Wood Scholar Addie Afeworki ’26 graduates from Carolina and looks back at the opportunities and experiences that paved the way for what comes next.
Written by Kate Slate, University Development
After growing up in New York City, Addie Afeworki ’26 moved with her parents and two sisters from New York City to Waxhaw, North Carolina in high school. Her parents – business owners who emigrated from the East African country of Eritrea – wanted to provide their daughter with the best chances of earning admission to her dream school: UNC-Chapel Hill. Despite the family’s move, Addie didn’t meet eligibility requirements to apply as an in-state student.
“I thought I wasn’t going to get in after looking at the in-state versus out-of-state acceptance rates,” said Addie. “I was devastated.”
Against the odds, Addie was accepted to Carolina a year later. Alongside UNC-Chapel Hill, she earned admission to schools like Cornell University, New York University and Northeastern University. Touring UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus and speaking with students only confirmed her original wish.
“I came to Chapel Hill, and I saw how beautiful it was. I remember interacting with students who got into places like Yale and Harvard, and they chose UNC,” said Addie. “The basketball rivalry, the Carolina blue, the school pride, Franklin Street…There was so much life here.”
Addie was not only accepted into the University, specifically as an assured admit to the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, but was also awarded a scholarship to help pay for its cost. As a recipient of the Wood Family Scholarship, she received funding over the course of her four-year education in addition to a close-knit community of peers – an outlet she needed her freshman year.
When she first got to campus in summer 2022, Addie was overwhelmed. Despite having spent the first 17 years of her life in a city of more than 8 million people, it was UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus that felt unnerving. Moving into Hinton James Residence Hall, finding buildings across campus and attending new student events left her feeling homesick. It was a Wood Scholar retreat her first week that offered Addie a sense of belonging.
While playing games and sharing a meal with other scholars, she met another student from East Africa, the same region where her parents are from. The scholar was vulnerable in sharing her experiences, said Addie, and helped provide insight into what it was like being an East African student at UNC-Chapel Hill. She and other scholars shared their challenges and how they adjusted.
“They definitely helped me feel like this was home away from home,” said Addie. “I got into Carolina having a community.”
The Wood Scholars Program served as a stabilizing force among the ebbs and flows of Addie’s four years at Carolina: becoming a residential assistant, working part-time as a cake decorator at Cold Stone on Franklin Street and preparing for life after graduation. Throughout the year, scholars would convene through programming, oftentimes sharing a meal service à la française to encourage conversation and engagement among attendees. The program also provided Addie with a mentor to turn to while navigating college life.
“I was in contact with her and I texted her as much as possible if I needed help with business school classes because she was taking classes that I was about to register for,” said Addie. “I contacted her almost, I want to say once a week. I think when registration came around, it was almost every day.”
In addition to providing a community to turn toward, the program required scholars to dedicate 10 hours a semester to volunteering. Addie’s time spent volunteering in a hospital and shadowing medical professionals would end up influencing her career aspirations.
From jewelry making to dental school
With both parents self-employed, Addie adopted an entrepreneurial mindset early on. She and her sisters would scour Coney Island’s beach for plastic and recyclable materials, melting their findings and creating jewelry to sell at their dad’s store. Kenan-Flagler equipped Addie with a strong business acumen, but by sophomore year she sought a more hands-on endeavor; a nod to her earlier days of crafting handmade jewelry. She landed on dentistry, citing it as an intersection of business, creativity and helping others out. She kept her business major but took on a chemistry minor in fulfilment of dental school prerequisites.
“I knew business was something I was still passionate about, but I wasn’t adamant about going into the corporate world,” said Addie. “I was more interested in seeing if I could find a nonprofit or find a way to help others. Maybe open my own dental practice, take in people that can’t afford it or travel and do dental work in underserved communities in developing countries.”
Fulfilling this dream begins with the Dental Admission Test (DAT). Addie plans to take two years off before hopefully being accepted into dental school. She’ll use this time to study and apply to schools but also hopes to teach English abroad. By immersing herself in different cultures, she can better serve her eventual patients, said Addie.
Closing a chapter
Addie will spend the summer months taking classes at Carolina – indulging in coursework that piqued her interest but never fit her schedule – before graduating in August. As she approaches graduation, she’s grateful for the scholarship that helped get her here.
“Freshman year, I was out of state, so I remember my parents paying out of pocket, and I could see the pressure on them trying to have me and my sister going to college at the same time. I just remember seeing the pressure and thinking, ‘I can’t put them through this,’” said Addie. “Leonard Wood alleviated that stress on my family. My number one goal is just to make sure that my family is comfortable and not under stress. Leonard Wood did that for me, and that made me a lot more focused in school, so I didn’t have to worry about my family.”
The Wood Family Scholars Program has helped students afford Carolina for more than a decade. The generosity of Leonard ’72 and Carla Wood has provided tuition assistance and programming for numerous scholars, helping ensure outstanding students have the chance to attend Carolina.
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