Seventeen undergraduates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one undergraduate from Duke University have been selected as Phillips Ambassadors for Summer and Fall 2016 study abroad programs in Asia. In addition, one history doctoral candidate was awarded a Phillips Graduate Ambassador travel award for research in Japan this summer.
Undergraduate scholarship recipients will study in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
The Phillips Ambassadors program is part of UNC’s Carolina Asia Center, in association with the Study Abroad Office. Phillips Ambassadors are selected twice a year and receive $5,000 each. Selection is based on strong communication skills, intellectual curiosity and engagement, academic achievement, evidence of generous service to the campus and wider community, and a previous record of leadership.
Twenty-five percent of the scholarships are reserved for qualified undergraduate business majors and minors at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Up to two scholarships each year are available to qualified Duke University undergraduates.
Phillips Ambassadors choose from more than 50 academic programs in Asia that are approved by the College of Arts and Sciences and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Scholarship recipients enroll in a three-credit hour global studies course designed uniquely for them. Led by Carolina faculty, the course challenges students to explore their study abroad locale in significant detail and seek understanding of the region in a global context.
A distinguishing feature of the program is an emphasis on what is called a “Give Back,” or sharing of one’s study abroad experience in Asia with the Carolina community and the student’s hometown. In accepting the scholarship, students agree to fulfill a Give Back related to their study abroad experience. Give Backs include endeavors such as published articles, classroom presentations at a student’s hometown high school, photo and art exhibitions, musical performances and group projects focused on Asia.
The Phillips Ambassadors program is made possible through a generous gift from Carolina alumnus Earl N. “Phil” Phillips, an entrepreneur and former U.S. ambassador, and his family.
“Our goal with this gift has been to encourage more students to spend their study abroad experiences focused on Asia — an increasingly vital region of the future,” said Phillips, who splits his time between High Point and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The first group of Phillips Ambassadors studied abroad in Asia in the summer of 2007. By the end of 2016, 264 Carolina undergraduates will have studied abroad in Asia as Phillips Ambassadors.
The new Phillips Ambassadors are listed below alphabetically by North Carolina county, followed by out-of-state recipients.
NORTH CAROLINA RECIPIENTS
Buncombe
Lacy Rardin of Asheville will study through the National University of Singapore FASStrack Asia summer program. She is a psychology and exercise and sport science double major.
Caldwell
Dolly Estevez of Lenoir will study through Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. She is a biology and global studies double major with a Chinese minor.
Durham
Eliza Farren of Durham will study through the CET Kunming program. She is a global studies major.
Kevin Parham of Durham will study through the UNC Summer in India program. He is a health policy and management and South Asian studies double major.
Guilford
Samuel Silverstein of Summerfield will study through the CET-University of Wisconsin in India fall program. He is an undeclared major.
Mecklenburg
Cyrous Bortey of Charlotte will study through the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School International Internship Singapore summer program. He is a business administration major with an entrepreneurship minor.
Orange
Sam Miner of Chapel Hill will study through the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Chinese University of Hong Kong summer program. He is a business administration major.
Wake
Cameron Gilchrist of Raleigh will study through the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School International Internship Singapore summer program. He is a business administration and anthropology double major.
Spencer Ivey of Fuquay-Varina will study through the CET Beijing summer program. He is a political science and music double major with a Chinese minor.
Alexander Stephenson of Cary will study through the CET Kunming program. He is a business administration and Asian studies double major with a naval science minor.
Austin Story of Raleigh will study through the UNC Entrepreneurship Summer in Shanghai program. He is pre-business and public policy double major with an entrepreneurship minor.
OUT-OF-STATE RECIPIENTS
Georgia
Diandra Dwyer of Roswell will study through the UNC Summer in Japan program. She is a media and journalism major with a Japanese minor.
Stephen Lanier of Bonaire will study through the UNC Summer in Japan program. He is a chemistry and Asian studies double major with a creative writing minor.
Missouri
Eric Lee of St. Louis will study through the National University of Singapore Honors – University Scholars Exchange fall program. He is an economics major with a philosophy, politics and economics minor.
New Jersey
Moreen Wambui Njoroge of South Plainfield will study through the UNC Summer in India program. She is a biology and global health double major with a chemistry minor at Duke University.
Pennsylvania
Luke Gutekunst of Allentown will study through the CET Shanghai Summer program. He is a business administration major with a Chinese minor.
Washington
Johnathan Lueck of Puyallup will study through the School for International Training (SIT) China Community Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine program. He is a nutrition and chemistry double major.
INTERNATIONAL RECIPIENT
Rebekah Cockram of Newton Abbot, England, will study through the University of Hong Kong fall program. She is a history major.
PHILLIPS GRADUATE AMBASSADOR
Samee Siddiqui, a doctoral candidate in history, will conduct research in Japan this summer.
Learn more on the Phillips Ambassadors website.
