That mentality won him the annual Week of Welcome Photo Challenge this year.
Sponsored by the University, the challenge is held during the Week of Welcome. Each day of the week has a specific theme that students are encouraged to post photos corresponding to, along with the general hashtag, #UNCWOW16, for the theme.
The specific hashtags — #CarolinaCribs, #UNCRoomies, #UNCFallFest, #CarolinaSunset, #OldWellfie, #UNCPricelessGems, #TarHeelTreatYoSelf, #UNCPitLife, #CarolinaSwag and #GDTBATH — peppered Twitter accounts of students throughout the entire Week of Welcome, Aug. 19 to Aug. 28.https://nscpp.unc.edu/sites/nscpp.unc.edu/files/documents/Week of Welcome (WOW) 2016 Schedule.pdf
And boom goes the Dynamite. Carol "The GOAT" Folt. #uncfallfest #uncwow16 #gdtbath @UNC @THB_UNC pic.twitter.com/UYNNdmmieH
— Nicholas Bafia (@nick_bafia) August 22, 2016
The grand prize winner was selected from those who participated in each day of the contest.
“What I did at the beginning of the week was write out a list of all the days,” said Bafia, who is also the president of Carolina Clicks photography club. “I would plan out what to do and do tomorrow’s picture, but today.”
Bafia won the #CarolinaCribs prize before winning the grand prize at the end of the week. His photo for #UNCFallFest was a selfie with Carol Folt.
“She was just kind of hanging out and I went up to her,” he said. “She was very casual about it — it was surprising. She’s like a down-to-earth celebrity.”
And with the UNC-themed competition comes UNC-themed prizes. Bafia won UNC swag including mugs, water bottles, a gift card to Student Stores and T-shirts.
But he said the experience was the most rewarding part.
Congrats to @nick_bafia, the grand prize winner of our #UNCWOW16 photo challenge! Thanks for sharing in the fun :sheep::blue_heart::camera_with_flash: pic.twitter.com/pJBJ3KtHBS
— UNC-Chapel Hill (@UNC) August 29, 2016
“I did have fun. It got me out and about,” Bafia said. “I didn’t really think of it as a contest, just a fun thing to do.”
He encouraged more students to get involved in the challenge next year, as there weren’t many participants this year. The #UNCWOW16 Twitter hashtag shows fewer than 10 involved students.
“It was all shot on iPhone and super accessible,” Bafia said. “You just had to be in the right place at the right time.”
