Eight students across several different academic disciplines were awarded a new study abroad and enrichment scholarship. The John Hood and Edith Shuford Summey Honors Carolina Scholarship awards students funding towards their selected study abroad program in addition to an opportunity to extend their studies by traveling independently for an additional week to enrich their learning about the topic of study, region, language, culture, and history.
Natives of Gastonia, NC, John Hood Summey ’62 and his late wife, Edith (Edie) Shuford Summey ’62, greatly valued their time at UNC. Both went on to acquire a post-secondary degree (John a Ph.D and Edie an Ed.D.) and served as teachers at the university level. John and Edie always put great value on education and international travel; that mindset led them to create and endow two separate funds within Honors Carolina which will support undergraduate students at UNC for years to come.
The eight 2023 Summey Scholars will be studying on Honors Carolina study abroad programs in Spain, Vienna and the Balkans, and the United Kingdom. Their independent travels will take them to Malta, Portugal, Croatia, and Germany, among others. Each awarded student has a professional or personal curiosity driving their application to travel beyond the bounds of their programs. The Summey Award makes it all possible.
Meet the 2023 inaugural Summey Scholars:
Sawyer Kohman-Eidem, class of 2025, is from Wilmington, NC, and is majoring in political science and economics with a concentration in international relations and international finance. Sawyer is traveling to Vienna and the Balkans on the Burch Field Research Seminar focused on Conflict Resolution and Democracy Building in the Balkans. His Summey award will allow him to explore late 20th-century European conflicts and their effects on modern-day cultures. Focusing on Dubrovnik, Croatia, and Berlin, Germany, he will compare the role of international organizations and their impact on post-conflict rebuilding and resolution within these two culturally distinct areas.
Licza Lobo, class of 2025, is from Columbia, SC and is studying biostatistics and statistics and analytics with a minor in data science. She is studying abroad this summer on the Burch Field Research Seminar focused on Sports and Cultural Innovation in Spain. As a Honduran-American, Spain is of great cultural and historic interest to Licza. She will use her Summey award to focus on the history of Spain in relation to its colonization of Central America. She will start by visiting cathedrals, castles, and other sites in Valencia to see how Spanish cities, themselves, were colonized. Licza will then travel to Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, a Spanish colonization since 1483, to visit sites including a museum dedicated to Christopher Columbus and his voyage and impact on the city to compare its colonization to that of Latin America. Licza hopes to be able to draw parallels between Honduras and the two sites she visits.
Reagan Domeier, class of 2025, is from Charlotte, NC and is majoring in psychology and U.S. history with a minor in education. Reagan is traveling to the UK on the Burch Field Research Seminar on the Olympics and Global History in London. Her Summey award will allow her to explore how international relations have developed in Western Europe over the course of the 20th century through historical museums and memorials. In visiting sites of historical significance and memory in London, Brussels, and Antwerp, she will research the influence of both sociocultural events, like world’s fairs, and political events, like the World Wars, on global interconnectedness.
Shawn Dawson, class of 2024, is from Fayetteville, NC and is studying political science. Shawn is traveling to the UK on the Burch Field Research Seminar on Criminal Justice and Mental Health in London. Shawn is a first-generation college student, that identified as mixed-race and is part of the LGBTQ+ community. This summer, he is studying on a program that focuses on criminal justice, health policy, and criminal law, which directly relates to his future career aspirations as a lawyer. For his extension activities, Shawn will travel to the Netherlands, where he will tour prison museums and war memorials to better understand how a society considered one of the most progressive on criminal justice reform talks about justice and mental health.
Sofia Godoy, class of 2025, is from Mechanicsburg, PA and is a double major in sports administration and political science. She is studying abroad this summer on the Burch Field Research Seminar on Sports and Cultural Innovation in Spain. Sofia’s Summey award will allow her to travel to Lisbon, Sintra, and Lagos, Portugal, where she plans to gain a deeper understanding of how technology and sustainable development are integrated in different European countries and sports teams. By visiting various landmarks, stadiums, and museums, Sofia will see how Portugal works to preserve its culture and traditions while integrating technology, development, and tourism.
Lauren Thompson, class of 2024, is from Marietta, GA and is studying exercise and sport science and communication studies. This summer she will study abroad on the Burch Field Research Seminar on Sports and Cultural Innovation in Spain. Throughout her youth and college career, Lauren has developed a passion for both sports – especially soccer – and media production. For her Summey award extension, Lauren will travel to Valletta and Nadur, Malta, where she will tour two prominent soccer stadiums and interview people about the influence that the sport and its stadiums have on the country’s culture. In doing so, she hopes to learn more about the cultural innovation in different European countries. Lauren also strives to compare how locals discuss the intersection between sports, culture, and sustainability, especially given the vast size difference of Malta versus Spain.
Rosa Elias, class of 2024, is from High Point, NC and Lima, Peru, and is majoring in political science and public policy with a minor in Spanish for the legal professions. Rosa is traveling to London for the Burch Field Research Seminar on the Olympics and Global History. With her Summey award extension, Rosa will conduct research on communities of immigrants living in Spain, as well as the Spanish culture, by interacting with the local communities and the large immigrant populations that reside there. Through visiting historic religious and political buildings, museums, and small local neighborhoods, she will gather information that will help lay the groundwork for her political science honors thesis.
C’Asia Allen, class of 2023, is from Goldsboro, NC and double majoring in sociology and political science. C’Asia is traveling to England on the Burch Field Research Seminar on Criminal Justice in London. Her Summey award will give her the opportunity to further explore the intersection of mental health and criminal justice by traveling to Seville, Spain and exploring the historical foundations of prisons and psychiatric hospitals. In addition, this award will provide her with the opportunity to travel through Spain to enhance her Spanish-speaking skills she plans to use in her career.
Read more about Honors Carolina study abroad programs here.
Honors Carolina contact: Gina Difino, (919) 962-9680, Gina_Difino@unc.edu
Communications and Public Affairs: (919) 445-8555, mediarelations@unc.edu
