Graham as a Student

Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and reared a Presbyterian, Graham was the son of the superintendent of the local public school system and a cousin of the university president, Edward Kidder Graham. As a student at Chapel Hill from 1905 to 1909, he became president of the senior class, editor of the Tar Heel, and president of the YMCA. Inspired by an address by Woodrow Wilson, Graham embarked on a career in education and public service, one marked by a sense of duty and self-sacrifice to higher callings.