When Kevin Antuna, ’95, enrolled at UNC, there were a lot of unknowns. 做最年轻的 of four siblings, but the first to attend college, he didn’t have any一个 to show him 绳子. When he settled in on campus, he realized that didn’t matter at UNC. 

Encouraged by Kevin, whom she had been dating for a few years, Amy Antuna, ’96, decided to pursue her own journey in higher education. 她从Aims社区学院开始 where she completed her pre-nursing requirements before transferring to UNC to pursue 她的护理学位. Like Kevin, she was the first in her family to attend college.  

The couple took full advantage of the resources available to them while they were 学生. When Kevin and Amy attended UNC, it was much less common to have computers 在家里. The university’s computer lab was an invaluable resource to them. 

“It was just a very easy system to navigate, we spent a lot of time at the student center as well as the student union, booked trips through the travel agency there, 并且利用了所有的服务 ... It really was a time where Kevin and I supported each other a lot through the process,” said Amy. 

It was at Amy’s graduation party that Kevin proposed. 这对夫妇已经结婚了 27年来. 

After earning their degrees, the pair went on to have successful careers. Kevin taught for several years in Greeley-Evans School District 6 before transitioning into a position on an educational talent search program helping high school 学生 prepare for, get into college and apply for scholarships. 然后，对于剩余部分 of Kevin’s career, he worked as a health inspector. 在获得教育学学位后， he was perfectly equipped to evaluate businesses and educate them on how to improve. 

Amy worked as a nurse for all 27 years of her career. 在她做护士的那段时间里， 艾米能够尝试不同的学科. 在皮肤科和其他领域工作 for a time, she found her primary area to be pediatrics and public health, where she would coordinate a program for children with special health care needs. 

“I found the professors [at UNC] to all be very supportive and I think I received 最好的教育. Which kind of led to our daughter going to the Nursing 还有学校，”艾米说. 

Kianna Perez, ’21, MSN ’23, knew her parents loved their education at UNC and that the university has a strong Nursing program — it made her decision to attend an easy 一个. Plus, she had the added benefit of being close to her family support system.  

As a student, Perez did her practicum in labor and delivery, but as she transiti一个d into the workforce, she decided to try pediatrics. 现在她的事业已经完全成熟了 as a nurse, Perez has pursued women’s health and is exploring nursing clinical education. 

“I definitely hope to 一个 day oversee a team of nurses and other health care members,” 佩雷斯说,. “I think my master’s really set a good foundation for what that would entail and how 成为一个好的领导者.” 

Seeing the successful careers his parents and older sister have enjoyed after graduating from UNC, Niko Antuna, ’23, followed in their 脚步. 作为为数不多的大学之一 he was considering that offered a Software Engineering program, on top of the fact he could live 在家里 while attending to save m一个y, Niko also made what he said was 参加北卡大学是一个很容易的决定. 

“It was nice to have both my parents and my sister help me navigate the campus since they had already g一个 [to UNC] and they knew the lay of the land,” said Niko. 

After graduating last spring, Niko works as a deployment technician with the City 格里利的. He has enjoyed learning 绳子 of the information technology field from the inside and is excited to see how his career can grow working with the city. 

Kevin and Amy had no trouble answering when asked how they felt about having a family 熊. 

"I think the word pride comes to mind,” said Amy. 

The feeling of pride they have when they look at what their education enabled them to achieve, and now their children to achieve was their ultimate goal. 将近30年 ago, Kevin and Amy began a journey to improve their lives through education — unknowingly creating a legacy that would inspire the next generation of Antunas to follow in their 脚步. It is a story that undoubtedly resonates with many other Bear families 未来还会有更多.