✨The Future is Us✨
Talent, technology, leadership, teamwork and the commitment to give all that it takes to perform at the highest levels, on the brightest stages and against the very best competition in the world: this is the UNC Hussman championship team.
Head to the link in our bio to support the UNC Hussman championship team.
#UNCHussman #UNC #TheFutureisUs #GoHeels #UniversityofNationalChampions
🎓 Congratulations to Sarah Whitmarsh on being named this year’s Outstanding Ph.D. Graduate in Media and Communication!
Already a UNC graduate with a career in international development and nonprofit communications, Whitmarsh returned to Carolina through the Roy H. Park Doctoral Fellowship to strengthen her research skills and expand her academic future.
At UNC Hussman, Whitmarsh focused on ethical and collaborative research, drawing inspiration from coursework in political science and decolonizing methodologies. She also presented her work internationally and taught public relations writing for two semesters, an experience that solidified her passion for higher education.
Her journey, she said, is proof that careers do not always follow a straight line. Her message to students: Stay flexible, be curious and remain open to paths you never imagined.
#UNC #TarGram #UNC26
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🎓 Congratulations to Jane O’Hara on being named this year’s Outstanding M.A. in Digital Communications Graduate! O’Hara first connected with UNC Hussman through its certificate program in 2017 while working remotely in Chapel Hill, where she immediately saw how the school’s curriculum aligned with her professional work. That experience later led her to return to UNC Hussman’s online master’s program. Through coursework focused on areas such as change management, reputation strategy and branding, O’Hara felt every lesson had immediate practical value. Her thesis, inspired by Blue Ridge Public Radio’s response to Hurricane Helene, reflected her interest in meaningful, applied research that extends beyond the classroom.
Her advice to future students — especially seasoned professionals — is to never assume the opportunity to grow has passed. At UNC Hussman, she said, there is always more to learn if you are willing to dig in.
#UNC #TarGram #UNC26
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🎓 Congratulations to Aayas Joshi on being named this year’s John Robert Bittner Outstanding Graduating Senior in Journalism!
Joshi’s path to UNC Hussman began in Nepal and was shaped by a growing interest in documentary storytelling. Before arriving at Carolina as a Morehead‑Cain Scholar, he spent a gap year hiking and reflecting on climate change’s visible impacts, which inspired him to pursue storytelling as a way to raise awareness.
At UNC Hussman, he found a home in the visual communication program, where immersive travel opportunities and hands‑on projects allowed him to transform his passion into purpose. His documentary “Adrift,” produced as part of the Carolina Photojournalism Workshop led by Professor Pat Davison, received national recognition, including honors from the Hearst Journalism Awards and White House News Photographers Association.
For Joshi, UNC Hussman’s greatest lesson is that documentary work is not just a profession — it is a community that continues long after graduation.
#UNC #UNC26 #TarGram
🎓 Congratulations to Tilde Hogberg on being named this year’s Lois and H.C. Cranford Outstanding Graduating Senior in Advertising and Public Relations!
Hogberg discovered advertising during her sophomore year at UNC Hussman, when MEJO 137 introduced her to a field that blended creative thinking with strategic problem‑solving. Through hands‑on client campaigns and classroom projects, she developed skills in creative strategy and collaboration.
Along the way, mentorship from Adjunct Instructor Allen Bosworth and Associate Professor Gary Kayye helped guide her professional growth and shape her creative direction.
Hogberg said UNC Hussman taught her the importance of investing in yourself, building relationships and asking for help when needed. Her advice to future students: Put yourself out there. What you put into UNC Hussman is what you get out of it. 🩵
#UNC #TarGram #UNC26
“The most enduring legacy Carolina left me was not from my classes or watching UNC basketball, or even creating comedy on Student Television. It was the people I met. The ones who became lifelong friends.”
UNC Hussman alumnus and “Saturday Night Live” senior writer Bryan Tucker shared this message while delivering UNC Hussman’s 2026 commencement address, encouraging graduates to find community and lean on the people who sustain them.
Tag a Tar Heel who’s been part of your journey 🩵
📸 York Wilson
#UNC #TarGram #UNC26 @btuckertime
🎓 The moment you realize you just graduated from the nation’s leading school of journalism and media at the country’s first public university.
📸 York Wilson
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🎓 Nyah Johnson’s Carolina story began long before she enrolled, with childhood memories of Tar Heel basketball and stories about campus shared by her mother. During a campus visit, while sitting at Top of the Hill with her mom, she knew. Carolina was home.
At UNC, Johnson rediscovered her love of writing and storytelling. Through FashionMash, UNC Hussman’s fashion communication and marketing program, she built professional portfolio work and contributed to Xpressions, a fashion literary magazine, blending journalism with art direction and visual storytelling.
“I enjoyed being on the art direction side and storytelling,” she said. “I was telling a story but in a different way, through image and visuals instead.”
Her work at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Research in Black Culture and History further brought together storytelling, creativity and community engagement, experiences she says brought clarity and a desire to give back.
#UNC #TarGram #UNC26
🎓 Corey Davis toured UNC-Chapel Hill in ninth grade with his dad and brother and instantly knew he wanted to be a Tar Heel. Seven years later, he’s preparing to graduate from his dream school.
During his time at Carolina, Davis discovered his passion for storytelling through UNC Hussman’s “Sports Xtra,” gaining hands‑on experience behind the camera and in the field, including covering a national championship season for Carolina women’s soccer and reporting from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
“I wouldn’t have had my college experience any other way,” Davis said. “It went from being my dream school to a dream come true.”
#UNC #TARgram #UNC26
Each year, UNC Hussman honors several of its graduates with outstanding student awards in recognition of their remarkable achievements as top students within each of their respective programs. Congratulations to the UNC Hussman 2026 outstanding graduates!
🎓 Tilde Hogberg
Lois and H.C. Cranford Outstanding Graduating Senior in Advertising and Public Relations
🎓 Aayas Joshi
John Robert Bittner Outstanding Graduating Senior in Journalism
🎓 Jane O’Hara
Outstanding M.A. in Digital Communications Graduate
🎓 Sarah Whitmarsh
Outstanding Ph.D. in Media and Communication Graduate
These Tar Heels will be recognized at UNC Hussman’s commencement ceremony on May 9.
#UNC #TARgram #UNC26
A team of UNC Hussman students led by Associate Professor Joe Bob Hester won second place in District Three of the American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition!
Shoutout to Ericsson Moncree who was named Best Presenter.
The National Student Advertising Competition is the premier college advertising competition, providing students with real-world experience creating an advertising, marketing and media campaign for a corporate client. This year’s client was the NFL.
Congrats, Tar Heels! 🎉
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