Campus: UNC
Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
High School: Roy C. Ketcham High School

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” In these ten words, Mahatma Gandhi inspires my outlook on life and motivates me to always dedicate my whole heart to all of the things that I do. I love to travel and read about different cultures and ethnicities. In my sophomore year, I started a club at my high school called, “Global Initiates of Change.” The mission of the club is to evoke cultural consciousness and develop a heart for service among its members. I am also passionate about social justice, particularly women’s rights and domestic violence advocacy. I have worked closely with a domestic violence shelter in my hometown helping to organize educational opportunities for women at the shelter as well as counseling for victims’ children. Throughout high school, I have been apart of many clubs, volunteer projects, and organizations. From these experiences, I have found that I truly enjoy the times that I spend with children. I have been fortunate enough to nanny for two families, which has resulted in my ultimate descriptive story telling capabilities and my ability to master any board game you can imagine. I have also spent four years mentoring second grade students at the Ivy AKAdemy Youth Mentor program in my community. I have come to know beautiful, brilliant, and humble children who make playing Star Wars and having head stand contests the best part of my day. I believe in empowering the future generations and the minds of our youth. Out of all the activities that I am apart of, I love the work I do with children so much because I have found that positivity is in their bones and that they never stop asking questions. For these reasons, I truly feel that there is so much that we can all learn from the naivety of a child’s lens and I hope to continue to work with them as I complete my undergraduate education and pursue my professional career.

Stemming from personal life experiences, I yearn to understand race relations. Thus, I plan to pursue a double major in cultural anthropology and adolescent psychology at UNC. It is my hope that my undergraduate training and professional opportunities pursued will mold me into a leader with tools to collaboratively create a future with more equality, compassion, and understanding for each other, and where we rise above modes of oppression. On a side note, I am an avid online shopper who loves to cook, play volleyball, and binge watch Grey’s Anatomy.

What drew you to the Robertson Program? 

Whenever I tell anyone about the Robertson, their response is always some version of disbelief. “That is just too good to be true.” The mentorship and guidance plus the plethora of opportunities the Robertson affords makes it clear that this program shapes unique leaders who after their four years in college will be true change makers. The Robertson community is comprised of compassionate and driven individuals. I am eager to be apart of an environment of like-minded people who all want to make a difference in this world, yet at the same time, all have such differing passions and interests. I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to be a Robertson Scholar because I will spend these next four years being challenged academically, becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable, and preparing to make meaningful contributions to this world.