.

At Carolina and in the HOLD program, Romallus Dew said he learned more about himself and has come to understand where he wants his future to lead him.

For his capstone project, Dew interned at a premium sta ing and recruiting organization that operates in over 10 states across the eastern U.S. Dew had the opportunity to lead thousands of employees to help break sales records at sporting and entertainment venues everywhere. His project addressed how entities can limit the e ects of administrative burnout by creating processes to automate and routinize back-end procedures that are traditionally operated by personnel.

Through those experiences, Dew said he is prepared to step into any corporate setting and become a change-maker or pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.

“HOLD has prepared me to do literally anything,” Dew said. “The multidisciplinary approach teaches us how to run an organization in at least five di erent ways, and the capstone experience and faculty support that we receive builds our confidence.”

Empowering the Leaders of Tomorrow

At the UNC School of Education, we empower educators and scholars to lead, to think creatively, to act with compassion, and to strive for equity and excellence for all. Equipped to succeed in their professions, our graduates emerge as leaders in their institutions and communities, and mindfully contribute toward continually improving and transforming them.