Winter Commencement on Dec. 11 was an opportunity for graduating Tar Heels to relish in their achievements and celebrate all the work it took to earn a degree from Carolina.

Three years after applying for C-STEP as a Guilford Community College student, Gerson Aguilera is now just a few days away from becoming the first in his family to graduate from college.

Jeliyah “Liyah” Clark is among the first students from the Chancellor’s Science Scholars Program to graduate with a doctoral degree. She will become a double Tar Heel at Winter Commencement on Sunday.

The Carolina English professor talks about failure, the value of walking and the origin of his life-changing “napkin doodles.”