Through a two-year fellows program, the five students in this multidisciplinary cohort will undertake mentored undergraduate research projects, enroll in specialized coursework and engage in community-based learning with diverse religious communities.
Five rising juniors have been named members of the ninth class of Multifaith Scholars, a two-year fellows program for juniors and seniors that offers a closely mentored, experientially rich and intellectually rigorous educational opportunity for students with significant potential.
After a highly selective application and interview process, students are awarded $5,000 annually to support research and study in global contexts connected with religious diversity and multi-religious societies. Students who show great potential as academically curious and socially engaged leaders committed to their own ongoing development and the enhancement of their local and global communities are selected each spring.
Sandy Marshall, associate professor of geography, serves as interim director of the Multifaith Scholars program this year while Professor Amy Allocco is on research leave in South India funded by the American Institute of Indian Studies.
“We had a very strong applicant pool, and I am excited about the diversity of backgrounds and research interests represented in this new cohort,” Marshall said. “Their topics span a range of time periods and regions, from the Middle East to here in North America. Likewise, their proposed research combines diverse interdisciplinary perspectives from history and politics, to economics and psychology. We are excited to work with these students and their mentors over the next two years to facilitate their scholarly development and personal growth.”
In addition to pursuing their faculty-mentored undergraduate research projects and undertaking academic coursework in religious studies and interreligious studies, the scholars will extend the program’s ongoing community partnership with the Burlington Masjid. Through the partnership, scholars participate in youth and social events with the local Muslim community, teach in the mosque’s English-language tutoring program, join community garden workdays, volunteer with the food pantry, and take part in potlucks and iftar meals during Ramadan.
Project Title: Navigating Modesty from a Modern Perspective: A Comparison of Adolescent Muslim Women in Palestine and North Carolina.
Major: Political Science
Minor: Interreligious Studies
Mentor: Amy Allocco
Kenzie Ross
Project Title: Economics and the Relationship between Religion and a Consumption-Based Economy
Majors: Economics Consulting, Marketing
Minor: Interreligious Studies
Mentor: Cora Wigger
Christina Skelly
Project Title: Rewriting the Script: Muslim Women, US Policy, and the Legacy of Orientalism
Majors: International and Global Studies, Religious Studies
Minors: Islamic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Political Science
Mentor: Sandy Marshall
Lizeth Torres-Tomas
Project Title: Faith, Law, and Migration: Analyzing the Sanctuary Movement and Faith-Based Responses to Anti-Immigrant Policies Surrounding Latinx and Muslim Communities
Majors: Political Science, Sociology
Minor: Interreligious Studies
Mentor: Michael Matthews