Tripp Johnson

This is what Tripp Johnston's life is like these days: working amid the desperate conditions of Ethiopia, Johnston and his family live in a home protected by a security wall. His wife recently suffered a bout with malaria. The roads teem with cows, goats and donkeys.

No more six-figure income as an investment banker in Charlotte. Gone are the comfortable home and cars. Even a dinner at Chick-fil-A would feel luxurious.

Johnston and his family gave all that up to serve as missionaries in Africa. Every day, their life is devoted to God by helping the impoverished, AIDS-stricken people of Ethiopia. Their work is accomplished through a unique sports-based ministry.

"Our vision is a bold one — to see a nationwide movement of thousands of churches in Ethiopia reaching millions of children and young adults with the love of God through the platform of sports," Johnston explains.

His journey halfway across the world has roots in his Morehead experience. "The Morehead was a first step in opening my eyes to a much bigger world than the one I had previously experienced," Johnston said.

The business education he picked up at UNC, along with the varied internships provide by the Morehead Program, continued to broaden his perspective.

"My Morehead summer enrichment experiences gave me confidence that I could compete and achieve in very challenging and demanding environments," he said. "These traits have marked and shaped much of my life — choosing to go to Harvard to earn an MBA, working in the highly competitive and demanding mergers and acquisitions field, leaving a highly lucrative job at the height of my career to pursue a Christian calling and moving my family to Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world."