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Carolina: Where good things happen
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The Grant children from left to right: Caroline, Wilson, Lillie and Davis (not pictured, Kate) on the porch of their Chapel Hill home after evacuating New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. |
When Dr. Arthur Gordon “Chip” Grant III ’94 and his wife, Nolan Tattersall Grant ’94, and their family fled their native New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, they sought refuge in the only other home they’ve ever known — Chapel Hill. “Carolina has always meant a lot to us,” Chip Grant said. “We were fortunate to not only be able to evacuate New Orleans when Katrina hit, but to also have a destination…a place to be.”
Their return to Chapel Hill helped reinforce their Carolina ties. Having grown up hearing the Carolina Fight song and developing the proper disdain for Carolina’s dark blue neighbors eight miles down Tobacco Road in Durham, the Grants enjoy a keen and personal relationship with this southern part of heaven that endures. “Carolina has always been and will continue to be a conduit for good things,” Grant said. “We felt like we had come home to an old friend after Katrina. When folks found out we were from New Orleans, they just couldn’t seem to do enough.”
The Grants said it was just that type of atmosphere that not only helped them recover, but also helped them go back to New Orleans and give back to Carolina. They cite a number of reasons for supporting the Annual Fund at the Chancellors’ Club level, but primarily they say it enables them to properly steward the wonderful gifts that benefited them as students, and to have a positive and immediate impact on the lives of today’s students. “It was in making that transition from student to responsible adulthood that we realized just how much we had benefited from the generosity of others; we wanted to do our part,” Grant said. “We knew that we were O. K., so we made it a priority to support the good work of the University. With the prospect of five children to rear, it was time to look towards the future.”
Chip Grant, a cardiologist at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans, one of a few to remain open immediately following the storm, says Carolina’s commitment to public service continues to inspire him both personally and professionally. “It’s one of the reasons I chose this profession and it influenced Nolan to pursue her master’s in education and to teach,” Grant said. “It’s important to care about others and your community and to demonstrate that. We want our kids to inherit that legacy and pass it on.”
They certainly have a great start.
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