Seven Students Receive Class of 1938 Summer Project Abroad Fellowship
April 30, 2019
UNC Global Affairs
Seven students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have received Class of 1938 Summer Project Abroad Fellowships for research abroad in summer 2019.
Supported by an endowment created by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Class of 1938, the fellowship has funded independent international projects by Carolina students since 1975. After World War II, which many members of the class of 1938 lived and suffered through, the endowment was created to promote peace through global understanding and competence. The award is administered annually by International Student and Scholar Services.
The recipients, each of whom will receive $5,000, were chosen based on the quality of their proposals, financial need and demonstrated purpose. The selection committee is comprised of former fellows and Class of 1938 members.
The 2019 summer fellowship recipients are: Areej Hussein, Hailey Jenkins, Aisha Jitan, Cameren Lofton, Nikole Nguyen, Latesha Sharpe and Hanna Wondmagegn.
Areej Hussein, a student in nutrition and public health, will travel to the Philippines to research the impact of early child malnutrition on young women’s reproductive health and childbearing. She will be mentored by faculty from the Office of Population Studies Foundation at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, Philippines, who have a collaborative project with UNC-Chapel Hill.
Hailey Jenkins, a student in nutrition, will spend time in Italy with Doctors in Italy shadowing doctors in several specialties. She will then travel to Greece to serve as a research assistant in nutrition for a professor in Athens, Greece.
Aisha Jitan, a student in global studies and pre-med, will travel to Amman, Jordan, to intern at the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network to pursue health research in refugee camps.
Cameren Lofton, a student in political science and contemporary European studies, will travel to Hannover, Germany, to intern with a project that facilitates migrant and refugee integration through storytelling and theater. Additionally, she will research interactions between migrants and the German government.
Nikole Nguyen, a student in computer science and East Asian studies, will travel to Taiwan to work as a journalist for New Bloom magazine, where she will produce stories on the Vietnamese diaspora residing on the island of Taiwan. She will explore how Taiwanese society has influenced the Vietnamese diaspora’s sense of identity and assist
the volunteers who work to integrate disadvantaged Vietnamese into Taiwanese society.
Latesha Sharpe, a student in nursing, will travel to Tanzania as part of an interprofessional trip providing assessments, health education and treatments to villages in East Africa. Additionally, she will explore the how culture, nutrition and lifestyle affect cardiometabolic health in East African communities and the applicability of this research to African American populations in the United States.
Hanna Wondmagegn, a student in photojournalism and food studies, will travel to Italy to produce a photo story on the intersection of food and culture as it relates to the Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora communities. The story will highlight the contributions immigrants bring to Italian food production and consumption.
More information about Class of 1938 Fellowships can be found on the Center for Global Initiatives website.