By Mary Margaret Warner
Staff Writer

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s one of the twelve students in the nation selected for the Chuck Stone Program for Diversity at UNC Chapel Hill, rising senior José Valle could call himself fortunate.

“Honestly, I feel really honored to have been accepted into this program. It may not seem like a big deal to others, but to me it is. It made me feel more confident about myself, kind of confirmed to me that I was capable of achieving something of this caliber,” Valle said. “I’m not saying that I’ve let this go to my head, it’s just, it feels great to be recognized like this.”

Valle is involved in newspaper staff, Nighthawk Report, band, theatre cast and Odyssey of the Mind.

The Chuck Stone Program is a program that works to bring diversity into the media.  Valle and 11 other students from all over the nation will be brought together.  The 12 all share at least one thing in common: their diversity. Moving to the United States from El Salvador as a child puts things in perspective for Valle.

“The biggest effect that moving from El Salvador has had on me is simply being able to look at everything through different eyes. It sounds cliche, I guess, especially since I only lived there for about seven years, but it really puts things in perspective for me,” Valle said. “I honestly understand that there are people who are much worse off than I am. Basically, I’m able to have a better life simply because I live here.”

Upon finding out about his acceptance Jose has found a few other students attending the camp.

“I found out that I got accepted at about midnight on a Friday night, and I had no one to share my excitement with so I shared it on Instagram, tagging the picture of the email under “ChuckStoneProgram”. Well, about a week later, a girl from Pinehurst, N.C. commented on it, saying how she got in, too. Together, we found three other girls and we talked for a while,” Valle said. “The four of us started a Facebook group in case we come across the other eight who were accepted. Though we barely talked, it was interesting finding them online, because now I feel like I’m at  least acquainted with them, and they won’t be complete strangers once I get there.”

For Valle, the opportunity to take part in this workshop lets him and others to embrace diversity.

“Diversity to me is a very complex concept. There’s more than one way to look at it. Depending on the person, it can have both negative and positive effects,” Valle said. “When it comes to me, I embrace all types of it, because I understand that everyone is different. Plenty of people are not accepting of the way I carry myself, and I always do my best to not be one of them.”

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