Sixteen undergraduates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been selected as Phillips Ambassadors for summer and fall 2018 study abroad programs in Asia. In addition, one public health doctoral student was awarded a Phillips Graduate Ambassador award for research in China this summer.
Undergraduate scholarship recipients will study in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.
The Phillips Ambassadors Program is part of UNC’s Carolina Asia Center, in association with the Study Abroad Office in the College of Arts & Sciences. 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 & 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 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 2018, 314 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
Craven
Harrison Cho of New Bern will study through the KFBS International Internship Hong Kong summer program. He is an economics and business administration major.
Durham
Julie Nguyen of Durham will study through the CET Vietnam Development Studies summer program. She is a health policy and management major.
Hertford
Quincy Godwin of Ahoskie will study through the CET Beijing Intensive Language fall program. He is a computer science major.
Mecklenburg
Sydney Ann Bozman of Charlotte will study through the Fudan University fall program. She is a political science and peace, war, and defense double major.
New Hanover
Ciara Henihan of Wilmington will study through the UNC Summer in India program. She is a global studies major with a chemistry minor.
Blythe King of Wrightsville Beach will study through the CET Beijing Intensive Language summer program. She is an environmental health sciences major with a double minor in computer science and Chinese.
Orange
Benjamin Millar of Chapel Hill will study through the KFBS National University of Singapore Business School fall program. He is a business administration major with a public policy and philosophy, politics, and economics double minor.
Logan Pratico of Chapel Hill will study through the National University of Singapore School of Computing fall program. He is a global studies and computer science double major.
Pitt
Jaein Yoon of Winterville will study through the Korea University International Summer School program. She is an environmental studies and public relations double major with a studio art minor.
Wake
William Keith Blanks Jr. of Raleigh will study through the National University of Singapore Summer Research program. He is a biostatistics and chemistry double major with a math minor.
Kevin Cao of Morrisville will study through the Fudan University fall program. He is an economics and computer sciences double major.
Alean Graves of Raleigh will study through the UNC Summer in Japan program. She is a dental hygiene major.
Yadkin
Madison Haynes of East Bend will study through the UNC Summer in India program. She is an English major with a creative writing minor.
OUT-OF-STATE RECIPIENTS
Colorado
Jake Sherman of Denver will study through the UNC Summer in Japan program. He is a history and political science double major with a Japanese minor.
Massachusetts
Edward Batchelder of Boston will study through the UNC Entrepreneurship in Shanghai summer program. He is a history major with an entrepreneurship minor.
Texas
Claire Addison of Dallas will study through the KFBS International Internship Singapore summer program. She is a biology and Spanish linguistics double major with a business administration minor.
GRADUATE PHILLIPS AMBASSADOR
Wei Chang of Nanjing, China, will conduct research in China this summer. She is a doctoral student in health policy and management with a minor in economics.
Learn more on the Phillips Ambassadors.
