Five students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were selected as recipients of the 2024 Anne L. and S. Epes Robinson Honors Fellowship, which provides funding for students who propose a program of study focused on some aspect of the history and culture of Europe and the Mediterranean from 5th century B.C.E. to 1920.
The Robinson Honors 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 independent pursuit of their education. The program provides up to $7,000 in funding for expenses for domestic or international learning experiences that explore art, literature, music, history, politics, economics, philosophy, or religion of Western Europe and the Mediterranean. The fellowship is open to all UNC students who meet the eligibility criteria.
To be chosen as a Robinson Honors Fellow, an applicant must give convincing evidence of exceptional ability and promise through the application, recommendations, and personal interview. The proposed fellowship experience should be one that will allow the recipients to study the humanities and the ideas that have molded Western society and form the foundation of Western culture.
Katherine Hrazdira (’26) is from New York, NY, and is studying media and journalism and art history, and minoring in Spanish for the professions. For her Robinson Fellowship, Katy will travel to Prague, Czech Republic; Brussels, Belgium; and Paris, France to research architectural photography focusing on the Art Nouveau movement. Through museum visits, archival research, and observing the sites in present day, she hopes to gain an in-depth understanding of how this architectural movement was received at the time, and how the movement reflected the public’s attitude towards a rapidly changing world.
Emerald Izuakor (’25) is from Raleigh, NC and is majoring in nutrition and Hispanic linguistics. This summer, with the support of the Robinson Honors fellowship, she will travel to numerous cities in Spain to explore food, agriculture, and culinary traditions of Andalusia through the lens of Arab and Sephardic poets. After her travels, she will create a bilingual reference highlighting Arab and Sephardic Andalusian landmarks, foods, and recipes alongside the poetry they inspired.
Georgia Phillips (‘26), from Winston-Salem, NC, is studying art history and studio art. For her Robinson Fellowship, Georgia will travel to Barcelona, Spain to research the evolution of Catalan art into modern Barcelonian art. Through her fellowship, Georgia seeks to track how Barcelona’s art scene has continually evolved, reflecting both local identity and global influences.
Anshu Shah (‘25) is from Pineville, NC, and is majoring in business administration. Anshu will visit London, United Kingdom; Paris, France; and Berlin, Germany; for his Robinson Fellowship to fulfill his interest in social movements, cultural studies, and collective healing. Anshu will survey colonial artifacts at several European museums and connect with museum staff and activist organizations to trace their provenance and understand the work that has been done to acknowledge and rectify wrongs done in their collection and display. He will synthesize his findings for his senior honors thesis on neocolonialism.
Hunter Teague (‘25) is from Asheville, NC, and is majoring in business administration. Hunter will spend his Robinson Fellowship this summer in several Italian cities to explore Rome’s transition from a republic to an empire in the first century B.C. through the changes in the physical archaeological sites across Italy. Hunter intends to study law after graduation, and a classics course on Roman law prompted his interest in Rome’s governmental transition.
View the past Robinson Fellows’ projects here.
Read more about the Robinson Honors Fellowship here.
