Carolina introduces its brand campaign: First. And For All.

There’s an unspoken connection when you spot someone wearing the Carolina brand and signature Carolina Blue — the feeling you get knowing they take the same pride in saying, “I am a Tar Heel” or simply, “I believe in Carolina.” It’s a shared experience within a community, one that understands what makes Chapel Hill so special and is passionate about the University’s commitment to support all North Carolinians through its teaching, research and service.

It’s something that brought comfort to Carolina senior Kailey Wadsworth ’26 while she was nearly 8,000 miles away in Kikuyu, Kenya, completing an internship at a hospital as part of the Morehead-Cain Global Perspective program.

“I was traveling into Nairobi to shop at one of the markets, and it was my first time alone since I had arrived in Kenya,” she said. “The taxi was driving down a dirt road, and out the window I see someone wearing a T-shirt with the big Carolina logo on it. It made me feel like, ‘OK, I’m going to be fine.’ Seeing that gave me this sense of community, a sense of home that is always with me, and the realization that all roads lead back to Carolina. It reminded me that Carolina is always going to be there.”

North Carolinians will soon see the new campaign on billboards around the Tar Heel State. Read more about the campaign on the First. And For All. website.

The Carolina community and the values that unite every Tar Heel are the foundation of the nation’s first public university. It’s one built on a commitment to serving first generation Tar Heels as well as those who came before and a dedication and responsibility to all North Carolinians as the University of the people for 232 years and counting. When the call for help rings out, Tar Heels answer — not just in the state’s 100 counties but across the country and around the world.

Wadsworth experienced that firsthand in that hospital in Kenya.

“People at the hospital were familiar with UNC because, in previous years, people from the University had come to volunteer their time there as well,” she said. “It’s so great to know that we’re having this big impact both within the U.S. and globally, too.”

The University is a living commitment to lead through discovery, partnership and opportunity — First. And For All. It’s a commitment powered by Carolina’s unmatched dedication to making higher education accessible for all North Carolinians, both as an academic opportunity and in service to the people of the state. It’s a commitment rooted in the dedication to public progress, to be a leader in research that drives breakthroughs and solves real problems. Because what happens at Carolina lights the way for what’s next for the state and beyond.

That’s the core of Carolina’s new brand campaign — inspired by more than 7,000 members of the Tar Heel community who shared what they feel unites students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters far and wide.

“This really embodies what we stand for as a university. It’s true to the values that have always guided us,” said Veronica Flaspoehler ’08, president of Carolina Alumni. “Carolina will evolve and our priorities may change, but our values don’t. This speaks to so many generations of Tar Heels and is something we can all get behind.”