As the University’s first Latino student body president, Alvarez embraces the challenge of representing his peers, bridging connections across campus and leadership, and ensuring that every student feels heard.

“I represent 32,000 people,” he said. “Serving as president gives me the chance to show up for students, to listen and to learn from them. I believe we’re stronger when we bring different perspectives together.”

Alvarez grew up in Guerrero, Mexico, and moved by himself to the United States when he was 16. As a high school senior, he lived alone and worked overtime at a QuikTrip gas station in Arizona to make ends meet.

At Carolina, Alvarez received a Carolina Covenant and a Wachovia Chancellor’s scholarships.

“I didn’t have much in the United States at the time; it was just me,” Alvarez said. “Carolina offered to pay for my education and had it all figured out for me. Carolina gave me everything.”

Alvarez is double-majoring in media and journalism at UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and in global studies in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. He has had summer internships with IHG Hotels and Resorts in Atlanta and the OneCarolina Summer Internship Program, where he got real-life experience in university development.

“In Hussman, we learn how to articulate things, how to communicate mass messaging and also balance the audiences you’re working with. That’s helped me in my term of student body president and at both of my internships,” he said. “Communication is such an important component of being in leadership.”

Since taking office, he has worked to improve communication between University administration and students. At the same time, he’s helping launch efforts like the Carolina Closet, a project to provide students with free access to professional attire for interviews, internships and job opportunities.

“By working with donors and campus partners, I hope to establish the Carolina Closet as a permanent resource, similar to a food pantry but focused on formal wear,” he said.

Since election night, Alvarez’s life catapulted into a state of constant busyness that he’s never experienced before. But he’s not fazed by it; he’s grateful.

“My life has changed a lot,” he said. “You go from being just a student to being a text away from the chancellor and serving on the UNC Board of Trustees and speaking at convocation and being on the stage at graduation. It’s such a privilege to represent so many people, and I’m genuinely excited because it gives me a reason to talk to everyone. If I see a random event on campus, even if I’m not sure I’m invited, I’ll show up and say, ‘Hey, everyone!’”

For Alvarez, serving as student body president isn’t just leadership, it’s gratitude in action, a way to honor the University that changed his life by devoting himself fully to the students he now represents.

“I always knew that I wanted to pay back everything the University gave me,” he said. “I came from an environment of uncertainty, and UNC only wanted me to worry about succeeding. I don’t see a better way to give back than representing the people, giving my energy and devoting my time to students. This opportunity is so full circle and exactly what I was hoping for, to give back to Carolina.”

The Graduate School’s annual 3MT is designed to sharpen public speaking and storytelling. Students say it’s practice for moments such as job interviews, conversations with a policymaker or reporter or meetings with potential funders. The school’s CareerWell team offers participants workshops and consultations.

Read about three projects from the competition.

Bugs as drugs

Alita Miller, a doctoral candidate in pharmaceutical sciences at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, won first place for “Bugs as Drugs: A New Way to Treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease.” Miller will represent UNC-Chapel Hill at the regional 3MT competition, hosted by the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools.

Miller is developing enhanced probiotics — the “good bacteria” people often take for gut health — to help treat inflammatory bowel diseases. She hopes to translate that research into therapies and into leadership in the biotech world.

“One big aspect of leading teams or leading a company is being able to communicate in a very easy to understand way,” she said. “That’s what I learned through the 3MT experience.”

Dialects in children’s TV shows

Nicole Peterson, a doctoral candidate in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, won the People’s Choice award for “Intersections of Dialect, Gender, Race and Class in Children’s Television.” Her research examines how streaming shows for children portray different dialects — specifically Southern accents and African American Vernacular English — and how those portrayals can reinforce stereotypes or erase authentic voices.

“I can’t present 200 pages of research in an interview, but I can get them to listen for three minutes,” Peterson said.

Peterson’s preliminary findings show that of the more than 1,000 characters studied, about 4% used a Southern accent and less than 3% used an AAVE accent.

Stereotyping of characters with Southern and African American Vernacular English accents included depicting both as nonhuman and Southern speakers as poor, uncultured and low class. Women with AAVE-accents tend to be depicted as managers and modern strong Black women, while men with AAVE-accents are often shown as emotionally immature and broken.

For Peterson, the clarity from preparing is critical to her career. “Our most marketable skill is our ability to communicate. You’re going to have to talk to people. AI is not going to get rid of that.”

Political prediction markets

Parker Bach, also a Hussman doctoral student, won second place for “Who Called It? Information, Culture and Public Opinion on Political Prediction Markets.” He researches prediction markets –– platforms where people wager on future events –– with a focus on election outcomes. “Journalists often treat odds in prediction markets like they’re science, so I want to know how people decide to bet in them,” he said.

Bach found:

• Around the 2024 elections, journalists started reporting on prediction market odds alongside or in place of poll-based forecasts.
• After the election, news references to prediction markets as evidence continued on topics beyond just elections.
• The more journalists report market odds like scientific fact, the more incentive there is for people with money to move markets artificially to make news.
• Prediction markets forecast elections fairly well, but more research is needed to know how well they predict other events.

Bach called the competition “a great chance to work on not only explaining what you’re doing to a general audience but also crystallizing for yourself why that’s important,” adding that public speaking is expected of academics but rarely taught directly.

See the presentation videos.

They were rehearsing a fight scene for the movie “Gangs of New York.” Kelly didn’t want to hurt Neeson’s injured shoulder, but the prop’s floppy rubber blade altered the stuntman’s swing. So Kelly changed his grip and popped Neeson with the mock, yet convincing, blow for which he was hired.

That anecdote begins Kelly’s memoir “A Different Take,” which details how he balanced two careers — stuntman for 25 years and journalist for 30.

Born in Washington, D.C., Kelly spent his childhood rushing between school, auditions and acting gigs in shows and commercials for toys and Wonder Bread. As a teenager, he became serious about basketball.

Noting Carolina’s hoops success, he decided that he must go there and play for coach Dean Smith. He made the junior varsity squad his first year and planned to practice over the summer to earn a spot on the varsity squad his sophomore year.

Instead, Kelly’s mother enrolled him in Carolina’s study abroad program in London. The experience changed his life.

UNC English professor Christopher Armitage took the class to The Old Vic for a performance of Harold Pinter’s “No Man’s Land,” starring renowned actors John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. The class sat seven rows from the stage.

“It hit places in my soul. I understood that visit to The Old Vic, even then, better than everyone,” said Kelly, a drama major. “It distracted me completely from my focus of basketball.”  It was a revelation, he wrote: “There’s Coach Smith, but there’s also Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson.”

Sean Kelly (right) with Daniel Day Lewis in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Gangs of New York’. (Submitted photo)

“UNC, from the start, was like walking through a door to the world,” Kelly said. “Studying Shakespeare in England opened my eyes to what was to come. It changed my life completely for the better. UNC made you thirst for many aspirations and made you believe they were achievable.”

At Carolina, Kelly spent two years on the junior varsity squad and became one of Smith’s trusted team statisticians. He also deepened his acting skills, built sets and learned staging, lighting and performance. Creative writing and English professors encouraged Kelly to hone his writing.

The Washington Post hired Kelly as an editorial aide in 1980. Under future managing editor Bob Kaiser, he helped reporters cover the Pentagon, the White House, education and breaking news. Kelly also had freelance stories published in most sections of the paper.

“I walked into a job where the world fell into your lap every day,” Kelly said.

Seeking extra income, Kelly signed with a local talent agency. He got a small role in 1984’s “George Washington” miniseries. Next, he drove cars fast in “Protocol,” starring Goldie Hawn.

His stunt career had begun.

For the next 25 years, Kelly executed stunts in commercials, TV and movies. He crashed cars, fell from as high as 50 feet, escaped death in a glacier’s crevasse and almost drowned in swampy mud near a 9-foot alligator.

High points include catching supermodel Paulina Porizkova (“Her Alibi”), fighting Jack Nicholson (“Hoffa”) and doubling for him in “The Departed,” and being flattened by Bruce Willis (“12 Monkeys”). He worked with Daniel Day-Lewis, Holly Hunter, Angelina Jolie, Ving Rhames, Julia Roberts, Tom Selleck and many other actors as well as directors Barry Levinson, Martin Scorsese and John Waters.

Kelly’s credits include TV’s “Rescue 911” for seven years, “Homicide: Life on the Street” and HBO’s “The Wire.” His last stunt gig was as a taxi driver in 2016’s “Ghostbusters.”

All the while, he reared three daughters — Brigid Kelly Waters ’18, Clara Kelly Page and Courtney Kelly ’13 — with his wife, Cathy.

Sean Kelly ’79 with two of his daughters Brigid ’18 (left) and Clara (right) at a Carolina men’s basketball game. (Submitted photo)

Fast forward to 2025, and AI is now everywhere – and evolving daily. Yet many philosophical and ethical questions remain.

Since joining the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media as an assistant professor in 2023, Geier has made AI a central part of his work, calling it “the most important thing happening in the world.” He’s had countless conversations with industry leaders, CEOs and philosophers to better understand how AI is being used and the implications of that use. In his own classroom, Geier asks students to use AI for homework and provide their own “human-bot reflections.”

Some of those conversations have been exhilarating, others frightening. But the more Geier dug into AI, the more he realized a larger, public conversation needed to take place. That’s how Converge-Con – Hussman’s first AI convention – was born.

The unique, interactive convention is open to the public and will take place Oct. 22-24 at various campus locations (a full schedule can be viewed on the Converge-Con website). In designing the event, Geier said he wanted to create a gathering similar in atmosphere to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

“It’s not just an academic conference. It’s a tech cultural event. It’s art; it’s music,” Geier said. “The idea is: Let’s talk about this and start creating a buzz as UNC being where the conversation is happening.

“AI has potential to do amazing things, and we’re going to showcase some of those. But there’s also some problems, and we’ll talk about those. This is where the conversation is happening, and especially as a school of communication, it’s important for us to take on that role.”

‘The good, bad and the ugly’

As planning for Converge-Con took place, the convention blossomed from a Hussman event into a campus-wide collaboration.

Converge-Con was created in partnership with the UNC School of Law, the UNC College of Arts and Science’s Parr Center for Ethics, the Center for Faculty Excellence and with Innovate Carolina Junction, which will host several of the convention’s events and speakers.

Converge-Con features a wide array of speakers to cover every angle of AI, or as Geier calls it, “the good, bad and the ugly.”

Speakers include corporate heavyweights like Peter Sherman, the head of innovation, integration and growth at Omnicom – the world’s largest marketing services company – and Rob Bernstein, the chief innovation officer at the global public relations firm Ketchum. Other guests come from media giants like CNN, McClatchy and The Wall Street Journal as well as current Carolina faculty.

Events will go beyond panel discussions and will include interactive components, like an AI music session with Carolina professors Mark Katz and Pablo Vega, as well as an immersive, AI-driven art experience by renowned media and lighting designer Tao Wang.

On Oct. 24, the School of Law will hold a first-ever mock criminal trial with an all-AI jury in its on-campus courtroom. Human law students will serve as prosecutor, defense attorney and witnesses, but the case will be decided in real time by three AI programs.

All the while, there will be plenty of room for feedback, questions and comments from audience members.

“The culmination of Converge-Con, in terms of the talking head part, is a huge town hall, and it’s called ‘Risk/Reward,’” Geier said. “It’s going to be an expert representing each of the potentially catastrophic risks of AI: the environment, the stress on the power grid, bias, deep fakes, job loss. Is this a threat to us as a species?

“I’m going to be the moderator, and there will be a room of 450 students. I’ll hand them a mic, and ask them, ‘What’s on your mind? How do you feel about this?’ I want lights, camera, action on UNC having a very important conversation about all of this.”

But all along, no matter how far he traveled, Ginyard held UNC-Chapel Hill close to his heart. Carolina is where Ginyard grew into a leader and team captain, where he won a national title as part of coach Roy Williams’ 2009 men’s team. It’s where Ginyard cultivated the skills for a post-playing career in commercial real estate.

Now, fittingly, Chapel Hill is home for Ginyard once again.

Carolina has appointed Ginyard as director of special projects, a role jointly supporting leadership in the Offices of Public Affairs and Finance and Operations. In this position, Ginyard will provide high-level operational and strategic support to the chancellor, the chief strategic officer and the vice chancellor for finance and operations.

“This is an opportunity that made too much sense for me, quite frankly,” said Ginyard, who has already moved back to Chapel Hill and started in the position. “To come back to Carolina, a place I love, a place that means so much to me and a place where I have the opportunity to make an impact on future Tar Heels and to be part of continuing the legacy of the University – it was an absolute no-brainer.”

Ginyard said he is eager to dive into the multifaceted role, which will allow him to use his diverse skill set to support Carolina and the larger community in a variety of ways.

See more stories on Carolina Alumni

Ginyard will work closely with Secretary of the University Chris McClure to support the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, coordinating special projects, representing the University at events and advancing University initiatives in partnership with leaders across campus.

He will also play a key role in community engagement and planning efforts for Carolina North, a 250-acre research and mixed-use academic campus planned for two miles north of the main campus. With Carolina North, Ginyard will be able to leverage the experience he gained as a commercial mortgage broker and vice president at Medalist Capital in Raleigh, where he worked before returning to Chapel Hill.

“It’s been exciting to connect with a lot of different people across campus and throughout the community,” Ginyard said. “Because it’s not just the University of North Carolina. It’s the town of Chapel Hill. It’s the state of North Carolina. It’s such a large, connected ecosystem, and it’s been really interesting to get to know all the different stakeholders at various levels.

“And one cool thing about it is that a lot of the different players in this realm are people that I’ve known for 20 years.”

Ginyard isn’t alone in coming back to his alma mater, as many of his former Tar Heel teammates have remained active in the community. Fellow 2009 national champion Tyler Hansbrough, for instance, is serving as a visiting professor for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media this semester.

In recent years Ginyard has given back to his community in a plethora of ways, serving on the boards of directors for Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina and for Carolina Alumni, while also serving on the Board of Visitors for the UNC Institute for the Environment.

Ginyard’s new role as special projects director will allow him to make an even larger impact.

“The way I like to think about this is very similar to how I played the game of basketball,” Ginyard said. “I’m thinking about how great it is to be a part of this team. This is a huge team, the biggest team I’ve ever played on, but we’re all working toward the same common goal.

“We want to be the best public university, the best university in the state, the best university in the country. I want us to have the best nursing school, performing arts department, law school and business school, just as much as I want to have the best teams out there on the field.  I want people to think about the University of North Carolina as a top-tier, best-in-class institution.”

In his first fall semester, Tinson met Jacqui Steadman Greene ’94, who told him about her job as a student assistant in the Athletic Department’s sports information office. “It sounded like the coolest job in the world,” he said.

Though admittedly a bit introverted, Tinson hustled to the office, snagged an interview and was hired to start the job the next fall.

That led to three years of working in athletics media relations while taking classes at what is now the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. There he honed knowledge that he still uses in his job as chief experience officer at Electronic Arts. EA is the world’s largest independent publisher of video games like Madden NFL and The Sims. Tinson oversees marketing, communications, sales, customer care and all go-to-market functions, leading nearly 2,000 people in 34 countries. His team’s job, Tinson said, is “to drive demand for our business by telling the stories of our games and what makes them special, building our brands globally and listening to our community to make their experience amazing.”

He’s at the center of a global video game industry that is worth $200 billion, more than all other entertainment sectors combined, according to Bloomberg’s “Wall Street Week.” Tinson said that 3 billion people play interactive games.

Tinson’s family moved to Matthews, North Carolina, when he was 5. His parents encouraged him and his three brothers to go to college wherever they felt they’d succeed. Although his brothers attended Notre Dame and Providence, Tinson listened to his father’s advice about Carolina.

“He said, ‘If you go to a state school, there’s no reason in the world to go anywhere other than North Carolina because it’s the best one there is,’” Tinson remembered.

When the basketball team won the 1993 national championship, he couldn’t wait to begin the student assistant job. The journalism major supported game day media relations for the men’s basketball and football teams and promoted other teams like baseball. What he learned in classes like newswriting he used almost every day on the job as he absorbed the inner workings of big-time college athletics.

“I felt like I was in the center of the universe of learning, both in the classroom and on the job. I remember that if you misspelled a person’s name, it was minus 50, so you instantly failed. I use commas correctly to this day, I triple-check news sources. It was all real, very specific, practical things,” he said.

Fact-checking is something he often discusses with his sons. “I couldn’t have known at the time that it would be such an essential part of navigating today’s world,” he said.

He also didn’t recognize at the time how his Carolina days were preparing him for a career. “I learned to seek context, be curious, have good editorial instincts and how to connect the dots to synthesize a good story. This is essential to building business strategy in my role today,” Tinson said.

After graduating, Tinson worked in athletics media relations at the University of Texas at Austin, then NBC Sports and at Carolina before joining EA in 2003.

He’s been fortunate to be around inspiring and talented mentors. “They were good to me because I was curious, and I didn’t think anything was above me. I felt that I needed to know how to do a little bit of everything, and having that range served me well,” he said.

See more stories on Carolina Alumni

Nearly 20 years later, the Tar Heel basketball legend is the person facilitating those types of classroom conversations.

Hansbrough ’09 is a visiting professor in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media this semester. He’s co-teaching MEJO 377: Sports Communication with Livis Freeman, an associate professor and director of Hussman’s sports communication focus program.

Hansbrough is one of the most decorated players in Carolina basketball history, but he’s also a shy person, so teaching wasn’t a career he ever envisioned. In the past several years, though, he has been a guest speaker in Freeman’s classes, started his own podcast and served as a color analyst for the Tar Heel Sports Network. Now the four-time All-American and 2009 national champion is excited for this new challenge — and how he can help students.

Hansbrough helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2009 national championship a year after winning ACC and national player of the year awards. (Jeffrey A. Camarati)

He once told a class about how, during the pandemic, he was asked to work a TV broadcast of a men’s basketball game with just a day’s notice — something he’d never done. He jumped right in, relying on his experiences playing at Carolina and for nearly 11 years in the NBA and in China to comment on that game’s action. (The Tar Heels beat Northeastern.)

The challenge of starting anew resonated with students also facing new beginnings: switching majors, starting internships or even moving from a different country. That gave Hansbrough confidence he was making an impact.

“This is very much out of my comfort zone, but I’ve really enjoyed working with the students and trying to answer questions and give them help from an athlete perspective,” said the 2023 College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. “I think that’s the benefit I can provide as far as stories and experiences that I’ve had dealing with the media and also the differences between college and professional media, and also international.”

Traditionally, Freeman has taught the class through the lens of strategic communications in sports, but with Hansbrough onboard, he broadened the syllabus to also cover broadcast, media production, the NIL era and more.

Steve Kirschner (right), a longtime staff member in the athletic department, told Hussman School of Journalism and Media students that Hansbrough is the most accomplished male athlete he’s ever worked with. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

One day early in the semester, the 6-foot-9 Hansbrough stood at the front of a Carroll Hall classroom leading a Q&A with Steve Kirschner, the senior associate athletic director for sports information and media relations. Kirschner, who’s served as the primary media contact for Tar Heel men’s basketball for the past 30 years, discussed working with Hansbrough as he won ACC and national player of the year awards in 2008 and talking with him on the court after winning the 2009 national championship.

It’s those experiences that make the former player an asset to have in class, Freeman says.

“When I wrote up the model for this, I talked about how I try to bring a certain level of passion and energy with the guest speakers,” he said. “I thought, ‘How cool would it be to have someone who’s lived and breathed all of this stuff, and at the highest level?’ … I told students, ‘You’ve got to put this in your portfolios and emphasize it when you try to get a job.’”

Hansbrough, who played professional basketball for nearly 11 years in the NBA and in China, said stories about tackling new challenges have resonated with students. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Hansbrough, who also spoke at New Student Convocation, has fielded several jokes from former teammates surprised to see him back in the classroom. But he’s enjoying walking through campus and interacting with students.

“This isn’t just a four-year university and a place where you get your diploma,” said Hansbrough, who graduated with a degree in communications. “That’s very important, but the connections you build here and the people you meet — there’ll be lifetime connections. You never know what can formulate.”

Between two internships, a job at a children’s museum and running her own crafting business, the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media student kept herself immersed in projects.

“It’s been crazy busy,” Wilkins said. “Holding down multiple positions has been a lot, but I’ve honestly really enjoyed the organized chaos.”

Much of her joy came from her work directly connecting to her passion for journalism and mass communication.

Wilkins’ internship with Triangle Media Partners — which publishes Chapel Hill Magazine — gave her the chance to put her skills into practice. She spent her days fact-checking articles and ensuring the writers followed AP style, the standard in most newsrooms. By the end of the summer, she was able to write some of her own stories, like one about local businesses that have pets on their teams.

“As someone who loves to support small businesses and is a huge animal lover, I had such a great time on that one,” Wilkins said.

At her second internship, with Wake County’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Wilkins helped lead social media outreach and launched a newsletter while still finding ways to incorporate her love of writing.

“One of the things I loved with NAMI was learning about their services and how people were getting involved in communities,” Wilkins said. “So,I sort of assigned myself features to write about volunteers and highlight how their mental health outreach is helping people around them.”

Before her time at Carolina, though, Wilkins had her eyes set on following in her mom’s footsteps as a teacher. A journalism class in her sophomore year of high school changed her plans.

“It was always in the back of my mind but never something I thought could be my career,” she said.

When she was accepted to Carolina, Wilkins declared journalism as her major because of her love of writing, but she half-expected to switch. Instead, she quickly found herself drawn in by what the journalism school offered.

“What’s so great about Hussman is that there are so many different avenues you can take,” Wilkins said. “I’ve gained a broader understanding of everything from writing, photography and editing.”

On top of her internships, Wilkins spent mornings working the opening shift at the Children’s Museum of Alamance County, a role that reflected her early interest in teaching and working with children.

Wilkins has also turned her love of crochet into a business. (Submitted photo)

When she wasn’t at work, Wilkins devoted time to crocheting plush animals — a hobby that has grown into her own small business, Crochet by Payton.

“I used to crochet so much that my couch would be completely filled with plush animals I had made,” Wilkins said. “That’s when I made the business decision, because I had to start making room for myself.”

As she prepares to graduate in December, Wilkins said she’s eager to bring her summer lessons back to Carolina.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Wilkins said. “I’ve gained such a broad range of skills and discovered so much about Chapel Hill through my internships. It’s exciting to be in my final semester, and I can’t wait to keep exploring and discovering new things about Carolina before I graduate.”

Among the 800 American professionals to receive Fulbright scholar awards are these Tar Heel faculty and staff:

• Madeline Allen, assistant director of global student services, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, received the 2025 Fulbright International Education Administrators Award to deepen her understanding of German higher education and its current challenges.
• Christy Avery, professor of epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, received the 2025-26 Fulbright-University of Leeds Distinguished Scholar Award to study whether genetics can help identify patients with two common autoimmune diseases.
• Tori Smith Ekstrand, professor, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, received the Fulbright-Schuman Innovation Award, funded by the European Union, to expand her studies on artificial intelligence education and media law.
• Krista Northup, director for global partnerships in UNC Global Affairs, received the Fulbright International Education Administrators Award to learn about higher education in Japan.
• Gabriel Sneh, Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases fellow and neurology resident at John Hopkins University, will complete his research project on strokes in Zambia.

“We always say that Carolina’s faculty are world class. Receiving a competitive and distinguished Fulbright U.S. Scholar award validates that statement,” said Heather Ward, associate provost for global affairs.

The Office of the Provost and UNC Global Affairs will award $5,000 to faculty or staff who receive a 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award. Contact UNC Global Affairs or the Center for Faculty Excellence for more information before the Sept. 15 application deadline.

The 24 students and alumni received Fulbrights to 18 countries on six continents. This year, Carolina has its first-ever Fulbright U.S. Student Program recipients to Bahrain, Eswatini, Iceland, Kuwait and Serbia. Through the Fulbright program, Tar Heels will conduct malaria research in Brazil, work on public health in Malawi, study transportation in Malaysia, collaborate with mathematicians in Germany and serve as English teaching assistants around the globe.

“Carolina develops global leaders. Our students receive remarkable support through language instruction, study abroad, UNC Global Affairs, the Writing Center, and area studies centers, to name a few resources,” said Marc Howlett, executive director of the Office of Distinguished Scholarships in Honors Carolina.

Last year, for the first time ever, Carolina became the No. 1 public university for Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards. Carolina students and alumni interested in applying to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2026-27 should connect with the Office of Distinguished Scholarships. The campus deadline to apply is Sept. 7.

These Tar Heels received 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards to research, teach English and study:

• Holly Adams ’24 (and current Master of Public Policy graduate student), teaching, Colombia
• Klodia Badal ’25, research, Eswatini
• Eliyambuya Baker ’23, research, Brazil
• Sarah Broyhill ’24, research, Australia
• Kristin Bruffey ’23, teaching, Spain
• Esther Chen ’23 (and current linguistics graduate student), teaching, Germany
• Marion Dewey ’25, teaching, Colombia
• Aden Laws ’25, study, Iceland
• Kyle Lumsden ’25, research, Jamaica
• Lenya Schmidt Neuhaus ’23, research, India
• Kaylee O’Brien ’25, teaching, Czech Republic
• Kailey Patel ’25, teaching, Spain
• Brianna Patterson ’25, teaching, Bahrain
• Abigail Pender ’25, teaching, Colombia
• Dalia Qarqour ’25, research, Kuwait
• Siddharth Reddy ’25, teaching, Serbia
• Aditya Senthil ’25, research, Belgium
• Zachariah Stern ’26 (MD), Fulbright-Fogarty public health fellowship, Malawi
• Corey Su ’17, research, Malaysia
• Trilla Teague ’25, teaching, Spain
• Alessandra Caceres Torres ’24, teaching, Mexico
• Alexandra Whiteside ’25, research, Germany
• Victoria Wlosok ’25, teaching, Czech Republic
• Jason Yan ’25, teaching, Indonesia

Read more about the faculty and staff Fulbrighters.

Read more about the student and alumni Fulbrighters.

Smith, who is double-majoring in media and journalism and exercise and sport science, recently returned to Chapel Hill from South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. She spent the summer there as a media relations intern with Little League and played an important role at its 12-day signature event that ended Aug. 24.

The LLWS, held since 1947 and broadcast on ESPN for decades, is arguably baseball in one of its purest forms: teams of 10- to 12-year-olds from across the world entranced with America’s pastime and competing to win. Chinese Taipei defeated Nevada in the final, 7-0.

Smith was the conduit between these tween stars — in some cases future pros — and the press, as she helped oversee the credentialing process of nearly 250 media members and orchestrated media appearances by players and coaches.

“It’s been the best experience ever,” said Smith, who decided to attend Carolina after she was preadmitted into the Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

Smith (left) worked her internship through Aug. 24, when the LLWS concluded. (Submitted photo)

The online listing for the internship appealed to her because it combined her passions for sports, communications and youth development.

She also volunteered twice before at the Little League Softball World Series, held in her hometown of Greenville, North Carolina. “I loved meeting people from all across the world and getting to hear about their lives,” she said.

Before the baseball internship, Smith was an athletic director intern at Durham Academy, photographer at a summer camp, operations manager and official at UNC Campus Recreation and sports writer at The Daily Tar Heel.

Early in the summer, she wrote stories about Little League umpires (all volunteers) and conducted research on the number of former LLWS participants who went on to make the college baseball and softball world series and get selected in the MLB draft.

As the LLWS drew closer, she wrote press releases when international teams qualified and helped with the physical signage around the stadiums.

Smith helped with physical signage at the LLWS. (Submitted photo)

The excitement built once the teams arrived. One of her favorite memories was what she called the “car wash process,” a crash course media day for players and coaches.

“We take their height. We make sure all their numbers are correct. We make sure all their names are spelled correctly for the ESPN graphics and our digital web purposes,” she said. “All of the team photos and headshots are taken, and then we send them over to ESPN for their video production.”

The most rewarding part of Smith’s work was being one of the first people to talk to players and coaches after a game.

“You’re getting to have fun with them before bringing them in front of the media,” Smith said.  “Also watching the coaches care so much about these kids has been so powerful. I feel like that comes out when they talk about them in the press conference.”

Smith helped oversee the credentialing process for the nearly 250 media members who attended the LLWS. (Submitted photo)

Her classes at Hussman helped Smith develop the skills she’s using in the real world.

“My journalism classes have been so professional and have taught me a lot,” said Smith, who’s a part of the school’s sports communication program.

Smith made sure to email her professors back in May about her legit reason for arriving a week late in the fall. This was no extended summer vacation.

“They were all very willing to work with me,” Smith said.

Her professors told her, “Don’t worry about class right now. Enjoy your time there because this is what it’s all about.”