MEJO 377 Magazine Project

1. CAROLINA
UNL CKED
women’s lacrosse
women’s field
hockey
women’s rowing
dance team
LINDSAY HARRIS
September 2020 Issue
HEAR FROM
THE HEELS
“WHO DO
YOU PLAY
FOR???”“I wouldn’t be alive if
it wasn’t for her.”
“...maybe one day those
who can’t, can.”
“I’ve always been a Tar
Heel fan because of my
mom.”
“He’s always been the
one to come to
everything.”

2. Carolina Unlocked
Our Mission
Our goal as a magazine is to provide our readers
with unique insights into UNC-Chapel Hill athletics.
We provide feature stories on our athletes including
life outside of sports. We dive deep into what makes
these players who they are, and we wish to give
readers a story that they cannot get anywhere else.
These athletes are more than their sport, and they
have a story to tell. Carolina Unlocked is here to
be the voice of these student-athletes. We choose
to feature athletes ranging from all sports because
everyone deserves to be in the spotlight. Our first
issue features four women athletes because it is
important to us that women in sports are recognized
just as much as men. Our magazine is not limited to
only women’s sports, and is open to covering athletes
from all teams. This “Who do you play for?” issue
brings attention to some of the less recognized sports
at UNC including the dance team and the rowing
team. Carolina Unlocked exists to inspire readers to
see athletes as more than their statistics.
1

3. Extras
September 2020
Issue 1
15
26
07
08
Features
03
27
09
03
09
17
22
The fight for Life
The next generation
All for a smile
Rowing her way into a
new look on life
Maggie Skillman describes how
lacrosse brought her life full circle
Brooke Behan reveals why she
dedicates her time to field hockey
Lindsay Harris explains why the
dance team means so much to her
Zoe Rose discusses how her
rowing events led to family bonding
UNC women’s lacrosse players
rediscover the meaning behind
playing
UNC Crossword Puzzle
Coronavirus cancels the season
2020 season schedules17
Learn more about UNC Pitt Hopkins
Research
22
CONTENTS
2

4. Terry Nehring-Redmon holding Maggie Skillman
The Fight For lifeBy: Avery Bain
....
3

5. She knows that she should not be alive, let alone
be able to play Division I lacrosse today. She has been
a fighter since the first day of her life, and that
mentality will follow her until her last, said her NICU
nurse Terry Nehring-Redmon. A bond beginning at
Maggie’s birth has reminded her how one person can
change your life for the better.
Maggie Skillman was born severely premature
at 26 weeks with her twin sister, Caroline, at the
University of North Carolina Children’s Hospital in
2000. Maggie was on vents, had workups for sepsis
and several IV’s for delivering nutrition, said
Nehring-Redmon. She had so many tubes, she looked
like a real-life version of the Operation game board.
“My dad was told that he could lose both his wife
and his children because of how dangerous the
emergency C-section was,” Maggie said. Steve Skillman
was finishing his MBA at the Kenan-Flagler Business
School at the time.
Imagine forgetting how to do one thing your body
is trained to do– breathe. In the time it took you to
read the paragraphs above, Maggie and her sister
would have gone without a single breath. How many
did you take? Both Skillman girls had apnea of
prematurity and would have needed stimulation and
caffeine to be able to continue reading and breathing.
“My dad’s wedding band could slide all the way up
to my hips,” Maggie said, “The reason I am alive is
entirely because of my NICU nurse.” She remembers
her dad joking about how her and her sister looked
more like birds than humans. To be fair, Steve didn’t
have anything to compare them to since they were his
first and only children.
Nehring-Redmon was Maggie’s primary Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit nurse, meaning that she would take
care of her whenever she was scheduled to work. She
remembers being very upset if for some reason she
couldn’t have the girls for her shift because she felt a
huge sense of responsibility for them. She had a
nurturing instinct and said that “No one could take care
of them the same way I would. I absolutely loved the
girls.” Her relationship with Sarah and Steve, Maggie’s
parents, blossomed in the NICU but grew overtime, she
said. “We all had a common goal to get the girls home.”
The Skillman girls were discharged, and their family
moved to Boston after two months. The Skillman’s
stayed in touch with the NICU nurse through Christmas
cards and email exchanges. Nehring-Redmon began
visiting Cape Cod every year, making a special stop to
see the Skillman family. “Some families you get really
close to and the Skillman’s were one of those families
for me,” she said, “I looked forward to seeing them
every year.”
As Maggie grew up, she wanted nothing more than
to be a Tar Heel. She was truly born and bred. “I wanted
to go to Carolina before I even knew what college was.
My parents definitely brainwashed me, but in the best
way,” Maggie said. This was the beginning of Maggie
drinking the Carolina Blue Kool-Aid.
. . . .....
Maggie in the NICU 4

6. She started playing lacrosse for her school and her
town at a young age, but it wasn’t until she had two
serious concussions in middle school when she began
playing goalie. “Before that, I played wherever the coach
put me,” Maggie said. However, her athletic trainer told
her that playing goalie was the only safe option if she
wanted to continue playing lacrosse.
“I had never touched a lacrosse goalie stick before I
met him,” Maggie said, talking about her goalie coach,
Bill Daye. “Almost everything I know is because of him.”
Daye attended Carolina and played on the men’s
lacrosse team, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference
championship all four years and the national
championship in 1991. “He changed my goal from
wanting to be a student at Carolina to wanting to be a
student-athlete at Carolina,” Maggie said. And so, the
Kool-Aid began tasting sweeter.
During her senior year of high school, Maggie
decided to take a break from lacrosse. “I wanted to put
my time and energy elsewhere for something that was
more meaningful to me,” Maggie said. She ran the
Boston Marathon instead, raising $17,000 for the Boston
Children’s Hospital. Nehring-Redmon explains that this
decision of Maggie’s exemplifies her selflessness and
yearning to give back to the community.
Maggie’s journey to landing in Chapel Hill was
unique. She took the path less traveled. After attending
many recruiting events and summer camps, she was
offered a walk-on spot on the UNC Women’s Lacrosse
team. In order for this offer to remain, Maggie needed to
be accepted into UNC without the help from admissions
that secured athletes would normally receive.
Unfortunately, she was not accepted on her first
try. Nobody advertises that the path less traveled
is also longer, uphill, and unknown. Nevertheless,
Maggie persisted. She was familiar with the road
less traveled, as she had endured it before, being
only days old.
“I thought that lacrosse was an amazing
chapter of my life, but it was time to start a new
one,” Maggie explains. She spent her first year at
Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Maggie
then transferred to UNC as a sophomore,
focusing solely on her academic career.
Maggie’s relationship with her NICU nurse
strengthened once they were both settled in
Chapel Hill. “I think of Maggie as part of my
family, especially since she is now at school at
UNC,” Nehring-Redmon added. Maggie marks
this as a turning point in their relationship as
becoming one between just the two of them
rather than one through her parents.
Phil Barnes, assistant coach of the women’s
lacrosse team, contacted Maggie a few months
into her sophomore year to extend the same
walk-on offer he had a few years ago. Maggie is
now the team’s third goalkeeper and has
accomplished her goal of becoming a
student-athlete at Carolina. “The ability to share
being a Tar Heel with anyone is special, but the
fact that she is a student-athlete at the greatest
institution in the United States is even better,”
said her goalie coach.
.... 2004
2020
5

7. Maggie played in her first collegiate game against
Davidson College, a moment she had been dreaming
about since she was young. “Coming back and playing a
quarter-mile from the place that I could have died is
absolutely profound,” Maggie said.
She warmed up with her fellow teammates,
extremely nervous. “They gassed me up and got me
excited and confident. They reminded me that I had
worked hard to get here.” She walked over to sub-in
when Ally Mastroianni, a junior midfielder, grabbed her
helmet and whispered “you can do this.”
“I’m sure in the moment it didn't mean that much to
her because she's a junior and starts every game, but it
meant a lot to me and gave me confidence,” Maggie said.
It was time.
Maggie’s parents anticipated that she would get to
play in this game and didn’t want to miss the moment or
have to watch it on television. They didn’t have to and
neither did Maggie’s NICU nurse, as they both cheered
Maggie on from the stands. Maggie realized that she had
the same supporter waiting for her at the end of both
uphill battles of her life– her NICU nurse. “It was so
emotional to get to play in front of her so close to where
she saved my life,” Maggie said.
“I was so proud of her. It brought tears to my
eyes,” Nehring-Redmon said, “It is amazing to see
what an incredible adult she has turned into. I
can only hope that my kids aspire to achieve such
lofty goals like Maggie has set for herself.”
Maggie expressed how rewarding it is to see
her life come full-circle by returning to where her
life started with the same person by her side
throughout the journey.
“I play for my nurse because she gave me my
life and ability to play at Carolina. Without her, I
would literally not be here,” Maggie said, “I also
play for all of the other NICU babies that won't
have the chance to play or get to do what they
love. I am very lucky.”
In a way, Maggie is one of the people
Nehring-Redmon “plays for,” as they fuel each
other’s inspiration to do what they love.
“There are times when I wonder if what I do
really matters, when life gets you down. Knowing
that I made a difference in Maggie's life and even
the lives of the Skillman's as a family, makes me
continue working as hard as I can for the families
with children in the NICU,” she said.
Nehring-Redmon said that the Skillman’s have
been the closest she has ever been to a family she
helped in the NICU, expressing that she has been
close to many families, but they usually lose
touch over the years.
“That's the thing that boggles my mind”,
Maggie said. “Why wouldn’t you keep in touch
with the people who saved your life? They
deserve so much at the very least they should get
an update on how I’m doing.”
For the Skillman’s and Terry, their
relationship goes far beyond an update. Maggie’s
NICU nurse has gotten to watch her grow from
the moment she held her in her hands as a
newborn to witnessing the woman and athlete
she is today. Both Maggie and Terry know that
they can count on each other’s support for every
day that tomorrow brings.
Somehow, the Kool-Aid tastes better when
you fought twice as hard to get it.
. . . .
Nehring-Redmon and Maggie at
the UNC vs. Davidson game
6

8. 7
WHy do you play?
By: Sydney Davis
Women’s lacrosse coach at The
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Jenny Levy, sent out a
letter to her team on February 5,
2020. This wasn’t just any letter.
She described her journey of
how she fell in love with lacrosse,
how she worked to become a
collegiate lacrosse player and how
she stepped up to the coaching
position at UNC-Chapel Hill.
In the letter she stated.
“Lacrosse, through you, I watched
the power of collective hard work,
belief and selflessness transform
young women into champions for
life.”
However, the letter wasn’t
intended to just spread her story.
She wrote this letter with hopes
that her players would find the
reason why they play lacrosse.
Levy saw this as a self-discovery
opportunity for her players. If the
UNC women’s lacrosse 2020
Coach Jenny Levy
players knew why they continued
to play in college, they could
use that motive to drive their
performance throughout the
season.
Levy ended the letter with
“Lacrosse, you have had the single
biggest impact on the trajectory of
my life, I promise to pay it forward,
with you by my side, of course.”
Over the next month, the team
dedicated time to discovering what
drives them to play. The results
of this exercise were valuable for
both the players and the team
as a whole: they grew closer and
became more motivated to play.
This inspired Levy to forward
the email to other UNC-CH Varsity
teams to encourage all players to
find “why do you play” and “who
do you play for.”

9. Carolina Crossword
Fill out this crossword with the last names of UNC athletes or
coaches by using the clues below! Check your answers on Page 20
13
2
1
43
7
11
12
109
65
8
Across Down
3- Basketball player who is featured in
the movie Space Jam
7- Leads “the bigs” on the basketball
team and is from Auburn
8- Highest scorer in the Women’s
Soccer 2019 season
9- Known for hosting “Late Night”
12- Soccer player who has her own
foundation for bone marrow research
13- Left UNC in 2019 to go play for
the Chicago Bulls
1- From New York and now plays for the
North Carolina Courage in the National
Women’s Soccer League
2- 2019 Women’s Field Hockey Player of
the Year
4- Has led his team to 22 National
Championships
5- Has coached the varsity football team
twice
6- Named ACC Rookie of the Year and
ACC Offensive Player of the Year in the
2019 football season
10- Who the Dean Dome is named after
11- Basketball player who when cheered
for, it often sounded like “Boooo”
8

10. 9

11. 10

12. Brooke (upper row to the right) stands with her team after winning the national championship
11

13. 12
Brooke (bottom row on the right) sits in front of the Old Well with her teammates

14. 13
Brooke (second row, fifth from the left) celebrates win with her team
Brooke (right) stands with her teammate and their NCAA National Championship
trophies

15. 14

16. 15

17. 16

18. 17

19. 18

20. 19

21. 20
Across
3- Michael JORDAN
7- Garrison BROOKS
8- Alessia RUSSO
9- Roy WILLIAMS
12- Mia HAMM
13- Coby WHITE
Down
1- Crystal DUNN
2- Erin MATSON
4- Anson DORRANCE
5- Mack BROWN
6- Sam HOWELL
10- Dean SMITH
11- Luke MAYE
Across
3-MichaelJORDAN
7-GarrisonBROOKS
8-AlessiaRUSSO
9-RoyWILLIAMS
12-MiaHAMM
13-CobyWHITE
Down
1-CrystalDUNN
2-ErinMATSON
4-AnsonDORRANCE
5-MackBROWN
6-SamHOWELL
10-DeanSMITH
11-LukeMAYE
crossword answers

22. FIND YOUR LEGACY
WHOEVER YOU DO IT FOR
JUST DO IT.
1985
1991
2020
2018
1972
2012
21

23. 22
With a family tree drenched in Carolina
blue, attending the university was hardly a
tough decision for Lindsay Harris. The family
member that inspires her the most however, is
a 7-year-old girl.
Harris began dancing at 3 years old
following in the footsteps of her sister
Caroline and the generations before her. She
remembers watching the UNC cheerleaders as
a little girl and thinking, “That could be me.”
Lindsay wouldn’t even be here today if it
weren’t for the UNC cheerleading team in the
90’s. Her dad, Jason, was assigned to be the
one tossing her mom, Jenny, in the air. Stunt
partners. And one day, life partners.
“I never imagined that I would meet my
future husband, but we got to have so many
special memories together. It’s been so fun
getting to share our love for Carolina with our
family,” Jenny said.
Just like Lindsay, Jenny was born and raised
a UNC girl. Her sister was on the dance team,
Jenny Harris Jason Harris
and her two brothers each played safety for
Carolina football. Jenny’s dad was, some
would say, the stud of the family as the
quarterback for the football team from 1965-
1969.
After her older sister left home to dance
at UNC, Harris said it was the first two years
of her life dancing without her. Lindsay knew
wherever she went to college, she wanted to
dance. “After 10 years of competitive dance I
wasn’t ready to give that up,” Harris said.
Her top choice, as you can imagine, was
UNC. With no dance scholarships available,
she would have to rely on grades alone. So,
she developed a stellar work ethic while at
All for
a Smile By: Kyndall Vaughan
Lindsay Harris
dancing on
the beach

24. 23
her private high school in High Point, North
Carolina. She went to dance practice nearly
every day to perfect her craft, and she put
in that same grind towards her schoolwork.
Harris says she was ecstatic when she got the
acceptance to the university, but she was even
more overjoyed when she made the dance
team. Finally, she could dance with her sister
again. And she wouldn’t feel bad for breaking
the legacy.
Harris was thinking about more than just
her immediate family, however. It turns out
that there was another little girl out there who
was smiling ear to ear happy to be part of a
Carolina family.
That little girl is Harris’s cousin, Logan
Bomar. Her parents are Brooke and David
Bomar. David is Jenny’s brother, the former
UNC football safety. These two were even set
up on a blind date by their dads who, you’ll
never guess, played football together at UNC.
Their first date involved the infamous Tar Heel
restaurant, Top of the Hill. No where else
would have been fitting. In 2012, three years
after they got married, they had Logan, a joyful
and healthy baby girl.
Six months into her life, Logan’s parents
began to notice that she wasn’t meeting her
baby milestones like sitting up and rolling
around regularly.
Taking no chances, they consulted
their pediatrician who pointed them to
neurologists, developmental specialists and
a geneticist. After an MRI and some other
testing, the doctors received all normal results.
“No one could pinpoint anything,” said
Logan’s mom.
Logan’s parents put her in physical, speech
and occupational therapy to try and help her
get back on track. Soon, she was diagnosed
with an eye condition that some doctors
jumped to assume was the cause of her
developmental issues. They were wrong. She
had surgery to fix this condition, but it was
determined that she also had Cortical Visual
Impairment, meaning her brian struggles to
process what she sees.
Was this the cause of her developmental
problems?
For three years, Logan’s mom searched for
answers, and one day she found Dr. Yong-Hui
Jiang at Duke University. By a stroke of luck
they got into his office, and he ordered in-
depth genetic testing. Nearly a year later, the
results came back.
Pitt Hopkins syndrome.
Pitt Hopkins is a neurodevelopmental
disorder characterized by developmental delay.
The genetic disorder affects a specific gene in
chromosome 18, called TCF4.
What does that mean? Logan’s parents
asked the same question. As moms do, Brooke
took to Google, to Facebook, to anything that
may be helpful. She learned the rarity of Pitt
Hopkins as only around 500 individuals
Logan Bomar

25. worldwide have been affected by the disease.
Dr. Jiang reassured the family not to stress
about the number of cases and the minimal
research because this was all relatively new. He
pointed them
to a Facebook
group of families
affected by the
condition. Logan’s
mom says this
was life-changing and has provided the family
with hope. Even though the road ahead of
Logan isn’t extremely clear, they are eager to
see what the future holds. Now what
does this have to do with Lindsay?
She has committed part of her life to help
bring awareness to Pitt Hopkins. “I want to
use the gifts I’ve been blessed with to raise
awareness to the families who have been
affected by this disease,” Harris said.
Not only is Lindsay a gifted dancer, she is
also an artist. Her senior year of high school,
Harris hosted an art show to raise money for
the Pitt Hopkins Research Foundation (PHRF).
She single-handedly planned the entire event.
The show was held at FurnitureLand South,
which her dad, Logan’s godfather/uncle,
owns. She held a silent auction for the pieces
including some of her own and some of her
sister’s work. The event was a success and
raised over $7000 for Pitt Hopkins research.
The Bomar family came home with some
artwork for Logan’s room and money to help
discover a treatment for her rare condition.
This syndrome has touched the entire
Bomar/Harris family as Harris’s sister Caroline
hosted a “dance-a-thon” in 2017 to raise
money and awareness for the PHRF. Her event
was a huge hit. The Pitt Hoppin’ brought in
...only around 500 individuals
worldwide have been affected by
the disease.
over $14,000 from ticket sales, donations, and
the silent auction that all went to the PHRF.
Lindsay got to experience first hand the
research that her family helped fund. Ben
Philpot, PhD,
Kenan
Distinguished
Professor of Cell
Biology and
Physiology at the
UNC School of Medicine, extended Harris the
opportunity to come intern in his lab on UNC’s
campus. She was able to witness the work that
goes on in an effort to help people like her
cousin who are affected by Pitt Hopkins.
According to Philpot they are working to
create a treatment for the core symptoms of
Pitt Hopkins syndrome. Philpot’s research is
funded by the PHRF, but in October of 2019 the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS) granted his lab $1.68 million
over five years in order to develop a therapy to
treat people with Pitt Hopkins.
Harris said it was an amazing opportunity
to be able to watch the researchers, and she
feels blessed to have played a small part in it.
She is thankful that some of the main research
is happening at UNC because it is so close to
Logan’s family.
Logan is a shining light
in her family despite any
diagnosis. Lindsay
says, “She’s enough just
as she is and brings joy
to us with her tight hugs
and big smiles.” Caroline
says Logan inspires her
to “face each day with
courage and a smile.”
24
Caroline (left) and
Lindsay (right)

26. 25
The Harris sisters aren’t the only ones who
love to dance either. Logan has a great rhythm
and loves dancing around according to her
mom. She can’t quite walk on her own because
Pitt Hopkins affects her motor ability, but they
are working on it.
Logan is a certified Carolina girl herself. On
October 11, 2017, she was able to solidify her
part of the family’s Carolina athletics legacy.
According to Brooke, that day was one of the
best in the books for Logan and her family.
With the help of her parents, Logan was able
to go out to midfield of Kenan Memorial
Stadium for the coin toss before the football
game against the University of Notre Dame.
This day was more than just the flip of a
coin for Logan. Before her big moment in the
spotlight, she was able to meet head basketball
coach Roy Williams, head football coach at
the time Larry Fedora and Atlantic Coast
Conference football referee Gary Patterson
among many other people thrilled to talk to her.
Logan was very fun and engaging with everyone
she came in contact with. Her mom says that
she was thrilled Logan felt comfortable to be her
silly self with everyone.
To Logan and her family, one of the most
important people in attendance was Dr. Philpot.
According to her mom, Philpot is not only an
amazing scientist but also a kind and genuine
man.
“He is now a part of our family,” said Logan’s
mom.
Logan is now 7 years old and is still bringing
joy to her family everyday. Her mom says Logan,
along with her two brothers, Jack and Wes
Bomar, are growing up to be incredible little
people. Logan meets each day with a smile and
“the most contagious laugh that is pure and
genuine,” said her mom. Even with her
condition causing it hard to do daily activities
sometimes, Logan is able to smile brightly in
the face of her diagnosis.
Harris says she is truly blessed to be able
to help her sweet cousin in any way possible.
She says she wants nothing but to keep that
precious smile on Logan’s face. Her cousin
motivates her to always dance with a smile of
her own. Lindsay says she strives to use her
God-given abilities to bring awareness to Pitt
Hopkins and all of the families, like her own,
who have been touched by this disease. She
says she works hard so that “maybe one day
those who can’t, can.” Lindsay dances for her
Carolina family, specifically her cousin Logan
Bomar.
Lindsay
UNC Dance

27. 26

28. 27
see 'the tar heels in action
football
women's field hockey
men's basketball
Women's lacrosse
women's rowing
Go to GoHeels.com to
find their schedules!

29. 28

30. Avery
Bain
Mary-Bowen
Barringer
Sydney
Davis
Kyndall
Vaughan