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Heel to Heel Students-turned-faculty offer advice to the class of 2025

Story by Brennan Doherty and photos by Johnny Andrews, University Communications

As Commencement approaches, thousands of new Carolina graduates are preparing to use their UNC-Chapel Hill education to better the world as they set out on exciting new journeys.

But closing out one chapter of life and beginning another can be nerve-wracking and full of unknowns.

Who better to ask for post-graduation advice than Tar Heel students-turned-faculty who once donned the Carolina Blue cap and gown themselves?

Check out 10 tips UNC-Chapel Hill professors shared when they pulled up a chair with University photographer Johnny Andrews.

Two-photo diptych: LaChaun Banks sitting in a blue chair in the lobby of a business school building on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, and LaChaun Banks, in Carolina Blue cap and gown, flanked by her parents at her college graduation in 2010.

LaChaun Banks ’10, ’17 (MBA)

LaChaun Banks is a professor of the practice at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and a research fellow at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. As an undergraduate, Banks came to Carolina through the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program after studying at Wake Technical Community College.

She now teaches courses on economic development.

1. Take advantage of Carolina’s alumni network

The soon-to-be graduates are joining the ranks of 367,000-plus Carolina alumni. Tar Heels are everywhere, so look for them, Banks says.

“Seek out alumni wherever you are because you’ll always have that connection of having gone to UNC. If you’re in San Diego or you’re in Ottawa, look up people who’ve gone to UNC because you can find new friendships that way.” 🎓

2. Feel all the feelings

Graduating is full of dueling emotions. Banks remembers being told to be proud and happy — and she was — but there was also a bit of sadness.

“Enjoy the day and feel all of the feelings, even if some are sadness or you’ll miss this place. Just feel that because you’ll remember it longer. It’s almost like a wedding. You’re working yourself up to this big day, and then you don’t remember the day because you’re doing so many different activities. And the best way to remember the day is living in that moment.” 🎓

Two-photo diptych: Emily Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle and John Vavalle embracing while posing for a graduation photo in 2000 in their Carolina Blue caps and gowns; and Emily Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle and John Vavalle, present day sitting in a Carolina Blue chair together in a garden.

Dr. John Vavalle ’00, ’04 (MD) and Emily Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle ’00, ’02 (MS), ’10 (PhD)

Now married, Emily Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle and Dr. John Vavalle met in 1998 at a dinner the final night of a University Study Abroad program in Florence, Italy. Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle remembers it vividly — not so much for Vavalle.

“I met John in Italy. It was very romantic,” Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle said. “He met me in Chapel Hill the next semester.”

The two play important roles at UNC Hospitals. Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle serves as director of infection prevention, is a professor at the UNC School of Medicine and an associate professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. An interventional cardiologist, Vavalle is the director of the structural heart disease program and an associate professor of medicine.

3. Find ways to serve others

Vavalle says finding ways to be of service to others is a key to long-term happiness.

“We are an institution for and by the people of North Carolina, and our mission is to serve the people of North Carolina. If you choose a career path where you are in service to others, you will always find satisfaction in that. I think if you choose a career where your emphasis is on helping others, whether it be in medicine or as a teacher or even in business — where your focus is on helping businesses grow and helping others grow — you will always be satisfied.” 🎓

4. Be flexible

While it’s OK to have a detailed plan about what’s next, Vavalle thinks embracing unplanned twists and turns is important to success in the long run.

“You may have a perfect vision for how you think the rest of your life is going to go, but it is unlikely to go exactly as scripted. There will be unexpected opportunities that come up, chance encounters that change your view of the world, and you need to be flexible. Most of these twists and turns lead to positive results.” 🎓

5. Don’t stress much about making the right decision

Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle says it’s easy to get caught up in the dichotomy of right-or-wrong decisions. She thinks it’s healthy to not view these as make-or-break moments.

“There are really no wrong decisions. If you have two options, you choose the one you think is going to bring you the most joy and the most happiness, and you go down that road. If you end up veering back to another choice that was there previously, it’s still there for you — and now you bring to it more experience and insights because of the path that you’ve taken.” 🎓

6. Show up

While it’s a commonly repeated piece of advice, “95% of life is just showing up” resonated with Sickbert-Bennett Vavalle when a high school teacher said it.

“It speaks to the value of just being present physically — but also emotionally, putting yourself in new situations, experiencing things and just being open to opportunities. That definitely carried through my time at Carolina and beyond.” 🎓

Two-photo diptych: Viji Sathy sitting in a Carolina Blue chair in an empty classroom in Chapman Hall; and Viji Sathy posing for a graduation photo with a friend in 1996 in her Carolina Blue cap and gown.

Viji Sathy ’96, ’01 (MA), ’03 (PhD)

Viji Sathy (pictured on the right in her graduation photo) grew up in Hope Mills, near Fayetteville, and is proud of the public education she received in North Carolina, from kindergarten through her doctoral degree program.

She is a professor of the practice in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ psychology and neuroscience department and also serves as associate dean for evaluation and assessment and director of the Townsend Program for Education Research.

7. Try to leave things better than when you arrived

As an undergraduate, Sathy volunteered at UNC Hospitals and came across a page-a-day calendar that one day featured a quote from Jim Henson: “My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been here.”

That’s something she’s aspired to do and thinks graduates can as well.

“I got to keep that calendar page and I had it folded in my wallet for years. In many ways, this is what I experienced at Carolina. My professors took a genuine interest in me and cared about their students’ learning. It was clear they were interested in helping their students succeed to build a better future.” 🎓

8. Make time to keep up with friends

Sathy has many close friends from her time as a Carolina student, but it takes effort to stay in touch. A former student of hers asked if they could stay in touch, and now she receives a yearly update from her about what’s going on. Sathy thinks that’s a good model for keeping up with your buds, and she shares it with students in her College Thriving course.

“It’s easy to think that future you will be able to keep in touch. I say schedule it on your calendar. Set a reminder to reach out to specific people. It doesn’t have to be some long note — even a little ‘hello, I’m thinking of you’ can go a long way.” 🎓

Two-photo diptych: Bob Pleasants smiling and tilting his head while posing for a graduation photo in his Carolina Blue cap and gown in 1999; and Bob Pleasants, present day, posing for a photo while sitting in a Carolina Blue chair on the lawn of Polk Place on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill.

Bob Pleasants ’99, ’00 (MA), ’07 (PhD)

Bob Pleasants is used to advising students through his role as director of the Office for Undergraduate Research. He’s also an adjunct professor in the health behavior department at Gillings and a clinical assistant professor at the UNC School of Education.

9. There’s a career out there for you

One common worry student researchers bring to Pleasants is whether there’s a career out there for them and if they’re qualified.

“‘Am I qualified for that career? What does the future look like for a career in research?’ To answer those questions, the advice I give them is that we’re always going to need research. Whether it’s new technology or working to end poverty or solving climate change, all the big questions that we’re all experiencing are things that can be answered through research.” 🎓

10. Connect your passions to your work

When he graduated, Pleasants had to “trust the process” of finding a career that would match his passions. It’s OK for graduates if they still haven’t figured out what that looks like for them.

“As an English major, I’ll quote E.M. Forster: ‘Only connect.’ It took me some time to learn how to connect my passion and what I was interested in with a career, even when I didn’t know what that career was. I had to trust the process of trying to figure out what I wanted to do and to follow my interests, which meant giving myself the time and space to figure out what career fit those interests. This pathway wasn’t clear until well after I graduated.” 🎓