Charlotte attorney chairs Covenant alumni board

The Carolina Covenant is what brought Charles W. Hands III ’14 to UNC-Chapel Hill.

The scholarship program gave the bright-eyed teenager ready to study chemistry the financial security to attend the University.

Now he wants to make sure current students have the same opportunities.

The Charlotte-based attorney stepped up to serve as chair of the Carolina Covenant alumni advisory board in the scholarship’s 20th anniversary year, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of his graduation from Carolina. Hands continues to value the impact of the Covenant on his education and career.

“It was a game changer,” said Hands. “It was life changing for me.”

Hands moved to Chapel Hill from Wilmington to pursue his undergraduate degree. Initially, he found it difficult to adapt to the new scenery and pace of life. But the Covenant helped smooth the transition, providing Hands with a family at Carolina. Through professional mentoring, movie nights and the guidance of Covenant academic coordinator Fred Clark, he eased into college life.

“There were thousands and thousands of people there, but these people knew me, and they were looking for my best interest,” said Hands.

In this environment and through discussion with academic and professional advisers from the Covenant team, Hands realized his passion in life — helping people.

He knew that wherever he found himself in life, he wanted to give back to those in need. After consulting with Clark, he made the decision to change his major to African, African American and diaspora studies and begin the pre-law track.

And the Covenant program threw its support behind him, no questions asked. The team immersed Hands in the law school experience through simulated classrooms and free LSAT prep.

“When I got into law school, my goal was to make Fred Clark in the Covenant proud for supporting me, and so I said, ‘Hey, when I go into law school, I’m going to strive to become No. 1 in the class,” Hands said. “After my first semester, I was No. 1 in the class. I actually did it.”

From financial aid to pizza dinners to grad school preparation, the Covenant made its mark on Hands’ time at Carolina.

And he wanted to make sure that, once beyond college, he could give back to the program that gave him so much. Hands now works with his uncle at Hands Law Firm in Charlotte, but he never strays far from his mission to help those around him or the Covenant.

Through the North Carolina Bar Association, he volunteers for programs like Wills for Heroes. He also finds opportunities through local organizations, teaching opportunities for students at nearby universities, and church groups — anything that enables him to give back to his community.

His commitment to fostering spaces for equitable access and education led him to the Carolina Covenant alumni advisory board.

“He came to our senior banquet and all of the alumni, the students, wouldn’t even let him leave,” said Ann Trollinger, associate director of the Carolina Covenant and alumni engagement and coordinator of the alumni advisory board. “They were saying he was such a motivational speaker.”

His tenure as chair gives him the chance to reconnect with alumni and current students, and make good on his word to Clark.

“Before I graduated from Carolina, I had promised him one day, ‘When I’m on the other side, if I can see this through and this works out like you keep saying, I’m going to be 100% involved with Covenant as much as I can,” Hands said. “I’ll always support the Carolina Covenant.”