You won’t find any incriminating Facebook statuses or unbecoming Tweets on Katie Ray’s social networking profiles. If elected Miss UNC, she wants to do her part to make this true for the entire online community.

Ray, a senior journalism major from Hillsborough, hopes to educate area high school juniors and seniors on the importance of social networking.

She is designing a Social Media 101 course for Orange County Schools. The UNC chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America will help her accomplish this goal.

“In our increasingly global community, how people utilize these websites will be vital to the success of the next generation,” Ray said.

Her mission is much more than teaching youth about negative situations on Facebook.

“My goal is to teach high school students not only what not to put on these sites, but also how to brand themselves effectively,” Ray went on to say.

Ray most certainly embodies this ideal here at UNC. She has a hand in a number of campus organizations. She is currently serving as the vice president of the Zeta Tau Alpha, her sorority. She has also worked on the public relations staff of the Blue & White and the layout staff of Kaleidoscope, UNC’s fashion magazine.

Although she has an interest in numerous branches of journalism, her true love is evident.

“I’m really passionate about social media,” Ray said, “and if elected, I want to use my position to help people who may not know as much about it.”

Ray is hoping that she can enact the Social Media 101 class in all Orange County high schools with the funds received from winning the title and with the help of the PRSSA.

She doesn’t want her project to stop there, though. “I want to start with Orange County schools, but the opportunities with this project are truly limitless. It’s my intention that in time, the course will expand to counties and school systems all over the greater Chapel Hill area.”

Ray’s desire to give back to the surrounding area is not unwarranted. Her ties to the university are far-reaching.

“I was born and raised right down the street,” Ray said. “My love for Carolina has grown ever since I learned to ride my bike on the upper quad. It would be a definite honor to represent UNC in this way.”

While studying abroad in England, Ray discovered how deeply connected she was to her hometown and university. She also realized how important it was to give back to that community.

Tori Bliss, her sorority sister, confirmed Ray’s explanation.

“Katie is the personification of the love we all feel for this place,” Bliss said. “Her passion for the school and her dedication to the community make her a perfect candidate.”
Perhaps Katie Ray is best summarized by her Twitter bio. It reads, “I will forever bleed Carolina Blue.”