Everybody knows Michael Jordan, the legendary basketball player. But would they know what college he went to? Michael Jordan graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where I earned my Ph. D degree from the School of Nursing.

  My alta mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) was the first state university founded in the U.S. It was established in 1789 and currently there are approximately 25,000 students are enrolled for graduate and undergraduate programs. UNC Chapel Hill is not widely known in Korea and has a comparatively low number of international students, perhaps because it has a high quota for in-state students under the North Carolina laws, it is undeniably a prestigious school, once belonging to the public Ivy league. In 2010, the U.S. News & World Report ranked UNC Chapel Hill 5th among the nation's top public colleges and universities. Internationally, it is ranked 38th overall in the world.

  UNC has 14 schools: College of Arts & Sciences, Graduate School, Kenan-Flagler Business School, School of Education, School of Government, School of Information & Library Science, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, School of Law, School of Social Work, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, School of Public Health, School of Dentistry. What is remarkable is UNC has 5 schools in the field of public health.

  The UNC Chapel Hill campus is located near Duke University and North Carolina State University. Just as Silicon Valley is located close to Stanford University and UC Berkeley, the Research Triangle Park (one of the top three research parks in the U.S.), UNC Chapel Hill is located in one of the other 2 areas, so it is in a center of research and study. The area also offers career opportunities as it holds numerous research institutes in the field of biotechnology and medicine as well as the IBM Research Institute and the headquarters of SAS (Statistical Analysis System).
  "First in Flight," "Tar Heel," and "Carolina Blue" are few of the keywords that represent the state of North Carolina where UNC is located. The Wright brothers made the first successful flight on North Carolina's Outer Banks, and you can see many North Carolina license plates read “First In Flight" as a result. As for "Tar Heel," the exact origin of the term is unknown, but there are two theories. First, during the U. S. civil war, North Carolina troops did not stay in their place, hence there were complaints that the soldiers needed to have sticky tar on their heels. Second, the nickname is also believed to have originated from the fact that tar was one of the state's major products in North Carolina's early years when it was under British rule. Finally, "Carolina Blue" refers to the beautiful color of the North Carolina sky; it is also the color that represents UNC.

  UNC is prestigious not only in the field of study and research but also in the field of sports. The aforementioned Michael Jordan exemplifies this, UNC men's basketball team has won the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament five times; rooting for the basketball team every season is one of the funs you can have with your campus life at UNC. On the other hand, the adjacent Durham Bulls AAA baseball team may allow you a chance to meet Korean baseball players participating in minor league baseball.

  Having lived in Chapel Hill for four and a half years, I can confidently recommend UNC for students interested in studying in US colleges---this is a very safe area with no harmful surrounding elements, it is even comparatively warm in winter. The only drawback is the wonderful weather that grows trees and plants so well, also induces allergies; those with allergies should be prepared to take anti-histamine all year long. Nevertheless, everyone will fall in love with UNC if they see the campus with beautiful flowers all the year round and the cobalt blue Chapel Hill sky at dusk. They will dream of studying there.
 

-Hyunju Park, Department of Nursing