On Thursday evening, January 19th, the UNC women's basketball team had just notched a win against archrival 13th ranked Duke Blue Devils — a sure recipe for bad feelings by Duke's vocal students and fans who made the 8-mile trip from Durham. However, for at least two young students clad in their Duke sportswear, that wasn't the case.
I am a UNC graduate (1983) and I'm living with ALS. Because of the debilitating disease, I have difficulty moving around. After the game, I was sitting on my rollator just outside of Carmichael Arena waiting to be picked up by my daughter, Avery. As she was driving up I began to slowly rise from my rollator to prepare to load it in the trunk when I heard young voices from behind. They were asking if they could assist me. When I turned around, of course I thought I would see fellow Tarheels offering to help. I was wrong!
The offer to help was coming from two Blue Devils fans. Imagine my surprise! They helped to load the rollator and then assisted getting me into the car. I was extremely grateful.
I want to publicly thank these two fine students from Duke University. Sadly, I didn't get their names. However, I was very impressed by their courtesy. On this night, they were exceptional ambassadors of Duke University who showed "outstanding character", exactly the kind of student James B. Duke wanted at the school.
Thank you!
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