The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will honor 307 seniors who dedicated themselves to service during their time at Carolina as Buckley Public Service Scholars (BPSS). Chancellor Carol Folt will address the group at a pre-graduation ceremony 5 – 7 p.m. Friday, May 11 in Memorial Hall. All graduates will receive a Carolina blue and white cord to wear at commencement on May 13 to represent their achievement.
The Buckley Public Service Scholars program, part of the Carolina Center for Public Service, supports and strengthens Carolina students’ commitment to service by providing a framework to make a positive impact. BPSS participants build portfolios reflecting their learning and unique experiences throughout North Carolina, the nation and the world; connect with others who care about similar issues; and are involved in training and coursework designed to make their service more effective. More than 10 percent of Carolina undergraduates are currently enrolled in the BPSS program, representing 65 out of 77 majors on campus. The 2018 class of Buckley Public Service Scholars represents 49 North Carolina counties, 20 other states and eight other countries. The students being honored join the 2,419 past BPSS graduates since 2004, bringing the total number of scholars to 2,726.
“BPSS allowed me to use my position as a young woman of color coming from poverty to the benefit of my community,” public policy major Tiffany Turner said. “I developed a voice which I was able to use in communications and marketing for TABLE, the Jamie Kirk Hahn Foundation and Pupusas for Education.”
The 307 students graduating in the 2018 class of Buckley Public Service Scholars reported more than 130,800 hours of service. To receive formal recognition, BPSS participants must have a minimum GPA, document at least 300 hours of service, take one service-learning course, attend four skills-training workshops and complete a final reflection activity. Many of this year’s graduates surpassed these requirements; 10 students completed more than 1,000 hours of service and one student completed more than 2,000 hours of service.
Since its inception in 2003, 9,678 students have participated in the BPSS program, contributing 1.8 million hours of service. This year, participating students reported service with more than 1,000 organizations including the Campus Y, Compass Center for Women and Families, and Carolina For The Kids. Of the hours reported by this year’s graduates, 78 percent was performed in North Carolina, 11 percent in other states and 11 percent in other countries.
“The 2018 Buckley Public Service Scholars embody what it means to be a public servant,” said Lynn Blanchard, director of the Carolina Center for Public Service. “For example, over the course of this school year, helping those affected and displaced by natural disasters was a top priority. Students continuously rose as leaders for disaster relief as well as so many other service areas. I am certain they will carry these civic values with them after graduation and will continue to affect positive change in their communities.
BPSS is supported by the Walter White Buckley Jr. Endowment.
Learn more about each graduate in the 2018 BPSS bulletin.
2018 Buckley Public Service Scholar graduates by North Carolina county, state and country:
Photos available by request.
Alamance – Natalie R. Charamut, Barbara Cronin, Alexander Murphy Mebane III, Haleigh Elizabeth Prysock
Bladen – Hayley Merrell Hall
Brunswick – Amber Nicole Fulford, Carly Michelakis, Lindsey Diane Welch
Buncombe – Travis Broadhurst, Janki Paresh Desai, Leah Grace Everist, Calli Gabrielle Hamrick, Anna Sophia Whelchel
Burke – Christina Adkins, Anna Lynn Jacks
Cabarrus – Kaylee Kristine Clary, Hiwot Abena Ekuban, Jamie Lynn Gate, Alison Hollis, Emily Hollis, Courtney Ann Nelson, Laura Michelle Perrotta, Sophie Roseanna Plott
Caldwell – Samantha Morgan Houston
Carteret – Marissa Elardo
Catawba – Jennifer Elaine Craft, Sara Carson Edwards, Rachael Sarah Hamm, Jaclyn Tina L’Amoreaux
Chatham – Lindsey Holloway, Leslie Morales, Dana Leah Walker
Craven – Kennedy Jade Adams, Meredith Medlin, Kimlynn Mylan Ngo, Austin Tyler Seamster
Cumberland – Su Hyun Cho, Brian Michael Fields, Linh Huynh, Hanna Kim, Caroline Madison Pope
Davidson – Olivia Marie Bruff, Logan Hartley, Sarah Eva Thomas Sturdivant
Davie – Sydney Caroline Browder
Durham – Chloe Adrianna Brown, Jeliyah Shaquan Clark, Julia Elaine D’Amico, Sreepriya Gayam, Claire Leadbetter, Kevin James Parham
Forsyth – Brittany Jane Aves, Kalli Elainia Bunch, Elizabeth Comtois, Amanda Drabble, Ryan Chandler Fuller, Lauren Marie Gebbia, Mary Elizabeth Johnson, Vanessa Luo, Layla Namak, Sophie Rupp, Deanelle Thompson, Madeleine Valier, Ryan James Weisner
Franklin – Anna Dodson
Gaston – Clara Jane Davison, Erica Allison Day, Rachael Madison Purvis
Granville – Lawrence Alsthon Bacudio, Alexandra Bruton Chura
Guilford – Lauren Elise Beane, O’Malley Bentson, Saumya Goel, Neil Harwani, Jordan Dace Hennessee, Simran Khadka, Rachel Susannah Lempp, Isabelle Rose Morgan, Mona Sajjad, Alexa Pearl Schleien, Clare Mangan Schmedes, Rayad Bin Shams, William Clayton Swords, Tiffany Marie Turner, Treasure Williams, Jessie Winfree, Shan Yu
Halifax – Grace Guo
Haywood – Bailey Garrett Hill, Chloe Elise Zacher
Henderson – Emily Hagstrom, Hollie Anne Rutledge
Iredell – Hanna Brooks, Philip John Helderlein, Haley Alexis Leazer, Niraja Pancholy, Vinya Posham
Lee – Priya Desai
Lincoln – Rachel Frances Dango, Brittany Dove
Madison – Anna Lynne Zimmerman
Macon – Margaret McAllister
Mecklenburg – Alaowei Amanah, Kimberly Elise Baudhuin, Alison Noel Bonner, Tonesha D’Shelle Curenton, Lillian Ruth Dillard, Caroline Taylor Frame, Alexandra Gaines, Heather Marie Grace, Jacob Ian Greenblatt, Danielle Hall, Emily Hightower, Marquitta Howard, Kay Soonmin Hwang, Olivia Jackson-Jordan, Pambu Kali, David William Katibah, Hariklea Vasilike Kokenes, Jill Catherine Levinson, Allison Marvin, Kavya Lakshmi Menon, Taylor Caroline Newsome, Marissa Marguerite O’Neill, Juhi Shilpesh Patel, Vishwa Ashokbhai Patel, Madison Quigley, Emily Reader, Adam Tucker Sheinhaus, Gwendolyn Renee Smith, Ella Marie Smoak, Katherine Jill Starr, Domenica Kamille Vargas Bitar, Emma Watts, Kristin Weiss, Tori Wentz, Laura Elizabeth Wenzel, Claudia Yatzkan, John Paul Zalaquett
Moore – Christiana Boals
New Hanover – Elaine Marie King, Joseph Francois Marie Maitre, Mimi Tran, Aidan Ray Walker, Helen Xiao
Onslow – Kalina E. Taylor
Orange – Agustin Baler, Sarah Costello Dwyer, Erika Rubi Franco Quiroz, Nico Christian Krachenfels, Samuel Elliot Krause, Emily Kupec, Doreen Edith Nalyazi, Grace Porter, Nathaniel Pritchard, Frances Reuland, Alexa Schulte, Jasmine K. Sun, Claire Elizabeth Weintraub, Sarah Judith Wright
Pasquatonk – Anna Elizabeth Robertson
Pender – Patricia Whalen
Person – Princess Ariana Majors
Pitt – Ashish Thakurdas Khanchandani, Erin Kelly Naziri, Abigail Rae Needell, Karen K. Saeed, Jacob Benjamin Stocks, Ushma Uday Vaidya
Polk – Bridget Grace Gallagher
Robeson – Yasmin Hill, Danielle Renee Smith
Rowan – Rebecca Marie Agner, Alex Billingsley, Katelyn Laine Buffett, Katherine Lukens Grant, Victor Pereira, Jordan Wise
Stanly – Adrienne Soraya Hill
Surry – Nicole Ashley Defreitas, Emily Grace Lowe, Chandler Jayne Musson, Sydney Anne Peavy
Union – Megan Balentine, Adrienne Solange Bonar, Mishelle Angela Duran, Desirae Delgado Fewell, Madeline Claire McGee, Meredith Blake Sumrell
Wake – Keerthi Surej Anand, Aditya M. Anerao, Rachel Anne Bailey, Olivia Grace Bane, Sarah Bass, Mary Grady Burnette Bell, Laura Elizabeth Brady, Emily Browning, William Michael Buddendeck, Samuel Kevin Chao, Elizabeth Ciociola, Madeline Cooke, Cayla Lauren Culbreth, Anne Yichen Feng, Andrea Marie Fitzgerald, Miranda Hope Foster, Alexander James Gartland, Sarah Elizabeth Gee, Abby Gostling, Pallavi Gulati, Shelly Guo, Anne Marie Hagerty, Emily Haston, Charlotte Hopson, Allison Horn, Rachel Eve Horowitz, Jessica Hongchelle Hu, Vishal Iyer, Nupur Jain, Kaelin Elizabeth Kennedy, Charity Lackey, Naomi Lahiri, Kelsey Leigh Mason, Griffin Andrew Morehead, Aimee Qin Murphy, Ami Patel, Paulina Powierza, Arunima Punjala, Sahana Raghunathan, Carolyn Day Rapp, Megan Frances Sefler, Shatakshi Shekhar, Jonathan Smith, Rachel Tan, Shannon M. Thompson, Nelya Topa, Paige Emily Trexler, Roshni Verma, Luyu Wang, Meghan Whitney
Watauga – Maia Ravyn Yarborough
Wayne – Lindsay Ann Player, Myra Noor Waheed
Wilson – Michael Hayden Vick, Shelby Victoria Anderson
STATES:
Arizona – Radhika Arora, Gabrielle Rose Geenen
California – Caeli Morgan Harr
Colorado – Allison Karen DeSarro, Cesar Victor Rodriguez
Connecticut –Alexis Lin, Mark Molinaro
Florida – Lorena Gan, Melissa A. Holmes, Niveditha Jagadesh, Martina Knechel, Terri Long, Analisa Sorrells, Alex Sun
Georgia – Mackenzie Bogiages, Isatta Feika, Bridget Evelyn Johnson
Illinois – Marisa Sclafani
Indiana – Lindsey Faye Wells
Kentucky – Caroline Christine Folz
Maryland – Andrea Jacqueline Barnes, Sarah Ann Benecky, Aryana Bolourian, Adrianna Lopaczynski, Holly E. Ozgun, Carolyn Reuland, Alexus Roane, Kathryn Ashley Turner
Missouri – Justin David Cole
New Jersey – Snehal Parik
New York – Lindsey Elizabeth Barden, Claire Boyd, Samantha Espada, Ruby G. Patel, Michela Jaye Schillinger
Pennsylvania – Kristen McGreevy, Nyla Numan, Saleha Rana, Caitlin Ann Rosica
Rhode Island – Magdalena Alexandra Rainey, Nicole Trupiano
South Carolina – Ariana Janae’ Rivens
Tennessee – Kelly Liu
Texas – Shelby Victoria Anderson, Catrin Corrie, Karla Guadalupe Garcia, Daverian Travun Williams
Virginia – Nia Fay Cox, Nicholas Robert Jennings, Holly Elizabeth Johnson, Kaelah Sheldonia Pou, Natalie Morgan Radford, Klio Nicolette Stroubakis, David Bao Tang
West Virginia – Jamie Rose
INTERNATIONAL:
Brazil – Andre Ceccotti
United Kingdom – Lauren Eaves
South Korea – Grace Han
Canada – Renuka Koilpillai
China – Xiaoqian Niu
Russia – Olga Prokunina
Germany – Cathleen Annelies Rueckeis
Italy – Emily Ann Venturi
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