Six college students awarded the Class of 1938 and Witten Journey Fellowships  – Honors Carolina

Six college students have been chosen this 12 months as 2026 recipients of the Class of 1938 Fellowship to discover revolutionary, self-directed studying alternatives that promote peace and mutual understanding past the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. 

Members of the Class of 1938 got here of age throughout World War II, an expertise that profoundly formed their worldview. Having witnessed firsthand the devastation of world battle—together with the lack of classmates and family members—they developed a deep conviction within the significance of mutual understanding between nations. Motivated by these experiences and by ongoing worldwide tensions, the Class of 1938 has chosen to spend money on future generations by means of this endowment. Their present, endowed in 1975 and awarded to generations of college students since, helps the University’s mission to domesticate globally knowledgeable leaders geared up to navigate and deal with advanced worldwide challenges.  Class of 1938 members Dr. Charles and Margaret Witten prolonged this superb fellowship program by establishing the Witten award in 1992 within the similar spirit. 

Meet the 2026 Class of 1938 Scholars: 

Nathaniel Burchette, class of 2027, is majoring in biology with minors in environmental microbiology and chemistry and is on the pre-veterinary monitor. For his fellowship expertise, he plans to volunteer at Rescue Center Costa Rica, which is a extremely acclaimed, non-profit wildlife rehabilitation heart in Guácima, Costa Rica. Nathaniel will likely be volunteering there for six weeks, working with resident animal handlers, veterinarians, and different volunteers to scrub the services, feed, care, and enrich the animals, in addition to gaining invaluable veterinary information and animal dealing with expertise.  

Theo Esmond, class of 2027, is majoring in environmental science with minors in city research and geographic info sciences centered on climate-adaptive city design, sustainable transportation, and equitable mobility. Theo has carried out pedestrian and transit hall research, warmth vulnerability analyses, and sustainable web site redesign tasks, combining GIS, area commentary, and design visualization. With the assist of the Class of 1938 fellowship, Theo will research heat-resilient strolling and transit corridors in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Tainan, exploring how design methods can assist consolation, accessibility, and public life below excessive city warmth.

Sunhee Frecker, class of 2027, majors in peace, conflict, and protection and economics. Her tutorial pursuits research the intersection of historical past, rational alternative modeling, and tradition in battle. Her fellowship will observe the trail of empire and its stress with democratic and republican beliefs of peace. She will journey throughout Europe, together with Athens, Rome, Berlin, and London to trace the continuity of peace, establishments, and territorial growth throughout time. As she visits these iconic cities stuffed with wealthy historical past, she’s going to seek the advice of with museums, native universities, archival facilities, and historic web site excursions to take a first-person perception into these areas. 

Audrey Scott, class of 2028, is from Durham, North Carolina, and is majoring in international research, with a thematic focus in transnational cultures, identities, and humanities. She holds a robust curiosity in music, historical past, and museum research. Through the Class of 1938 Fellowship, she’s going to discover the folkloric music traditions of three distinct areas of Spain: Andalusia, Galicia, and Catalonia. She will have interaction with museums, specialists, and stay performances to find the origins, traits, and influences of people music throughout Spain. She goals to problem the perceived homogeneity of Spanish tradition by exploring a various multitude of people genres discovered all through the nation.

Zuri Trice, class of 2027, is from Chapel Hill, NC and majoring in historical past and archaeology. Her tutorial pursuits concentrate on materials tradition, cognition, and public historical past, notably how objects form reminiscence and historic understanding. Through this undertaking, Zuri seeks to analyze how Viking materials tradition is introduced and engaged in Norway, evaluating living-history environments and institutional shows to higher perceive how objects mediate interpretations of the previous and the folks. 

The Witten Fellowship was awarded to Olivia Metelo, class of 2027, is from Raleigh, North Carolina, and is finding out political science with minors in public coverage and journalism. She has a deep ardour for exploring narratives to pursue a extra simply political future. For her fellowship expertise, Olivia will evaluate undergraduate college students’ perceptions of financial anti-globalization in Italy and the Netherlands by interviewing college students and analyzing their experiences within the context of their political and academic environments. Olivia is raring to know what elements affect college students’ perceptions and the way these findings can be utilized to enhance financial coverage and training for future generations. 

 

Read extra about Honors Carolina international fellowships right here. 

 

Honors Carolina contact: Gina Difino, (919) 962-9680, Gina_Difino@unc.edu 

Communications and Public Affairs: (919) 445-8555, mediarelations@unc.edu