Photo by Beth Riley

Elisabeth Frasier | Teacher/Student

In 1967, Elisabeth became one of UNC Chapel Hill’s first African-American professors.  41 years later, she’s still breaking molds.

When Elisabeth turned 83 last year, she figured it was a good time to dust off the guitar she’d bought 20 years before but had never learned to play. She signed up for lessons with a local guitar teacher, and this time, they stuck. “He gave me Elvis Presley’s Love Me Tender to learn, and I’ve been playing the guitar ever since.”

That guitar has become a teaching tool for Elisabeth, who often speaks educators around the state. Recently, she took it to a teachers’ conference in Wilmington. “When I walked on the stage with that guitar in hand, you could hear them whispering.  I said, ‘Before we get started, I want to show y’all that learning never stops.’”

~Faith Dwight