Matt Ezzell Wins a Tanner Graduate Teaching Award

(Left: My nephew, Matt Ezzell, faces the camera in the edge of the white inner circle of the center jump-ball zone at half-court of the UNC-Chapel Hill Dean Dome during half-time of the Clemson game on 4 Feb 2006.)


A few weekends ago, on 4 February 2006, I had the great honor of watching my nephew, Matt Ezzell, as he received a Tanner Graduate Teaching Award at half-time of the North Carolina-Clemson game at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill. Matt works in the Sociology Department at UNC-Chapel Hill and has been an advocate for the elimination of domestic violence. His work with the Orange County Rape Crisis Center and his local speaking engagements have helped bring the topic of domestic violence out of the shadows for many people.











(Left: A near-futile attempt to catch Matt's image on the big-screen during the award ceremony in the Dean Dome.)

Matt received two tickets for the game and made me very happy by allowing me, out of all the people in his life who could have gone, to attend the game with him and to witness the honor that he received from his students and peers. I have been meaning to post a couple of pictures from the event, but with all that has been going on with my mom, there has been little time to do so.

In addition to the great honor of seeing the next generation of my family gain acclaim, I also had the wonderful experience of attending a UNC Tar Heel basketball game this season. We watched together as the boys in Carolina Blue defeated Clemson and furthered their hopes of climbing the charts in the Atlantic Coast Conference. I am a bit superstitious about what I say about my team. I hope that it won’t affect the remainder of our season if I mention that we have climbed up to rank second in the ACC as of right now, even though our team was picked to finish no higher than sixth in the league. When a program loses its top seven players and still comes back with heart, talent and determination to compete and win, I for one, can not help but admire their effort. I love this team!



Thank you, Matt for the honor and for the ticket! There are few things in life that could make me happier than to see one of my family members receive an award in front of 21,000 or so people. Watching the Tar Heels play is not too shabby either.

(Left: The UNC Tar Heels and the Clemson Tigers take the court just before tip-off on 4 Feb 2006.)

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