2008 BURCH FELLOWS

Zena Cardman is a sophomore biology major and poetry minor from Williamsburg, Virginia.  An aspiring astronaut and astrobiologist, she is interested in studying Earth’s most extreme environments, with the hopes of gaining insight into the origins of life in this solar system.  Building on past experience in numerous laboratories and at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, Zena will use her Burch Fellowship this summer to pursue astrobiological field work.  She will be journeying with a team of scientists to the High Arctic, with NASA’s Dr. Darlene Lim as her mentor.  They will first travel to Pavilion Lake in British Columbia, to study the formation of unusual sedimentary structures called microbialites.  Microbialites are models of Precambrian reefs, and provide clues into possible carbonate formation in ancient lakes on Mars.  From there, the team will proceed to Devon Island, the largest uninhabited island on Earth.  Camping under the perpetual daylight of the frigid Arctic summer, she will be collecting data to help characterize the lakes surrounding the enormous Haughton Impact Crater.  Zena will chronicle her adventures for publication, and hopes to use the experience as a launch pad for a life of astrobiological research.

Visit the live blog detailing her experience here.

Will Halicks is a junior English major from Peachtree City, Georgia with an interest in creative writing and folklore. He will use his Burch Fellowship to travel to England to study the folk legend of the Black Dog, an apparition that is said to haunt churchyards and lonely roads and is often seen as an omen of death. To gain an understanding of how the story has influenced England’s culture, he will spend the first part of the fellowship visiting areas where Black Dog lore has made a rich contribution to local life and tradition. He will talk to experts who study and collect stories from all corners of England, consult a collection of Black Dog papers at Exeter’s university library, and interview several people who claim to have seen the Black Dog up close. He will also study the economic face of the legend by talking to the owners of establishments across England that use the Black Dog as an icon. During the remainder of the summer, he will create a documentary film about the Black Dog’s impact on English society that he will share when he returns to UNC. He hopes to use the fellowship to pursue future studies on the role of folklore in a country’s social consciousness.

Visit the live blog detailing his experience here.

Kaitlin Houlditch-Fair is a junior majoring in Dramatic Art from Shelby, North Carolina. Kaitlin will use her Burch Fellowship to travel to Moshi, Tanzania to work as an assistant acrobatics instructor at the TunaHAKI Centre for Street Children. Her goal is to study the way TunaHAKI, known for its focus on acrobatics and drama, promotes the physical and social development of the resident children, and to explore the host culture’s venues for narratives and practices to bring back to Chapel Hill. During her stay she will also take traditional African dance lessons from a local school leader and help create a dance program at the Second Chance Education Center, a school for children who failed to excel in primary school national exams. By the end of her two months, she hopes to combine these projects by holding a performance with the children from TunaHAKI and SCEC. Upon her return to UNC in the fall, she will continue volunteering at the Franklin Porter Graham Childcare Institute by incorporating a new African dance program, crediting the artists she learns from in Tanzania. She hopes to use this experience as a foundation for future international work with children and the arts.

Lauren Teegarden is a sophomore Latin American Studies and Spanish major from Lake Oswego, Oregon.  With her Burch Fellowship, Lauren will spend the summer studying international migration and the transnational preservation of indigenous culture. After spending time in the Yucatán capital of Mérida, she will travel extensively in the peninsula and research the recent and increasing Mayan migration from the Yucatán to San Francisco, California and Portland, Oregon. Additionally, Lauren will study the indigenous language, Yucatec Mayan, and experience traditional Mayan cultural, religious, and culinary practices. Lauren will conduct interviews both in the Yucatán Peninsula and in the United States with migrants and their families to explore both the use of international social networks as well as consider the distinctions between indigenous and Latino migrant communities. She will return to UNC with oral histories in a combination of English, Spanish, and Yucatec Mayan that describe the experiences of the Mayan migrant community.

Jonathan Toledo is a junior from Sylva, North Carolina majoring in Physics.  His Burch Fellowship will take him to Spain, where he will study special cases of graphene systems under Professor Maria Vozmediano of the Institute for Materials Science in Madrid.  Graphene is the 2-dimentional form of graphite in the sense that graphite is formed when several layers of graphene are stacked upon one another in a specific way.  Graphene has recently become an object of intense theoretical interest due to the relations between its exotic properties and phenomena familiar to seemingly estranged areas of physics (i.e. ultra-relativistic quantum mechanics, field theories, and even quantum gravity), as well as its promise for use in nanoscale electronic devices.  While at the Institute, Jonathan will study graphene systems in which curvature has been introduced to the lattice structure, an area in which Professor Vozmendiano is an expert and a pioneer.  Toward the conclusion of his project, he will travel to Camerino Italy to attend the International Conference on Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems, where graphene will be a centerpiece of discussion.  This summer and in his future studies of condensed matter physics, Jonathan hopes to use his study of simple condensed matter systems such as graphene as a means to intuitively understand fundamental processes in nature.

Sam Wurzelmann is a sophomore environmental health major from Chapel Hill, NC.  After spending a week at a language immersion school in La Paz, Bolivia, he will be spending 10 weeks at the San Miguel del Bala eco-lodge in the Amazon rainforest studying green globalization and working with the Tacana Indian indigenous community.  Inspired by the book Whispering in the Giant’s Ear by William Powers, Sam will be researching how economic forces have shaped the lives of the Tacana community that runs the eco-lodge.  At the same time, Sam will be working with community members on various endeavors at the lodge to help improve its marketability.  These efforts include improving English services offered by the lodge and bringing solar power to the lodge through the Bolivian based NGO Khana Wayra.  Upon his return, Sam will use his experience as a foundation for his studies as he enters the Environmental Health program and for a possible return to the lodge the following summer.

Visit the blog detailing his experience here.

BURCH FELLOWSHIP ALUMNI
Click on a name to view a poster of each project

2007

Liz Carter will use her Burch fellowship to go to Tokyo and study how Chinese women immigrants there view Japanese society. Having previously interned at a women's issues non-profit in Beijing, China, Carter will follow her interest in Chinese feminism to the Chinese community in Japan and explore the different cultural expectations of women in the two countries. While there, she will attend a Japanese language program for Chinese students and participate in the activities of the Tokyo University Chinese Students Association. She will also visit the Overseas Chinese School at Yokohama and research the history of the Chinese presence in that city's historic Chinatown. Carter will interview Chinese female students about their experiences and compile a short documentary film to be screened upon returning to Chapel Hill.

Kian Kamyab is a junior cultural studies and economics major, with interests in transitional societies and development. His Burch Fellowship will take him to Iran for three months. While in Iran, he will study Persian language and literature at Tehran University. He will also work with a Tehran based NGO, the Society for Chemical Weapons Victims’ Support. This NGO promotes the medical, social, legal, and cultural welfare of more than 50,000 survivors of chemical weapons attacks inflicted upon civilians and troops alike by Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war. While working with the SCWVS, Kian will also capture the personal narratives of survivors of chemical weapons attacks. He will use the photographs and oral histories he records to produce a multimedia photo-essay examining the role of violence in negotiating the differences between cultures.

Andrew Magill is a sophomore Cultural Studies major.  His major is self-tailored around music, anthropology, and folklore and he desires to study ethnomusicology.  For his Burch Fellowship, he will be conducting a case-study in ethnomusicology of the musical culture of Salvador Bahia, Brazil.  He will spend his first four weeks enrolled in an intensive language school and an affiliate ‘Chorinho’ school where he will learn about Salvadoran music and culture.  With a better grasp of the language, he will use the remainder of his stay to conduct interviews with some of the foremost musicians from Salvador.  In addition, he will be attending festivals, concerts, and recording (when possible) the impromptu street musical sessions so typical of the region.  This project coincides with the famous São João festival which celebrates the Brazilian harvest and is a month long affair filled with concerts, street parades, and bonfires. This festival will provide an excellent opportunity to document the musical aspects of Salvador’s culture.  Upon returning, Andrew hopes to use his study as a springboard for doing further professional work in ethnomusicology when in graduate school and beyond.

J.J. Raynor will return to Thailand this summer to study the state of Thai democracy in the wake of last year’s military coup. Working with the Population and Community Development Authority of Thailand (PDA), a world renowned organization focused on insuring social and economic justice in Thailand’s rural communities, she will spend the first nine weeks of her fellowship studying the opportunities for democracy that still exist at the grassroots level. Through her project with PDA’s Village Youth Councils initiative in Krabi, she will work with Thai youth to teach them the fundamentals of democracy in a country that, at present, no longer is one. During her final four weeks in Thailand, J.J. will travel to the nation’s capital, Bangkok, to interview Thai leaders and political experts for their perspectives on the evolving political situation in Thailand. When she returns, J.J. will use her knowledge of the challenges facing Thai democracy to better understand those facing our own.

Liz Ross will be serving organizations related to human trafficking and microfinance, People Empowerment through Microcredit Training (PEMT) and VietACT, as both a volunteer and a voice. She plans to travel first to Taiwan and work with VietACT, a rehabilitation center for women who have escaped from captivity in the human trafficking industry.  While in Taiwan, Liz will establish a background for a film documentary on how women such as these attain economic and social empowerment by way of microfinance-based businesses.  Having gained an understanding of the system and the larger background against which such women’s lives unfold, Liz will proceed to Vietnam, where she will work with the microfinance firm PEMT to serve rural Vietnamese communities and women like those from VietACT.  In addition to carrying out usual volunteer tasks in the office, Liz will travel throughout Northern Vietnam to meet with clients and check on their progress.  In the office, Liz will capture the spirit that drives volunteers to donate their time to combat human trafficking and to pursue education, protection, and support for victims. On the road, she will be able to document the lives and stories of those who are building new lives through microfinance after having escaped human trafficking and the other difficulties affecting poor rural Vietnamese communities. Liz will return to UNC with a documentary to share her journey and the powerful positive impact of microfinance on the lives of the poor and voiceless in Vietnam.

 Dylan Sandler will spend the summer in Sydney, Australia studying urban planning.  There he will work in the office of the mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, where he will be involved in a variety of urban policy and governance issues, including transportation planning, environmental management, development control, and urban design.  While in Sydney, Dylan will be mentored by John Mant, a lawyer and urban planner who has served in many government positions, including the principle advisor to the Australian Prime Minister.  Dylan will also research the expansion of light-rail in Sydney and conduct a study comparing light-rail development in Sydney with that of the Research Triangle.  After returning to Chapel Hill, Dylan will become involved with local transportation planning, attending public meetings of the Triangle Transit Authority and promoting responsible transportation development among UNC students.

2006

Vera Fabian, solutions for hunger and evnironmental destruction in Kenya

Paul North, Theatre-for-Development in Malawai

Sarah Plastino, Mexican immigrant experiences and community life

Laura Williamson, studying woodworking in Canada and France

Habib Yazdi, studying drumming in Ghana

2005

Lisa Bolton, health education and practices in Uganda

Nancy DeMaria, working with missions in San Illdefonso and Veracruz, Mexico

Matt Kiefer, studying music in Cleveland, New York, and North Carolina

Justin Randolph, the effects of globalization in Bhutan and Ladakh, India

Clare Rohleder, rehabilitiation volunteer in Southern Ghana

Kate Stratton, music and drama training in England

2004

Marce Abare, Partner in Education and Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

Pooja Bavishi, Improving Labor Rights for Self-Employed Women in India

Pablo Durana, China by the Mile: A Cycle-Journey Across the Minority Regions of Western China

Lauren McAlee

Casey Molino Dunn, New York City: A Singer's Ideal Classroom

2003

Sindhura Citineni, Hunger Project in India

Stephen Ham, Great Ape Sanctuary in Zambia

Heide Iravani, Green Empowerment Water Project in Nicaragua

Megan Ketch, Mime Study in Europe

Daniel Pignatiello, Volcano Research in Washington State

Asher Stein, Jazz Study in Cuba

Natalie Teague, Organic Clothing Production Cycle in US and Nicaragua

2002

David Chapman, Produced and Performed Own Play at Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Kevin Crotty, Studied Trumpet Throughout Europe

Elizabeth Kerr, Visited and Photographed Sacred Sites in Scotland and Ireland

Allyson Lippert, Painted Woman at Work in Samoa

Tanya, Rogo, Worked on AIDS Crisis in Kenya

2001

Ariadna Boixader, Lived with Oaxacan Community and Studied Reasons for US Immigration

Durba Chattaraj, Worked with Indian Minority Culture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Rajesh Panjabi, Worked in Inuit Healthcare Centers in Alaska

Paul S. Lee, Worked in NGOs in Southern Africa

Alexander Stein, Studied Jazz in New York City

2000

Rye Barcott, Worked on Youth Violence in Kibera, a Slum in Nairobi, Kenya

Jonathan Kregor, Researched Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique in Germany

Jessica Luginbuhl, Explored Identity Issues of North African Immigrants in France

Devyn Spence, Examined Impact of Globalization on Local Cultures in Guatemala

Kelley Vance, Lived with and Recorded Language of the Coatzospan Mixtec

1999

Alex Little, Studied Peace and Conflict in Ireland

Annie Newell, Research on Red Colobus Monkey in Zanzibar

Melissa Putman, Lived and Worked with Deaf Community in Minnesota

Meg Williamson, Traced and Wrote about Grandmother's History in Europe and Africa

1998

Melanie French, Studied Russian Medical System in Saratov

Patrick Gray, Retraced Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Sanjai Gupta, Studied Chess with Grandmaster Lev Alburt

Melissa Zwicker, Studied Voice in New York City

1997

Tyrell Haberkorn, Teaching English to Sex Workers in Bangkok, Thailand

Ted Lord, Apprenticed with Master Door Carver in Zanzibar

Sarah Manekin, Study of Ethiopian Jews in Jerusalem

David Moricca, Student Scholars in Zimbabwe

1996

Maria Muscarella, Assisted Midwives in Ireland

Erin Parrish, Worked with AIDS Patients in New York City

Jonathan Tepper, Study of Latino: A Half-Forgotten Language

1995

Daniel Aldrich

David Hunter Cherwek, 1995, Survey of African Medicine and Research

Dawnelle Hyland

1994

Shirley Liu, Study of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Brent Ridge