She grew up on a farm in rural North Carolina and studied astrophysics before finding her way to photojournalism. In college, Carolyn interned at The Chicago Tribune, The Tampa Bay Times, The Herald (Jasper, IN), and The White House. After starting at the Express-News, she was awarded an internship with National Geographic Magazine, which took her to Argentina, Antarctica, and the bayous of Louisiana. She was named the College Photographer of the Year in 2015 and Pictures of the Year International’s Newspaper Photographer of the Year in 2016. However, she would much rather talk about her horse named Spike, her newfound love of Texas, or the many people who have been kind enough to allow her to tell their stories.