Foundation Vice President Megan Mazzocchi will retire at the end of this month after four decades of service to the Morehead-Cain Program.
Today, January 7, marks the 40th anniversary of Mazzocchi’s first day of work at the Morehead-Cain Foundation, then known as the John Motley Morehead Foundation. The vice president’s last day at the Foundation will be Friday, January 24. Read below Megan’s farewell message that was shared with the Morehead-Cain community.
My Dear Morehead-Cain Family,
As you can imagine, this is an overwhelming moment for me, as it would be for anyone who has been working at such an incredible organization for so long. I’m so grateful that I was invited all those years ago to become part of the grand educational experiment that Uncle Mot and John Lindsay Morehead dreamed up and made a reality. I’m particularly happy to note that my 40 years here are exactly half of the Foundation’s lifespan. I love the symmetry of that.
At the alumni events I’ve been fortunate to attend this past year, I’ve been asked several times if I could pinpoint a favorite experience or name a favorite scholar. It would be impossible to choose one standout experience, although the Alumni Forums come to mind and have been really special. But as for my favorite scholar . . . well, you know who you are. 😉
In 2023, the Foundation donated Uncle Mot’s papers to UNC’s Southern Historical Collection in the University’s archives. To prepare for that process, I read many of the letters written between him and John Lindsay, and what stood out to me was the brilliance, the humanity—and especially the humor—of our endearing cofounders. If you find yourself in Chapel Hill with some time to spare, I recommend going to the Southern Historical Collection and reading some of the letters yourself. It will make you even more proud to be associated with this Foundation and Program.
When I first walked through the doors of the Morehead Foundation as a staff member and joined the four people already on the team at that time—Mebane Pritchett ’57, executive director; Chuck Lovelace ’77, assistant director and treasurer; Marguerite Perry, administrative assistant; and Sandy Singleton, secretary—I had no inkling that I was starting a 40-year career, although it honestly didn’t take long for me to realize that I might want to stick around this place. From the very beginning, the work was fun, exciting, and fulfilling. I felt privileged to be meeting and becoming friends with some of the coolest, most gifted college students and alumni in the world. The more my work circles expanded and I became familiar with school representatives from around the state and nation (as well as in the UK and Canada), UNC officials, and the committee members in every North Carolina county working hard to help bring the worthiest nominees into our Program, the more I grasped the history and importance of the organization I had joined.
I also felt a real sense of belonging, of what we all want from our jobs: “I am meant to be here and can do good work here.” As the years went by and my roles changed, I never lost that feeling. My coworkers were, and continue to be, remarkable people whom I looked forward to working with every day. And from my life at Morehead-Cain, I was learning so much about practically everything. I came to know North Carolina’s history, geography, communities, and schools on a much deeper level; I learned all I know about technology, as newfangled products and media appeared, seemingly every other month (I used Aldus PageMaker to create the Year in Review long before it became Adobe InDesign); I was exposed to, through our alumni group, many careers, endeavors, and places that I had no idea existed; and I learned to spell and pronounce hundreds of unique names (important to me as a former Spelling Bee champ), became skilled at shopping for ladies’ suits (usually at Casual Corner, Dressbarn, or Petite Sophisticate, all now defunct), stayed hip to all the latest college jargon, and was kept young-minded by the energy of a perpetual community of 18-to-22-year-olds.
All the while, I was raising, with my husband, Jay, our two wonderful daughters, Seton and Mary Clare; piling up my own milestone birthdays; waving teary goodbyes to class after class of Morehead-Cain graduates; and turning, at last, undeniably gray. It’s occurred to me that I’ve experienced every major historical event since 1985—from the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 9/11 attacks, and the Gulf War to the dawning and domination of the internet, earth-shaking political movements, and the COVID-19 pandemic—as a Morehead-Cain staffer, often with my office comrades literally beside me.
I would like to give a heartfelt shout-out to Chuck and the first group of trustees that I knew and loved: Alan Dickson, Motley Larkin, Frank Hanes, Bob Cluett, Lucy Chatham, and Russell Robinson; and to our first Morehead-Cain Alumnus to become a trustee, Tim Burnett ’62. They are true luminaries, and I am profoundly grateful that they encouraged an eager young woman to learn and to grow into a mature contributor to Uncle Mot’s vision. I also raise a glass to the Cain family and their foundation-changing generosity back in 2007, as well as to the thousands of alumni who have donated their time, talent, and treasure to make our Foundation better every year. Current Foundation President Chris Bradford came on board after Chuck’s retirement in 2021 and has already led the Program in several exciting new directions. I so appreciate his hard work, boundless energy, and amazing intellect.
As I look back over my years at the Foundation, I need to express one more time the utter shock and heartbreak of losing our beloved Eve Carson in 2008, as well as the deep pain caused by the untimely deaths of undergraduate scholars Laura Rozo ’14, Wynn Burrus ’20, Sally Sasz ’21, and, just last semester, Brook Cheuvront ’26. All of these young women were brilliant and dynamic and were among the kindest, most thoughtful people you’ll ever meet. And the way our Morehead-Cain community came together to respond to these tragic losses will forever serve as an inspiration to me.
On a much happier note, I’m grateful to Chris and the gang for agreeing to hold just a small staff-only farewell lunch on my last day later this month, rather than doing something larger with alumni right now. I’m planning to attend the 2025 Morehead-Cain Alumni Forum (as a guest this time!) and I’m inviting all of you to return to Chapel Hill for that event so we can spend time together and I can tell you again how much you’re appreciated. The Forum will be in October this year, and we’ll choose an exact weekend as soon as the UNC football schedule is announced so we can avoid a football weekend—which, based on recent developments, should be crazier than ever! Keep your eyes peeled so you can save the date, and I’ll look forward to seeing—and hugging—you in a few months.
I leave this wonderful place and extraordinary family with a full heart and with confidence that the talented and dedicated Morehead-Cain staff (now numbering more than 20), led by Chris and with guidance and leadership from our Foundation trustees and Scholarship Fund Board directors, will take our Program into a very bright future.
I would like to end with a short passage from the final pages of Cormac McCarthy’s apocalyptic novel The Road. Our circumstances are quite different from the father and son in the story, but the message and imagery are, to me, ever powerful and appropriate.
“You have to carry the fire,” the father says, imploring his son to go on without him.
I don’t know how to.
Yes you do.
Is it real? The fire?
Yes it is.
Where is it? I don’t know where it is.
Yes you do. It’s inside you. It was always there. I can see it.
God bless you all, and thank you for carrying the fire!
Love,
Megan
