Soccer star Mia Hamm, a UNC alum, to address grads at university’s May commencement
Mia Hamm, one of the world’s most famous soccer players, will return to her alma mater and address UNC-Chapel Hill’s graduating class this spring.
UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts announced Hamm as the university’s spring commencement speaker at a meeting of the Board of Trustees on Thursday, referring to her as “one of the greatest athletes in the history of intercollegiate athletics at Carolina.”
“And it’s not an exaggeration to say that she is one of the greatest performers in her sport, at any level, of all time,” he added.
Hamm graduated from UNC in 1994. During her time at the university, she led the Tar Heels to NCAA championships in 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1993, and set the league’s women’s soccer scoring record with 278 points. She was also a two-time National Player of the Year in 1992 and 1993, among many other collegiate accolades in the NCAA and ACC.
A three-time Olympian, Hamm won gold medals competing for the United States in 1996 and 2004. She is also a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion. In 2007, she was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
In 1999, Hamm founded the Mia Hamm Foundation in honor of her brother Garrett. The foundation is dedicated to bone marrow research and helping further women’s sports programs.
Hamm previously received the university’s Distinguished Alumna Award and Distinguished Young Alumna Award.
In a campus announcement Thursday, Hamm credited UNC as key to her development on and off the soccer field, a message she hopes to share with graduates.
“I want the Class of 2025 to know that Carolina has prepared them to define their own legacy in this world,” Hamm said. “It’s a place where I was consistently challenged, loved and developed — not only into the player — but into the person I am today.”
The commencement ceremony will be held in Kenan Stadium on Saturday, May 10, at 7 p.m., marking the second year in a row that the university has held the event in the evening. For decades, the university traditionally held the ceremony on Mother’s Day morning, before moving it to a Saturday evening this spring for the class of 2024.
Roberts, in a campus message, encouraged the class of 2025 to “cherish your final semesters and take every opportunity to grow in the months ahead.”
“I look forward to seeing you at our Spring Commencement,” he wrote, “and I hope that you all share my excitement for our speaker as we look ahead to graduation.”
Roberts said that Hamm confirmed to him Wednesday that she would speak at the event. Upon confirming, she told him: “I’m going to give it my all.”
This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Soccer star Mia Hamm, a UNC alum, to address grads at university’s May commencement."
