Olympic ambitions

Thomas “Tommy” Kitchell (MAC ’25) has Olympic-sized ambitions.

The Master of Accounting (MAC) student was an NCAA Division 1 All-American athlete for 2024 and 2025. He has competed in track and field in shot put since 2020. While he trains for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Kitchell is building his track record – literally.

He was the indoor Atlantic Coast Conference Champion in shot put for 2024, and indoor and outdoor champion in 2025. He is a seven-time first team All-ACC track and field athlete and a three-time All-ACC academic team winner. In addition, he earned the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Associate All-Academic Honors. Kitchell recently closed out his collegiate career with a personal record throw of 20.74 meters, winning second place in the NCAA Track & Field championships.

The 2020 pandemic put Kitchell’s athletic dreams on hold. At the time he was a freshman at Wake Forest University, where he would eventually become the 2023-24 captain of the men’s track and field team. The redshirt season – meaning he did not compete for one year – extended his eligibility to compete in NCAA sports.

Kitchell started looking for a graduate program that would allow him to pursue both athletics and academics simultaneously.

Athletic excellence meets academic ambition

After studying communications and marketing in his undergraduate program, Kitchell was looking for a challenge.

“I felt like I wasn’t tested enough in my undergraduate experience,” says Kitchell. “The MAC Program seemed like a chance to challenge myself, even though I had no accounting background.”

This mindset led Kitchell to the online format of the MAC Program at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Being able to take courses online meant he could continue to train for the Olympics at the start of the program before he came to campus to train with UNC, where he is now team captain for the 2025 Men’s Track and Field team.

“The online program allows me to train from 2 to 6 p.m. and complete schoolwork flexibly,” says Kitchell. “It’s been great for a student-athlete like me.”

More importantly, he says that the program has bestowed gifts that he will take with him long after graduation. Even though UNC was the last school to offer him a scholarship, he knew he wanted to be in Chapel Hill. Besides seeing the MAC Program as an opportunity to test his academic capabilities, he wanted to compete for UNC’s track team. He had long admired the athletes and coaches.

One of the nicest surprises for him was the academic community he joined despite not meeting some of his classmates in person.

The community that helped him go the distance

“What makes this program special is the diversity,” he says. “I have classmates from all walks of life – veterans, international students, working professionals. We’ve formed strong bonds throughout group projects.”

As a novice in accounting, Kitchell feared falling behind. The MAC community’s support and the fact that many fellow students were in the same boat were great motivators.

“The professors believe in every single student,” says Kitchell. “They are extremely helpful, especially for someone like me with no previous accounting knowledge.”

The MAC online format provided the fast track and flexibility he needed as a student-athlete in the last year of his eligibility. Students can complete the program in 12 to 36 months, depending on their individual needs.

The MAC Program is a versatile foundation for his career, he says. “The Excel class was the hardest I’ve ever taken but also the most beneficial. I’ve learned skills I know I’ll use for the rest of my life.”

Achieving in the MAC Program requires perseverance and commitment, both of which Kitchell has demonstrated on the field and in the classroom. According to Carolina Athletics: “He rewrote the all-time record book twice in the first two meets of the season, achieving the third-farthest throw in program history at the Dick Taylor Challenge and then improving to second all-time with a 19.69m throw at the Hokie Invitational.”

He broke the 20-meter barrier in shot put, won the ACC championship in 2025 and was named field athlete MVP. He overcame a back injury just days before the national competition to finish eighth, an impressive feat. 

An Olympic challenge

Now, he has his next mission: finding a job that allows him to continue training for a spot on the 2028 Olympic team.

“I’m looking for accounting roles that will allow me to continue training,” says Kitchell. “I want something remote or hybrid that supports my athletic pursuits.”

“I want to build a career while continuing to train professionally,” he says. “It’s about finding the right balance between my athletic and professional goals.”