从幼儿园到卡罗莱纳
Kacie 霍顿 and DeAndre Sawyer have been at each other's side for almost two decades. The two graduating Tar Heels will celebrate another milestone together this weekend at Spring Commencement.
When best friends Kacie 霍顿 and DeAndre Sawyer arrived at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019, they were eager for the endless opportunities they would have at Carolina. They didn’t know where their college careers would take them, 但他们知道无论如何, they would be by each other’s side as they had since their first days of kindergarten.
The two will now complete that journey together this weekend. 霍顿, 社会学专业, 索耶和, a double major in communication studies and global studies, will both have their degrees conferred at graduation on Sunday, adding another major milestone that the lifelong friends have experienced together.
一生的友谊
霍顿 索耶和 first met in their hometown of Camden, 北卡罗莱纳, at Grandy Primary Elementary School almost 20 years ago.
凯西和迪安德烈在小学.
“The length of our friendship feels like its own natural thing. 它就是存在，”索耶说.
Growing up in a small town, the two attended the same schools through high school. In their high school yearbook, they were both voted “most likely to succeed.”
Sawyer and 霍顿 applied to Carolina and celebrated when they were both accepted. The Tar Heels are the first in their families to attend college and becoming a college student meant more than just pursuing a degree for Sawyer.
“我来这里不仅仅是为了学位. I wanted to come for all the possibilities that were here, all the experience to be had and all the networks that I could create,索耶说。.
The two shared many special moments in Chapel Hill as they navigated life as college students together. One of those includes sitting in the front row of a Carolina-Wake Forest football game. 索耶在学生公羊俱乐部工作, an on-campus organization that helps provide opportunities for student-athletes, 抢到了比赛的好座位.
“We got our 10 seconds of fame because ESPN pointed the camera right at us, 最后我们上了电视,霍顿说。. “就像，‘哇. Someone like me from a small town is literally on TV right now just for going to a game.'”
总是近，从不远
因为他们走的是不同的学术道路, Sawyer and 霍顿 had classes together only in their final semester, 这只是巧合. When 霍顿 walked into her class about modern-day Korea, she saw Sawyer was already there.
The Tar Heels both voted most likely to succeed in high school.
“When she called my name on the first day of class, it was a full-circle moment,索耶说。. “We started our first class together [in kindergarten], and we are ending our last class together.”
毕业后, the two will live more than just a few miles away from each other for the first time in 16 years. 霍顿 is looking for work at a nonprofit in Charlotte, Raleigh or Pennsylvania; Sawyer will pursue a master’s degree in video journalism at the UNC 赫斯曼新闻与媒体学院.
“凯西一直都是我的支柱. She is always there, and it’s not only support, but it’s always directing me on my right path. It’s almost like she can see if I’m fully myself or if something’s wrong. 她总是在那里支持我，”索耶说.
最后一个仪式
霍顿 索耶和 say the key to a successful and lasting friendship is communication. They both explained that they’ve remained close because they’ve always given each other room to grow and no matter what, 他们是彼此最大的支持者.
“不管你跟他说什么，他都能把你忽冷忽热. He always tells me that I’m going to succeed and I’m going to be awesome,霍顿说。.
凯西和迪安德烈在高中毕业典礼上.
这个周末, 霍顿 索耶和 will gather at Kenan Stadium with their friends and family for one last graduation together.
“It feels great to be graduating together because we’ve seen each other grow, 这是我们共同的最后成就,霍顿说。.
索耶赞同霍顿的看法.
当我回头看幼儿园的照片时, it’s crazy to think that we ended up in the same place again. 它总是像，‘哇. 这是怎么发生的?’”索耶说。. "我们被卡罗莱纳录取的几率, 即使在大流行发生的时候, 我们可能会偏离另一条航线. Even just graduation-wise, we could have graduated in different years. 但几乎一直都是这样, 我们一直步调一致, 紧挨着.”
