NCSB Journal Summer 2026

Meet Union County’s Mother Daughter Public Defender Duo

B Y A M A N D A B U N C H I n her words, “I’ll either write Grey’s Anatomy the Musical , or I’ll be a singing doctor.” Her future, she thought, would take her to medical school and her dreams, she hoped, would take her to Broadway. But as an intended biology major (along with a double major in drama) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she quickly learned her passion was not in science. And after a semester or so of f

majoring in English, Kayley Carpenter reluctantly declared

her major in journalism—reluctant, she said, only because

her mother, Karen Carpenter, had landed on the exact same major at the exact same university exactly 32 years prior.

Fast forward to present-day, and in an interesting turn of events, Karen found herself in the “last leg” of her professional journey, working as an assistant public defender in the exact same office as her daughter, Kayley. And this dynamic mother-daughter “defender duo” thrives in the deep satisfaction of know ing they can do meaningful work and be inspired by one another’s growth and success es day after day in the office, in the court room, and some days, even in the carpool

when they are both in the office.

Kayley pivoted and decided to apply to law school at her alma mater. She said, with the theater world shut down and with many friends who had recently graduated finding themselves thrust into a job market with zero employment opportunities, she knew it was as good a time as ever to go to law school… and to enjoy a few more normal semesters in scenic Chapel Hill. Kayley’s decision to go to law school dur ing the pandemic was solidified not only

The Pandemic was a Watershed on Kayley’s College and Career Choices Kayley will be the first to tell you how profoundly the COVID-19 pandemic altered her college experience. The pandemic closed off the world and essentially robbed entire cohorts of recent college graduates of their opportunities to begin careers so many had long dreamed of. During that time,

SUMMER 2026

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