Building Bridges

“My passion is people — especially downtrodden people, people who feel invisible, people who feel they don’t have a voice.”

Jackie Overton, a longtime staff member in the Department of Public Safety, loved Carolina. As Employee Forum chair, her impassioned speeches revealed that love, but more importantly, they revealed a love for the people who make up the University. And that love drove her to build bridges — between faculty, staff, administration and students.

Overton passed away in April 2017, but her legacy lives on at Carolina.

In January 2018, she was one of 19 people honored as part of Carolina’s Bridge Builder initiative — which names need-based scholarships as a tribute to Bridge Builders who paved the way for a more inclusive Carolina community.

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The Bridge Builders scholarships are just one way Carolina maintains its commitment as a leader in access and affordability. As part of the University’s $4.25 billion fundraising campaign, For All Kind: the Campaign for Carolina, The Carolina Edge, a new campaign signature initiative focused on recruiting top students, will seek to raise $1 billion for undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships, including the Bridge Builders scholarships, which receive donations through the History Makers FundsOpens in new window.