Adolfo Alvarez leads with gratitude
Carolina’s first Latino student body president says representing 32,000 people is a way to honor the University that changed his life.
Adolfo Alvarez ’26 went from not knowing if he was going to attend college to becoming UNC-Chapel Hill’s 2025-26 student body president.
As the University’s first Latino student body president, Alvarez embraces the challenge of representing his peers, bridging connections across campus and leadership, and ensuring that every student feels heard.
“I represent 32,000 people,” he said. “Serving as president gives me the chance to show up for students, to listen and to learn from them. I believe we’re stronger when we bring different perspectives together.”
Alvarez grew up in Guerrero, Mexico, and moved by himself to the United States when he was 16. As a high school senior, he lived alone and worked overtime at a QuikTrip gas station in Arizona to make ends meet.
At Carolina, Alvarez received a Carolina Covenant and a Wachovia Chancellor’s scholarships.
“I didn’t have much in the United States at the time; it was just me,” Alvarez said. “Carolina offered to pay for my education and had it all figured out for me. Carolina gave me everything.”
Alvarez is double-majoring in media and journalism at UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and in global studies in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. He has had summer internships with IHG Hotels and Resorts in Atlanta and the OneCarolina Summer Internship Program, where he got real-life experience in university development.
“In Hussman, we learn how to articulate things, how to communicate mass messaging and also balance the audiences you’re working with. That’s helped me in my term of student body president and at both of my internships,” he said. “Communication is such an important component of being in leadership.”
Since taking office, he has worked to improve communication between University administration and students. At the same time, he’s helping launch efforts like the Carolina Closet, a project to provide students with free access to professional attire for interviews, internships and job opportunities.
“By working with donors and campus partners, I hope to establish the Carolina Closet as a permanent resource, similar to a food pantry but focused on formal wear,” he said.
Since election night, Alvarez’s life catapulted into a state of constant busyness that he’s never experienced before. But he’s not fazed by it; he’s grateful.
“My life has changed a lot,” he said. “You go from being just a student to being a text away from the chancellor and serving on the UNC Board of Trustees and speaking at convocation and being on the stage at graduation. It’s such a privilege to represent so many people, and I’m genuinely excited because it gives me a reason to talk to everyone. If I see a random event on campus, even if I’m not sure I’m invited, I’ll show up and say, ‘Hey, everyone!’”
For Alvarez, serving as student body president isn’t just leadership, it’s gratitude in action, a way to honor the University that changed his life by devoting himself fully to the students he now represents.
“I always knew that I wanted to pay back everything the University gave me,” he said. “I came from an environment of uncertainty, and UNC only wanted me to worry about succeeding. I don’t see a better way to give back than representing the people, giving my energy and devoting my time to students. This opportunity is so full circle and exactly what I was hoping for, to give back to Carolina.”
