Student Stories

As a student attending rural North Carolina grade schools and a Raleigh high school that is majority white, Candace Silver saw just a few other Black faces in her classes, if any. Lessons and books paid little attention to telling Black people’s stories, she recalls. Now, as the inaugural recipient of the new Gregory Mixon-Sonya Ramsey Black Lives Matter Scholarship, Silver continues to grow her understanding and appreciation for a broader view that includes the contributions and struggles of Black people throughout history.

Annie Burchill has distinguished herself at UNC Charlotte as she completed majors in religious studies and criminal justice and a minor in urban youth and communities, graduating in May 2021 with ambitious plans to make a difference in the world. “I recently submitted my intent to enroll at UNC Charlotte for my M.A. in religious studies,” Burchill says. “After that… who knows?…. because my mentors, friends, and UNC Charlotte as a whole have equipped me with everything I need to change the world.”

Megan Bird, a UNC Charlotte senior from Charlottesville, Virginia, was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the world’s most prestigious graduate fellowships. While she ultimately was not chosen as one of the 32 American Rhodes Scholars, announced on Nov. 21, her selection as a finalist is a significant achievement.

A mentoring program co-led by UNC Charlotte researcher Sandra Clinton that aims to retain undergraduate women in the geosciences is on the shortlist for the international Nature Research Awards for Inspiring and Innovating Science. The program also has received almost $3 million in new NSF funding.

The UNC Charlotte Army ROTC Program will hold a virtual commissioning ceremony for its graduating 49er Battalion cadets, held virtually due to social distancing related to COVID-19.

Two graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences – Nitika, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, and Caroline Brinegar, who is pursuing her master’s degree in Geography – were recently designated UNC Charlotte’s most Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistants.

MPA student Peter Grisewood is an expert in the art and science of trees, with a focus on bridging the gap between trees, policy, and economic development in local government. His knowledge and his commitment have led the Town of Davidson to hire him as its first town arborist.

UNC Charlotte junior Rebecca De Luna has been recognized for outstanding leadership and service by North Carolina Campus Compact, a statewide network of colleges and universities that are committed to community engagement. She is a psychology major in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Senior Neariah Mandisa-Drummond is the 2019 recipient of the John H. Barnhill Civic Trailblazer Award. While at UNC Charlotte, Mandisa-Drummond – a Communication Studies and Spanish major in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences – has developed a passion for serving people as a member of the institution’s inaugural class of Bonner Leaders.

The U.S. Constitution may seem like a dusty, dry document with no relevance to people’s lives today. Now, members of the UNC Charlotte community have a chance to regain the knowledge that was lost after that test – and to gain a better understanding of the Constitution’s impact on our lives, at the University’s annual Constitution Day event.