{"id":16416,"date":"2016-10-26T15:49:56","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T15:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.sites.unc.edu\/?p=16416"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:29:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:29:30","slug":"from-overwhelmed-freshman-to-chief-legal-officer-james-wellons-supports-summer-bridge-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=16416","title":{"rendered":"From \u201coverwhelmed freshman\u201d to chief legal officer, James Wellons supports Summer Bridge students"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"wellons-james2\"
James Wellons ’86<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou have to prove them wrong, James. You have to!\u201d<\/p>\n

These words of encouragement still resonate for James Wellons \u201986.\u00a0 Wellons earned a double major in political science and African-American studies at Carolina and later graduated from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University. Today, he lives in Philadelphia and is chief legal officer at Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Bancroft Neurohealth. Wellons recently was named to the Arts and Sciences Foundation\u2019s Board of Directors.<\/p>\n

He recently created the James A. Wellons Summer Bridge Scholars Fund to help students cover the cost of attending the program. He said, \u201cIt\u2019s important that all students have an opportunity to succeed at Carolina and, for some, Summer Bridge is the best way to achieve that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1982, Wellons was an overwhelmed freshman from Spring Hope, N.C., when he turned to Elson Floyd, then special assistant to the vice chancellor and dean of the division of student affairs, for advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a bad case of the freshman blues. I went to see Dr. Floyd with the intent of telling him I was going to drop out of Carolina. He listened attentively to my complaints, and when I was done he walked over to a file cabinet and pulled out a sheet of paper. He said, \u2018This paper says that you\u2014James\u2014because of your background, will most likely not graduate from Carolina.\u2019 I was stunned. Dr. Floyd said, \u2018You have to prove them wrong, James. You have to!\u2019 That was a defining moment for me. I buckled down. I knew what I had to do\u2014I had to prove them wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students like Wellons who come from rural areas and small towns in North Carolina are invited to join Summer Bridge when they\u2019re accepted to Carolina. Summer Bridge is a six-week academic program in which students take a college-level English course along with a math or science course. Students also attend workshops and presentations that introduce them to UNC.<\/p>\n

\u201cSummer Bridge students are often first in their families to attend college,\u201d said Marcus Collins, director of Summer Bridge and associate dean of the Center for Student Success and Academic Counseling. \u201cThe program helps students learn how to navigate the system of the university, which is vastly different from their high school experience. Students often say how Summer Bridge helps them understand how college works and even how it helps their families gain a better understanding of their experience. Summer Bridge has a lasting influence because students attribute their success at UNC to the program and the foundation it provided to begin their Carolina experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the university pays tuition, room and board for most Summer Bridge students, many participants face the difficult decision to give up summer work and wages to attend the program. They must also pay for expenses above those funded by UNC. Wellons\u2019 gift will make the decision for many students to attend Summer Bridge easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to have Mr. Wellons\u2019 generous support,\u201d Collins said.\u00a0\u201cHis gift will allow us to expand our reach and support more students. Summer Bridge is about more than just credit hours. It is about a transformative experience, one that supports undergraduates\u00a0who will\u00a0be the next generation of leaders in our state, country and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what advice he would give students considering attending Summer Bridge, Wellons said, \u201cGo! It will make you a better student and quite possibly a better person. While at Carolina take advantage of every opportunity you have to experience new things.\u00a0Engage with people and cultures different from yourself.\u00a0Learn new skills and enjoy the breadth of the Carolina experience.\u00a0You may never have an opportunity like this again in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Sarah Upton<\/em>
\nArts and Sciences Foundation<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou have to prove them wrong, James. You have to!\u201d These words of encouragement still resonate for James Wellons \u201986.\u00a0 Wellons earned a double major in political science and African-American studies at Carolina and later graduated from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University. Today, he lives in Philadelphia and is chief legal officer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foundation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16416"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47898,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16416\/revisions\/47898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}