For immediate use
Four UNC-Chapel Hill students selected as inaugural Robinson Honors Fellows
(Chapel Hill, N.C.— April 4, 2016) – Four students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been selected as the first recipients of the 2016 Anne L. and S. Epes Robinson Honors Fellowship.
The award provides funding for students who propose a program of study focused on an aspect of the history and culture of the West, including Europe and the Mediterranean region, from 5th century B.C.E. to 1920. The proposed fellowship experience must be one that allows the student to study the humanities and the ideas that have molded Western society and form the foundation of Western culture.
The inaugural class of Robinson Honors Fellows is:
Abigail Gancz, Class of 2019, is from Rockville, Maryland and is pursuing a double major in biostatistics from the Gillings School of Global Public Health and anthropology from the College of Arts and Sciences. This summer she will travel to Israel to participate in the excavation of the archeological site, Omrit, and create an online collection of 3-D models of historical artifacts, famous historic Israeli sites and modern structures.
Ori Hashmonay, Class of 2018, is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is pursuing a double major in art history and German studies with a minor in French from the College of Arts and Sciences. This summer she will spend two months traveling to Jewish museums and archives throughout Europe analyzing illustrated Ketubbahs, which are Jewish marriage contracts.
Alex LaGrand, Class of 2018, is from Cary, North Carolina and is pursuing a double major in English and dramatic art with a minor in medieval and early modern studies from the College of Arts and Sciences. She will spend two weeks researching prompt books used in performances of Shakespeare’s King Lear at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. She will also spend the following five weeks working at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia as the official dramaturge for their professional summer production of King Lear.
Marcus Valcarce-Aspegren, Class of 2017, is from Oak Ridge, North Carolina and is majoring in ethnobotany with minors in chemistry and in medicine, literature and culture from the College of Arts and Sciences. This summer he will travel to northern Spain to study medieval texts on medicine, herbalism and religion in order to learn about the cultural and historical experiences of healing and what it meant to be a healer.
The Fellowship was established in 2015 by a gift from UNC-Chapel Hill alumni Anne L. Robinson and S. Epes Robinson. Its purpose is to recognize and support undergraduate students at Carolina who possess extraordinary capability and imagination. The program provides up to $6,000 in funding for expenses for domestic or international learning experiences that explore art, literature, music, history, politics, economics, philosophy or religion of the West and the Mediterranean. The fellowship is open to all Carolina students who meet the eligibility criteria.
Read more about the Robinson Honors Fellowships on its website.
-Carolina-
Photo Link:
About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor’s, 113 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty – including two Nobel laureates – staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 308,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 150 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.
Robinson Honors Fellowship contact: Gina Difino, (919) 962-9680, Gina_Difino@unc.edu
Communications and Public Affairs contact: MC VanGraafeiland, (919) 962-7090, mc.vangraafeiland@unc.edu