UNC Global’s Fall 2019 Passport Drive Sees Record Numbers
November 22, 2019
UNC Global Affairs
Mary Morgan Keyser, orthodontic resident, UNC Adams School of Dentistry, attended the Fall 2019 passport drive.
There was a record turnout for UNC Global’s fall passport drive—448 attendees submitted passport applications, an increase from 411 in fall 2018 attendees.
The drive took place on November 13 and 14 on the fourth floor of the FedEx Global Education Center. Officials from the U.S. Department of State were on campus both days to accept new and renewal passport applications from Carolina students, faculty, staff and their families.
“The passport drive provides an important resource to students, faculty, staff and families from our Carolina community,” said Katie Bowler Young, director of global relations for UNC Global. Young’s office organizes the passport drive. “The drive is an important first step for many students to be able to study and travel abroad. I’m thrilled to see growth in the drive, particularly in the year in which UNC is launching the Global Guarantee.”
The passport drive supports Carolina’s Global Guarantee, an effort to ensure every student has access to global experiences while they are an undergraduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Center for Global Initiatives (CGI) continued its Passport to Go! (P2GO!) program, which provides financial support for eligible first-year and transfer students to obtain their first passport. This year, P2GO! provided 183 Carolina students with funding for their first U.S. passports.
Mary Morgan Keyser, an orthodontic resident at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, attended the drive to renew her passport and to apply for a name change. “I have had the UNC Global passport drive on my calendar for weeks now. Renewing my passport has been on my to-do list for more than two years, and I was so glad to have the convenience of the drive right here on campus. I am grateful for this drive and all who made it run so smoothly, ” said Keyser. She and her husband, Robb Keyser, who is a prosthodontics resident at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, plan to take part in a dental mission in the coming summer.
Sponsors of this event included UNC Global, the U.S. Department of State and the UNC One Card Office.
Media contact: Katie Bowler Young, director of Global Relations for UNC Global, kby@unc.edu.