Union gallery highlights student experiences that go against traditional mold

Through words and portraits, "I, too, am Carolina" tells the stories of seven students who don’t fit the mold of the traditional UNC undergraduate: American, childless and 18 to 22 years old.

Junior health policy and management major Nupur Jain said she and her co-organizer got the idea for the gallery, which is on the first floor of the Union, in September. They worked with Multicultural Affairs and Diversity Outreach to organize it.

“We were sort of inspired by the Humans of New York campaign in a way to kind of show everyone’s story — everyone’s unique story — in their own words, and putting it with a picture kind of brings that to life,” she said.

First-year Kennedy Parkins said she went to the gallery's launch event because she heard there would be cookies, but she was pleasantly surprised by the pictures. She said she found the story of Laurence Dale Diao inspiring.

“I found it so interesting that all of his friends wanted to know about his culture — and it helped him get a deeper appreciation for it,” she said.

Diao, a sophomore economics major from the Philippines, said he grew up in a small farm town where everyone knows each other — a stark contrast to the U.S., where he said he didn’t know anyone at first.

“When I came into the United States, I wasn’t ashamed of my culture, but I thought there was a need to cover it for some reason,” he said.

He said even though he has been in the U.S. for 18 months, he is still adjusting to the culture.

“We Filipinos don’t have any sense of personal space and so sometimes I yearn for human contact — or even a hug or something like that — because that’s the norm for me,” he said. “It’s not a romantic gesture or anything like that, it’s just being close with someone.”

He said he still holds back some parts of his personality.

“I can say that I’m happy here, but it’s a different kind of happiness,” he said. “Like in the Philippines, I feel free when I laugh, people don’t judge me when I laugh too loud or whatever — but here, you have to have that sense of sophistication.”

Diao, who is a member of the Clef Hangers, chose to have his picture taken at the Forest Theatre, a place where he said he is able to have solitary moments on campus.

“This was the first place my roommate showed me when I got here to UNC, and immediately I fell in love with it,” he said. “It’s where I go when I feel any kind of emotion. When I’m really happy, I go here and sit. When I’m lonely, I go here and sing. Sometimes I read. It’s also where I jog. If I’m not in the library, I’m probably in Forest Theatre.”

Jain said the portrait of junior and single mom Emily Swink playing in the quad with her daughter made her smile.

“I think it’s really beautiful with the little child,” Jain said. “I think it’s something we don’t see too often on campus. Those pictures turned out so happy and lively.”

Senior geography and global studies major Sharanya Thiru, who grew up in Singapore, the U.K. and Norway, and whose parents are from Sri Lanka and Great Britain, said her passport, place of birth, ethnicity and race do not match up.

“In terms of filling out forms, there’s always like a ‘but’ when it comes to my story,” she said.

She said she appreciates that the campaign values uniqueness.

“While I had always recognized that I lived outside of boxes at Carolina, I didn’t necessarily think of myself as really ever having the need or space to say 'Hey, you know, I too am Carolina,’” she said.

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