“My dad would put me in any recreational sport that was happening in our town. I played softball, basketball, and even track. But I’ve always loved to dance,” Harrison said.

In the summer of her junior year of high school, Harrison attended a summer dance program at Radford University, where she met ������Ƶ West African Dance professor Keshia Gee.

“She told me about ������Ƶ’s dance science program, and I did my research and decided to apply,” she said. “I cried tears of joy when I got admitted.”

Combining her passions for dance and physical therapy, Harrison decided to enroll at ������Ƶ for the opportunities that come with the dance science major.

“I saw that the dance science program was a way for me to open the door for physical therapy. I found that there was more opportunity in this major rather than a typical path,” she said. “This major gives me the background to solidify trust with a patient because I know the body and know how to alleviate the pain they may feel, so they can get back to playing a sport or doing their art.”

Harrison is also pursuing minors in exercise science, African studies and dance. Later in her ������Ƶ career, she aspires to conduct undergraduate research involving West African dance with Assistant Professor of Dance Keshia Gee. She has also had her sights set on planning a Winter Term study abroad program to broaden her studies on a global scale.

One of ������Ƶ’s opportunities she is using to her advantage is the EMT-Basic certification course done in collaboration with Alamance Community College. Aligned with her physical therapy aspirations, Harrison is excited to complete the course and take the final exam to earn her official EMT certification.

“The aspect of helping people is why I want to do sports physical therapy. I get to incorporate that into my EMT work,” she said. “I’m already getting more confident with labs and learning skills from the practice.”

Eager to learn more and advance her career as much as possible, Harrison has connected with ������Ƶ’s athletic trainer for club sports and performing arts, Christina Yanakis. Harrison recently attended a club hockey game alongside Yanakis, where she saw a professional in action.

“I was able to observe her scope of practice and see the different dynamics of hockey players and their pain points. It helped me realize that I want to do both sports and performing arts, which is why I think physical therapy is my correct path,” said Harrison.

When asked about what she is most proud of, Harrison replied, “I’m proud of how committed I am to the career path I’m on. I’ve stayed with it, and there have been times where I’ve debated changing, but as I advance, I realize more and more that this is what I want to do.”

Harrison’s F.W. Beazley Leadership Scholarship has strengthened her resilience in pursuing her passions.

“With any experience, you get what you put into it, so I am giving it all my might, and I hope I get that in return,” she said.

This mindset has led to sustained motivation and incredible progress within her studies.

She notes that the support through scholarships has given her motivation, adding, “The donors believe in me so much that they will spend their resources and time to make sure that I succeed in my education and career. I am striving for greatness, and I promise to make you proud, and I will always be grateful for the financial help from ������Ƶ donors.”

Gabriela Alvarez ’28 built her ������Ƶ experience around connection, opportunity and identity. As a first-generation college student, she has embraced campus communities that strengthen her character while also discovering her passion for strategic communications.

In her junior year of high school in Westchester, New York, Alvarez signed up for the Immersion experience through the Emerging Journalists Program at ������Ƶ, where she was flown to ������Ƶ for a week to gain experience in her passion for news and broadcasting. Before the program, ������Ƶ had not been on Alvarez’s radar.

“The program changed my view of ������Ƶ. I had a really good time and connected with the professors and the cohort I was in. So, I decided to come see ������Ƶ as a result,” said Alvarez, who notes communications faculty Colin Donohue, Kelly Furnas and Israel Balderas were influential in her experience.

Her campus tour was on Homecoming & Reunion weekend, where she spoke up about her interest in journalism, which resulted in the tour guide encouraging her to explore the newsroom. There, she was able to chat with alumni from the School of Communications, who shared their positive experiences from their time at ������Ƶ.

After touring the communications facilities and connecting with these alumni, she knew ������Ƶ was the place for her.

Her first year here, Alvarez was a journalism major, and joining Live Oak Communications Agency became a turning point in her communications career. After contributing to the agency, Alvarez realized her passions aligned more with the strategic communications major.

“I fell in love with agency life. I liked strategic communications better because there was more creative freedom for me. I enjoy helping businesses that are someone’s life’s work, blossom even further,” she said.

As a part of the Communications Fellows cohort, Alvarez was able to attend a Winter Term Florida trip in her first year. She notes that this trip gave her the opportunity to explore different fields within communications, which reinforced her passion for strategic communications.

“I think the Fellows is an amazing program. It’s given me some of my best friends, and it opened doors for me to connect with professors,” said Alvarez. “I’m so glad I met Professor (Vanessa) Bravo through a Communications Fellows networking event because, like me, she is Hispanic, and that’s very important to my identity. I connected with her, and I joined the Unity in Communications club that helped me connect with other people who are interested in diversity in the communications world.”

Alvarez is also a proud first-generation college student. As the secretary for ������Ƶ’s First-Generation Society, she is consistently making the most out of the opportunities offered to her.

“I really love being first-generation,” she said. “It’s a big part of my identity. I try to do as much as I can to make my parents proud and make their sacrifices worth it.”

In addition, she is also a Bill and Sue Smith Odyssey Scholar. Through attending workshops on financial literacy, discussions on how to stay motivated, and even mental health checks.

“Odyssey has pushed me to be a better person and a better leader who is not afraid to ask for help or try new things. I’ve become more aware of how to succeed in the future, and I feel prepared for post-graduate,” she said.

Through the many communities and cohorts Alvarez is committed to, she has found belonging and purpose on ������Ƶ’s campus.

“I think being a part of these communities, like Odyssey, First Phoenix and Unity in Communications, is a way for me to stay true to myself,” she explained. “I grew up in a Hispanic-centered community, so coming to a predominantly white institution was a bit intimidating, but joining these communities helped me connect to others who have similar backgrounds and qualities as me. It’s important to stay true to the characteristics that are important to you and what makes you, you.”

Her scholarships have been a “weight off her shoulders” throughout her experience at ������Ƶ, allowing her the opportunity to see her dreams realized.

“Being able to tell my family they don’t have to worry so much about me and that I’ve worked hard in school and will continue to work hard is very rewarding. I’m very proud of myself. I’m proud to make my parents happy,” she said. “I’m willing to fight for dreams and fight for what I’m passionate about, and my scholarships have made that possible for me.”

“I wasn’t really interested in chemistry whatsoever when I enrolled. I was a lot more interested in sports. That’s really where my heart was at the time,” Seitz said.

Pursuing his current major in exercise science as a freshman, Seitz was enrolled in a required chemistry course when his professor called him to meet in his office.

“He wanted to have a one-on-one meeting, which, as a freshman only two months into college, was a little bit intimidating.”

Unsure of what his professor wanted to discuss, Seitz recalls, “He thought I had a lot of talent and potential in chemistry. He wanted me to take it seriously, and also to think about taking more chemistry classes that weren’t required, just to explore and see if I enjoyed it more than I thought I did.”

Having his potential recognized led him to take his professors’ advice. It was halfway through his second chemistry course that Seitz decided to change his major to chemistry.

“I got into chemistry with the broader goal of trying to help people in some way,” Seitz expressed.

During his time at ������Ƶ, he took full advantage of the opportunities presented to him. He studied abroad in Europe during Winter Term, conducted research through the Lumen Scholars program, completed two internships and immersed himself in service learning, where he taught children who were struggling to read.

Striving to gain experience in his field, Seitz dove right into his internship abroad. He attended RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany, for the summer, contributing to their research efforts.

“This was my first real research experience, and it made me realize that I enjoy research so much that I’m still a researcher today,” he expressed.

The following fall, he started his research with the Lumen Scholars. Alongside his mentor, Sydney F. & Kathleen E. Jackson Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Chemistry Joel Karty, Seitz conducted a project that earned the 2014 Lumen Prize. Focused on expanding research on the reaction preferences of an enolate anion, in both gas and aqueous environments, he aimed to understand why it behaves differently in different environments, with the end goal of other scientists further optimizing the usage of this molecule when they need it.

Seitz’s passion for chemistry research continued the next summer when he was selected to participate in an internship at the California Institute of Technology. This further learning encouraged his eagerness to contribute to research.

“Going to Caltech, I was intimidated by being around so many geniuses. This internship was a good confidence-building exercise. It proved that even though I come from a small school with a tiny science program, I can fit in with these types of people and communicate and share ideas with them. That internship gave me the confidence to go to graduate school and then beyond,” he said.

Right after graduating from ������Ƶ, Seitz went to the University of California, San Diego, and completed his Ph.D. He then went to the University of Chicago and the Argonne National Lab to work on a project where researchers work with the World Health Organization to create a list of ten viral diseases with the greatest potential to cause a global pandemic.

The virus that would later mutate into COVID-19 was on this list, which became a global pandemic just a year later. Due to this, there was more interest from foreign governments to fund this type of work to make vaccines for the remaining viruses on the list and distribute them to prevent the next pandemic.

Joining this team in 2023, Seitz’s work is focused on two viruses: Lassa Fever, which affects people in West Africa, and the Nipah Virus, which affects a few countries in Southeast Asia. The Lassa Fever is very transmissible, but often non-lethal; Nipah is the opposite. Not many people get sick with Nipah; however, when they do, it is often lethal.

Both viruses are concerns for a possible pandemic and require preventative research to fully understand, for a vaccine to be created.

“Those countries in West Africa and Southeast Asia do not have the healthcare capabilities or biotechnology to develop these vaccines themselves,” he said. It’s private U.S. foundations and Western European governments that put money into this non-profit, which is funding my research through the University of Chicago to develop these vaccines. Once the vaccine is successfully developed, they will go to these countries and give them out for free.”

Connecting his current work back to his time at ������Ƶ, Seitz noticed that his ability to work with diverse groups of people and social connection skills that he strengthened at ������Ƶ served him in his current role. He notes, “Because I talk with different types of people who don’t have the experience that I have, I have to accurately communicate what I’m doing, why I need to do this, and so on. So that’s certainly something that helped quite a lot from ������Ƶ, being able to communicate what I’m doing.”

Seitz’s published chemistry research is  available online; he hopes other chemists can read these manuscripts and learn something from them, and hopefully build off of that.

“I’m contributing to advancing science in small steps. Even though I’m doing more of the basic research of trying to find stuff, the overall goal is that people are going to use these to discover stuff that will directly help people,” he added.

Seitz hopes the future of his career holds opportunities to take up a leadership and mentor role for other chemists.

“I really enjoy mentoring and teaching people, I want to have my own research group where I have some people working below me so I can mentor them and help them advance science as well,” Seitz said.

In May, Seitz will be awarded the Top 10 Under 10 Award. This award is given to 10 Alumni from the past decade who have bettered their community and serve as alumni role models.

“Watching Grace grow up, I learned that, while she wasn’t equipped to deal with certain things in life, she is so talented in many ways – it just shows up differently. Grace is so happy all the time and she has so many hobbies. She can twirl a baton for longer than anyone I’ve ever met and she’s a great swimmer too,” said Crowley.

Since the 8th grade, Crowley knew she had the skills and passion to pursue teaching children with disabilities as a career path. She grew up with Grace her whole life, but as she got older, she started to notice differences in their developmental stages. She began to teach and aid Grace in her studies, helping her learn to spell and write.

“To me that was my cue that there are so many people out there that are being treated as if they can’t do things when it’s not true; they can do it. They just do it in a different way,” Crowley said.

Grace’s talents and struggles emphasized ����Ƿɱ����’s desire to teach special education.

“Grace has the best handwriting, and she’s also excellent at remembering things,” she said. “Teaching Grace encouraged me to want to help others through this, because it’s difficult when students don’t have a teacher to encourage what they are already good at, and instead focuses just on the skills that they need to develop.”

Crowley was encouraged to explore ������Ƶ from one of her other family members, an alum of ������Ƶ’s Teaching Fellows program. She provided Crowley with a list of what to look for in the best teaching programs as she started to explore colleges.

“������Ƶ was the only school that had everything on the list. I have always genuinely enjoyed it here,” said Crowley. “Before I even got into the Teaching Fellows, I said to my mom, I think this is where I need to be.”

Crowley prides herself on being a “social butterfly” who enjoys meeting and talking with others.

“I’m always meeting new people and reaching out to them. I’m most proud of myself for meeting new people and making lasting connections. Meeting others through Teaching Fellows has been the highlight of my ������Ƶ experience,” she said.

As a lifelong dancer, Crowley has connected her creative passions and interest in special education with research and a minor in dance. Having previously conducted research in high school on how incorporating dance with individuals who have special needs can enhance their overall body function and awareness of their body, she plans to build on her knowledge by beginning research here at ������Ƶ.

“Originally, my research was just how dance can benefit those who have special needs, both physically and mentally. I want to hone that into my future profession and discover how it can work in a classroom setting,” she said.

Crowley is also involved in volunteer work with Alamance County schools through service with the “It Takes a Village” Project, a program to aid English as a second language for elementary students.

She says this volunteer work has been a catalyst for her future work as a teacher.

“Last spring, I was placed in a classroom working 30 hours a week, which was huge for me. It’s exciting, and it reinforces that this is what I want to do following graduation,” she said.

����Ƿɱ����’s Joey Brocato Memorial Teaching Fellows Scholarship was established by ������Ƶ parents Mike and Karen Brocato P’16, in memory of their son Joey. The Brocato family expressed to Crowley that they intentionally wanted to donate to a future educator who wanted to go into special education.

“To know that I’m privileged enough to be the one they want to give back to encourages me to work my hardest,” saoe Crowley. “I’m lucky enough to have met my donors, the Brocato family, last fall, to meet and talk. I’ll text them to check in and get updates. It’s nice to have that personal connection.”

She explained that her close relationship with her donors has only increased her drive to succeed and give back to her community and the children in it.

“Knowing them has pushed me to want to be better. Their story is so meaningful to me because of my cousin, Grace,” said Crowley. “To have that connection and know them only pushes me further to do the best I can because I want them to feel like they’re putting their money into something beneficial.

As a future educator, Crowley says she is aware of the obstacles in the field, one being lower pay.

“As a future educator, I’m aware that I am not going to be making a ton of money, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is what I want to do,” she said. “Being given this scholarship and the opportunity to learn and get all the experiences that I need to be a future educator, without the worry of having too much debt, has been such a big help.”

Mitchener’s connection to ������Ƶ began through an unexpected source: her mother’s nursing practice. Her mother was treating a patient who was attending ������Ƶ, which gave Mitchener access to explore the campus.

She recalls the day she visited for the first time: “While my mom was seeing her patient, she left me downtown. I went to Oak House and walked around the campus. And after the tour, I fell in love with ������Ƶ. I knew that this was my campus, and this was my home,” she said.

After this newfound love, Mitchener explored ways to begin her ������Ƶ journey through financial aid programs. She discovered and applied to both the Odyssey Program and Public Health Scholars.

She remembers the night her academic potential was recognized; it was the night of her final senior year dance concert. As the show wrapped up, she received a call from ������Ƶ’s Odyssey Program delivering good news of her acceptance into the program through the Kerrii Brown Anderson Odyssey Scholarship.

Now a senior double major in public health and policy studies, Mitchener is actively involved in creating solutions for the community’s public health problems.

“Growing up, I always thought the way to help others was just being a doctor,” she said. “I really love how public health is grounded in not only finding the root issue, but understanding the community that you’re working with.”

While Mitchener was in a public health course that was required for the Public Health Scholars Program, she recalls her professor, Associate Professor of Public Health Studies Stephanie Baker, stating: “If you’re going to be a healthcare professional and be upset at the systems that don’t allow you to help your patients to the full extent that you want to, being a healthcare professional might not be for you.”

“That stuck with me, because I think of insurance and how much medicines can cost, making it very difficult for people to access healthcare. I want to be a piece of the healthcare solution,” said Mitchener.

Now, Mitchener and her course group are currently working to revise the Public Art & Honorary Policy for the city of Burlington. This includes making an application form for any community member who wants to donate a piece of art or get a memorial plaque. Additionally, she created a resource for community members to connect with local and statewide art collectives.

“We share all of our deliverables with the city in hopes that they will implement the policy. They can make any edits they see fit, and it was a collaborative process where we were constantly in contact with the city,” said Mitchener.

Also involved with Periclean Scholars, Mitchener was able to mentor the sophomore class and go to their global partner in Sri Lanka.

“The Periclean cohort has honestly just been such a light in my ������Ƶ experience and not only given me community but also purpose,” she said.

Her initiative for change doesn’t stop there; Micthener is also a HealthEU Senator with ������Ƶ Student Government Association.

“A big piece of Student Government is writing legislation and advocating for the student body and what they need,” she said.

Through the SGA, she has already taken noticeable action to improve the ������Ƶ community through HealthEU policy. She identified a lack of seating accessibility at the bus stop near the Dalton L. McMichael Sr. Science Center. Now, there is now a covered seating area that sits beautifully outside the McMichael Science Center.

Mitchener also took the initiative to further amplify student voices at a dinner with ������Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book. Through her connection to the community and the students in it, she identified a common problem among ������Ƶ students having access to transportation to the airport during breaks. After she represented and stood up for community needs, changes were made. Students now have wider access to airport transportation through ������Ƶ-provided shuttles.

“It taught me how important having connections is,” she said. “If I didn’t have a connection with those students, if I didn’t take my time to ask and understand their needs and why they have them, the problem wouldn’t have been addressed or been on the radar.”

Remembering the help she received along the way, Mitchener states her Odyssey scholarship acted as a “launching pad” for her success in her public health and policy studies.

“The Odyssey Program doesn’t just keep you stagnant,” she said. “It empowers you to branch out and pursue whatever you want on campus. It’s allowed me to fully embrace the college experience.”

Mitchener describes a recent “melt your heart moment” she experienced with another student. While leading a tour of ������Ƶ to prospective students, one girl spoke up and said, “I love this school. I want to go here so badly. But I don’t know if I can afford it.” It was then that she offered to share the Odyssey and scholarship resources with the prospective student to help her achieve her dream ������Ƶ experience. Just a year later, the prospective student had committed to ������Ƶ on an Odyssey scholarship and is now Mitchener’s mentee.

“Donors get to empower a student,” said Mitchener. “I don’t think about it like you just give a student money and walk away. Instead, you’re empowering them and giving them the tools to pursue whatever it is that they want.”

“Since we were birds of a feather, I figured ������Ƶ would be a good choice for me. I was right,” said Guidi of Cesari.

Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Guidi committed to ������Ƶ on a biology pre-med track. However, after her first semester, she realized that the pre-med track didn’t align with her artistic interests, and she needed a change.

Now, Guidi is a communications design major with a minor in professional writing studies.

“I’ve always been walking the line between arts and sciences, and I’m very ‘artsy fartsy,’ as my father would lovingly describe it. I just wasn’t sure that I could make my art a marketable skill,” Guidi said.

With her interest in mixed media arts, classical training in oil painting and freelance graphic design gigs, she was led to study at the School of Communications.

“With the communications program, I thought this is something where I can do art, but I can also get a job in marketing,” she said.

Guidi describes her first year as starting out “rocky”, where she struggled to find her purpose. Through her on-campus job at the Center for Design Thinking, she met Aaron Chan ’26, an accomplished cinema and television arts major.

One afternoon, Chan was running a meeting with friends and those interested in working on a personal short film project. Guidi, sitting in this meeting, only because it was hosted by her friends, was shocked to be tasked with writing the script for the short film.

“I got so close with all of the people that I worked with on the project,” said Guidi. “I offered my artistry through my work on the poster, social media and writing the script.” It was a project that led her to “discover a passion for creative storytelling and creative collaboration.”

The film titled “Sour Note” was produced by Seismic Studios, an independent production company created by a group of cinema and television arts students on campus. The film ended up being submitted at 11:59 p.m., right before the Cin������Ƶ submission deadline. The film went on to be shown in Berlin at the FilmHaus festival, won three awards, and has been a finalist, or official selection, in five others.

Taking on the film project was not a task she thought would be possible.

“Had I not met that group of people and gotten a sense of belonging that rekindled my love for ������Ƶ and everything it stood for, I was thinking of withdrawing from the university,” said Guidi.

Her newfound sense of belonging and artistic motivations gave Guidi the drive to achieve even more during her time at ������Ƶ. She is currently building ������Ƶ’s AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) student group, a graphic design club with a nationwide network of talented students.

After the club’s executive team graduated, Delaney was selected by staff to continue the club’s legacy.

“This club is something that I was really looking for in my freshman and sophomore years,” Guidi said. “I really wanted a club and a community, and I was struggling to find it. So then, when I fell into that position, I said, now I can make this happen for other students. That’s what drives me.”

Now a leader of the organization, she wants to foster mentorship that she felt she wasn’t involved in previously.

“It’s helping me with graphic design as I’m helping other people develop themselves, all while fostering a community,” she said.

Off campus, she worked for LabCorp for two summers, starting with blog marketing and moving to a more graphic design-focused role in her second summer. Her supervisor was even an ������Ƶ alum.

“I now have a better sense of self than when I started,” said Guidi of her growth at ������Ƶ. “I was so unsure of my every move, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure where my passions were.”

As she worked to put herself out there and take advantage of ������Ƶ’s many opportunities, Guidi started to foster stronger relationships with professors, enter and place in graphic design competitions, and even win awards for her e-portfolio site.

“It all helped me determine who I am, what I value, and what I want to do. Now I’m more confident,” said Guidi.

She reflects on her Bevier Family Internship Restricted Annual Fund scholarship: “None of this would have happened if not for the scholarships that I’ve received.”

Guidi brings the story full circle, noting her “freshman blues” before she found her purpose on ������Ƶ’s campus.

“Because of that extra aid and extra generosity that I received, I got space to grow. I got the privilege of struggling with my identity in my first year so that I could later become more confident and figure out who I was,” she said.

Guidi encourages donors to look at the work the student they are sponsoring is producing.

“Go look at that short film that has won awards. Look at that. That is an accomplishment that, in a way, you can take a little bit of credit for, because you made it possible, you gave them the tools, you allowed them to do those things.”

Cortes has always been community and family-oriented, so when the opportunity to commute only two minutes to a beautiful college campus while still living at home with her family arose, she took advantage.

During her college application process, she expressed feeling discouraged when hearing back from schools.

“It seemed like I was either getting accepted, but with no scholarship, or being denied,” she said.

Upon her first early action application to ������Ƶ, she was deferred. However, her determination to be a part of the community drove her to try again. As she is dedicated and persistent in nature, she submitted another application a couple of months later, this time getting the Califf Endowed Scholarship in recognition of her hard work.

“When I tried again at ������Ƶ, I saw that someone believed in me, and this was the path I was supposed to take; it was meant to be,” said Cortes.

She notes the transition from her high school, Walter M. Williams, to ������Ƶ was a shock. In high school, she was considered advanced, but the academic rigor of ������Ƶ’s biology courses caught her by surprise.

“It was definitely a change, but we have so many resources at ������Ƶ to guide me through a successful path,” she said.

For Cortes, her passions have always been focused on biology and entering a pre-med track.

“It’s always been plan A for me. I haven’t thought about doing anything else. I’ve always been so headstrong about what I’ve wanted to become. Since I could remember, I’ve always wanted to be a doctor,” she said.

Cortes is excelling in the pre-med track, with plans to pursue a dermatology path through medical school. Growing up in Alamance and having such a strong connection with her roots, she wants to come back to her county to serve as a dermatologist for the people of Alamance.

“I’ve always loved this county, and dermatologists are running very slim here,” she added.

Several members of her family have struggled with skin conditions like melanoma, drawing her to the dermatology field.

“I’ve spent a lot of time at the dermatology office myself, and I want to give back to the community and hopefully provide dermatology care here someday,” said Cortes.

Already gaining hands-on experience in her career path, Cortes has over 400 volunteer hours with Alamance’s Hospice program. Her extensive work has developed her experience in the medical field through patient interactions and working alongside nurses in an emotionally tough environment, all while making sure the patients are well cared for.

“Unfortunately, there have been a lot of patients that I’ve gained connections with that have passed,” explained Cortes. “It’s been really hard to cope with that, but it’s a part of life and something I have to consider when being a doctor.”

Grateful for her experience in volunteering, Cortes also completed a summer internship program with Alamance Eye Center. Furthering her experience in the medical field,

“Through my internship, I gained new friendships, met new doctors through shadowing, was able to have patient interactions and was able to take part in the work of taking pictures of patients’ eyes,” she said.

Cortes recently took a moment to reflect on her experience at ������Ƶ. Under the warmth of the sun, leaning back in one of the white Adirondack chairs in Young Commons, without her phone or music, she took a moment to think.

“I just wanted to sit and enjoy the sunshine. In that moment, I was thinking, ‘I’m at ������Ƶ, in this amazing place. I’m a part of this community, this is where I belong and where I’m supposed to be, I’m doing it,'” she said. “I was once stressed about if it was going to work out, but I’m really doing it.”

Reflecting on her donors, Cortes said, “I have to remember, during hard times, that I must keep going because I have an opportunity to pursue my dreams. I think about my scholarship all the time, and how I have people in my corner supporting me, without even knowing me.”

Her Califf Endowed Scholarship has allowed her to pursue her dreams to the fullest on ������Ƶ’s campus.

“My scholarship has been truly impactful on my life path, and it’s made me want to give back to ������Ƶ,” she said. “I want to give back to ������Ƶ for everything they’ve done for me. Hopefully, one day I can support someone like me who couldn’t financially pursue their dreams without a scholarship.”

Growing up in a sports-oriented family, Cook’s world in early high school revolved around dancing and basketball. However, for health-related reasons, she was forced to stop participating in both activities. Her interest in sports and determination to stay involved in her high school teams led her to discover sports in other ways besides playing on the court.

“I wanted to be involved in the sports world even though I couldn’t play, so I was the team manager for my school’s women’s soccer and lacrosse teams. I’d still be present at every game, just doing stats instead. That’s when it really clicked for me that this is something I want to do professionally,” she said.

When looking for colleges, Cook was first interested in big schools with a large number of students. Coming from Portland, Maine, she first visited ������Ƶ’s campus on Communications Fellows weekend.

While here, she explored the program and had the opportunity to meet with communications and sport management professors who would later become her mentors and strongest allies.

Once on campus, she fell in love with the environment and community of ������Ƶ.

“I absolutely loved it. All the professors I met were amazing, and I remember connecting the most with Dr. Shaina Dabbs in the sport management department,” she explained.

For Cook, this visit and her application for the Communications Fellows acted as a turning point in her college search. She committed to ������Ƶ because of the community connections she made on her visit and her acceptance into the Communications Fellows Program, but this was just the beginning of her academic success.

Cook was first introduced to the idea of studying and working on ������Ƶ’s Charlotte campus by Dabbs, who is also the Women Influencers in Sport (WINS) club advisor. WINS is a student-led on-campus organization that focuses on developing women’s careers in sports and providing them with opportunities to be involved in the sports industry. Her interest was further piqued by the WINS student representatives, who presented professional development opportunities in one of her communications classes.

After the presentation, she kept the opportunity at the forefront of her mind, knowing this was an opportunity she wanted to pursue. She later applied to study with ������Ƶ Charlotte’s “The Sport Experience,” where she would earn an internship with the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the “Power 4” conferences in the nation.

“The sport management department really pushes the ������Ƶ Charlotte Sport Internship Program for a good reason. I was excited for it, and I knew I had to do it,” she said.

After receiving an email from Dabbs at the beginning of the academic year, Cook was invited to conduct research with the Sports Business Journal, involving WINS.

“It was really cool because they came to us, and this wasn’t something we initiated,” she explained.

The research with the Sports Business Journal involves the WINS, focused on data collection for emerging women’s sports leagues and their use of social media. Her team is working alongside Jenn Azara, the director of women’s sports content for Sports Business Journal, to conduct research that will be presented at the WINS annual forum in November.

Including her work with WINS and the Sports Business Journal, Cook is now involved in three undergraduate research projects. She is especially excited about her newest research involving the Women’s National Basketball Association and its viewer markets and attendance factors with Alex Traugutt, assistant professor of sports management.

Her responsibilities for this project include collecting data on the factors that affect fan attendance, like how many star players are playing and how many rookies are in attendance.

“I’m obsessed with the WNBA,” she said. “And that’s the goal, that’s where I want to work one day.”

Her work in ������Ƶ’s Charlotte program has strengthened her professional development and prepared her to further her career in ways she never imagined. She mentions the program has catapulted her forward, opening many opportunities for success in her field: “I feel ahead in ways that I didn’t before.”

“The opportunities are endless, and ������Ƶ supports you through it. I never felt like they’ve thrown me into the deep end and said, ‘go for it’, but I feel like they have the perfect balance of supporting us, but not holding our hands through it,” said Cook.

Continuing to push for greatness within the sports communications world, Cook expresses her disbelief for the “life-changing” opportunity she’s earned at ������Ƶ and in Charlotte.

“I’m 19 and in Charlotte, working for a Power 4 college conference, and it’s all because I came to ������Ƶ for my Communications Fellows Scholarship,” she said. “It felt like someone was believing in me. It’s so meaningful because it feels like someone’s acknowledging that I can go far. They recognize my potential.”

Biggers has been enrolled in a business and legal studies pathway since high school. His consistent hard work throughout his early studies and his passion for change within the business world led him to strive for a rigorous graduation plan.

As a scholar in the Odyssey Program, through the Leon and Lorraine Watson scholarship, and actively pursuing his dual degree, Biggers has the opportunity to achieve his career dreams early.

“I feel like I can do anything,” he said. “It’s amazing because people from Gastonia don’t normally get exposed to the opportunities I’ve had here at ������Ƶ.”

Biggers has been interested in the intersection of business and legal studies since his high school accounting class, where he learned about the effect of the 2008 market crash and the Enron and WorldCom scandals that shaped corporate accountability.

“Studying those cases made me realize I wanted to be part of the solution,” Biggers said.

He recognizes the unethical practices of some corporations, expressing his sincerity for the real people affected and hurt by these practices.

“In accounting, they say we ensure the public’s trust,” he said. “I want to make sure that businesses are held accountable and that they are not just seeking to gain profit but also doing good for the world.”

This belief system heavily impacted his career aspirations. “I would love to be an attorney who protects consumers from corrupt behavior by businesses. I want to ensure that businesses act ethically and don’t harm consumers in small communities,” Biggers adds.

Recognizing his hard work in high school, he was drawn to ������Ƶ to continue his rigorous studies in the Odyssey Program and the 3+1 program. After setting foot on ������Ƶ’s campus, he knew this was the place for him.

“I fell in love with the campus when I visited for the first time. It was the first college campus that felt doable and I could see myself here, living and going to class, joining clubs and pursuing the opportunities they have here,” explained Biggers.

However, there was a financial barrier he would have to overcome to study here. After he received his dual degree program offer, which solidified his desire to study at ������Ƶ, he recalls that “the Odyssey Scholarship was the icing on the cake because it eliminated the financial barrier.”

His first year marked the beginning of his journey to explore opportunities outside of his comfort zone.

Starting with joining the Student Government Association, Biggers experienced firsthand how supportive ������Ƶ’s faculty and staff were in pushing him towards his goals in SGA and his aspirations beyond the organization. He expresses, “Since that initial push, I’ve continued to go even further, from running for SGA, doing undergraduate research or studying abroad. The faculty pushing me has been my fondest memory at ������Ƶ.”

His career aspirations are materializing due to his hard work and the extra push from ������Ƶ’s staff and the Odyssey program. He expresses that Odyssey taught him that he has the potential to achieve great things in his life and that he has to push to reach his goals, study abroad being one example he mentions.

This past August, Biggers studied abroad in London, England, at the London School of Economics and Political Science, taking a course in competition law and policy. He notes that, at first, he was fearful of traveling so far to an unknown place, but ������Ƶ’s faculty constantly pushed him to reach for and accomplish things he’d never done before.

“I was honestly afraid to go because no one in my family had ever traveled outside of the country. But faculty at ������Ƶ pushed and inspired me to do something that I’d never done before,” said Biggers.

Martha Lopez Lavias and Kenneth Brown Jr., two staff members in the Center for Access and Success, were instrumental in encouraging him to take advantage of the “once-in-a-lifetime experience”.

“I’m glad they pushed me because had I not gone, I would still have the fear of traveling abroad, and now I can’t wait to go back,” he said.” Once you go somewhere like that, you can go anywhere.”

Now, he is going to do just that. In January, he will be traveling to Portugal to study
environmental social governance reporting, which supports his academic and career aspirations.

Biggers extends his gratitude for his “family on campus,” which he fondly calls the people he’s met through the Odyssey program.

“Now that I’ve had these experiences, I get to share with other students in the Odyssey program who are also looking to join. It’s like we’re all in this together, and my success is your success,” he said.

Coming to ������Ƶ from Annapolis, Maryland, the small class sizes and opportunities for professor and peer mentorship enticed her to study at ������Ƶ. Her decision was led by a need for connection and community on campus, mentioning.

Freshman year, while with her peers in the Business Fellows, she realized others knew their finance education would lead them into a career, but not knowing her own path, she sought guidance from Chris Harris, associate professor of finance and chair of the Department of Finance. After an honest discussion of her likes, dislikes, aspirations and goals, she knew wealth management was the path she wanted to pursue.

“Wealth management is perfect for what I want to do, and it’s very rewarding, very analytical and (focused on) problem-solving, but it also has a client side and personal side, where you get to actually help people and change their lives for the better,” said Orendorff.

Being the president of the Women in Finance club, she faced some initial challenges in her understanding of finance and the ratio of women to men in her classes.

“There’s probably me and three other girls, if I’m lucky,” she said.

She also notes that finance doesn’t come naturally to her, saying, “I have to work a lot harder for it to stick.”

Being a leader in the club, she took these challenges head-on. Not letting the drawbacks get her down, she placed her focus on mentorship.

“The executive team and I are acting as big sisters who have gone through the process,” she said. “I wanted a big sister in the process, and that’s what I’m trying to offer these girls in the club. There’s so much space for us, I want to let women know that.”

Her participation in the Business Fellows also helped challenge her personal growth.

“I came to school with the mindset that I already had 40 best friends in my cohort. That changed everything for me when adjusting to college,” said Orendorff. “These people are ambitious, they’re extremely intelligent, they’re hard working and they push me to be the same. They’re involved in everything, and it’s not a competition, but I’m challenged for the better, and I really love being in a space like that.”

She says that this environment has also pushed her to be more forward-thinking and ambitious towards her goals in her finance career.

All of this growth and opportunity is supported by donors through the Dr. Beth Powell Business Fellows Scholarship and the Presidential Scholarship.

“My scholarships have equipped me to do so much at ������Ƶ and have assisted me and encouraged me to be more engaged and involved on campus,” she said.

Her scholarship helped her study abroad in Florence, Italy, where she was able to further her studies and grow in confidence.

“I was able to be more present in the world around me, and that’s an experience that I’ll never take for granted,” she explained. “It was all due to the scholarships that I got, which enabled me to be there.”

Through this experience, Orendorff recognizes the strength and confidence it took to put herself out there and be open to experiences in a country and culture foreign to her.

“I’m proud of how I didn’t doubt myself. I knew I could do it, and I created the steps, and I did so much because I didn’t restrict myself by thinking ‘I can’t do this.’ Instead, I said, ‘I’m going to find a way.’ I grew a lot in my confidence,” she said.

With this strengthened confidence and sense of self, she is inching towards graduation in May. Having been challenged and pushed by her peers and professors, she expresses that her growth mindset has her in the thought pattern of, “What’s the next best thing I need to achieve? What’s the next best thing I should grow towards?”

When asked what she would say to the donors who made her experiences possible, Orendorff expresses that ‘thank you’ will never be enough in her eyes. She hopes donors realize the impact they have.

“Each thing a student accomplishes is because of their support; each donor plays a part in a student’s story,” she said.