There’s a reason people say #GDTBATH. Don’t take it from me, though.

Take it from the

people who wake up every day and choose to put on Carolina blue. In fact, Steve Kirschner,

UNC’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for Communications, has made that exact decision for

over 12,000 days of his life. “From the first day that I got here as an intern, I enjoyed the

people,” said Kirschner.

With over 19,000 undergraduate students at UNC Chapel Hill, only about 4% get the

opportunity to play their collegiate sport at the Division I level. When you hear the voices of

those athletes, it becomes clear that they chose to continue their athletic career at Chapel Hill for

reasons that go beyond just their sport; the college community is unmatched.

Donovan “Puff” Johnson, a rising junior on Carolina’s men’s basketball team, chose

Carolina for one main reason: “The family atmosphere was big for me. When I came here on my

visit, it was like home,” said Johnson.

This whole “family” thing may have had something to do with the fact that his older

brother, Cam Johnson, spent two years playing for the UNC basketball team as well. But by the

time that it was Puff’s turn to step into the college spotlight, Cam was playing for the Phoenix

Suns down in Arizona. Puff turned down an offer from the University of Arizona, an offer that

would place him closer to his brother, to join the Carolina community. The place that truly felt

like home to him.

That community is one of the things that Carolina’s sports programs emphasize. The

current coach of the men’s basketball team, Hubert Davis, was promoted to head coach in 2021

when Roy Williams retired. Though he has only been in his position for one season, Coach Davis

craves having athletes who care not only about the sport, but about serving the community as

well.
 Puff Johnson goes above and beyond with this quality that Coach Davis desires. Johnson

has spent time visiting several elementary schools and is planning on visiting children’s hospitals

this coming year in an effort to help and give back in any way he can. People like Puff make

Chapel Hill warm and comfortable for people of all ages, not only college students.

“It’s a great place to raise a family,” said Steve Kirschner. After working closely with

college athletes and coaches during his time at Carolina, Kirschner has had the ability to see the

impact of his athletes outside of their arenas. While most days, UNC athletes spend some amount

of time working on bettering their athletic skills (after all, UNC is the “University of National

Champions”), they also spend time enjoying the other things Carolina has to offer for their life as

a student in the Tar Heel community.

One of those athletes is Kamari Morales, a tight end for UNC’s football team. He wants

the media and people outside of the community to remember that the athletes you see on TV are

humans too. Not only do they make mistakes, but they do normal human things as well. They

live normal human lives, just like us. When deciding where to commit to play as an athlete, he

looked at the other opportunities that would come with it. Education and community were both

factors in his decision.

After having narrowed his offers down to UNC and Ole Miss, he decided that it felt right

at Carolina. He said he wasn’t leaving until he got a degree. Now, two years after having fulfilled

his goal of achieving his degree, he is continuing to take advantage of the opportunities UNC has

to offer from an academic standpoint. He is continuing his education in graduate school, while

also continuing to pursue his athletic dream as a Tar Heel.

That continuation is just one of the few affirmations to the love of being a part of the

Carolina community. While championships are constantly being clutched and quality educations
are forever being chased, there is always so much more Carolina blue blood being shed behind

the scenes. Johnson, Morales, and the rest of the UNC athletes will always be confident

competitors, but the more “human” things that the athletes continue to do will be what

demonstrate the reasons people go to Carolina, and why every day is a good day to be a Tar

Heel.