Blue Sky Scholarships
Blue Sky Scholarships
The Blue Sky Scholarships were first established in 2019 as part of a vision by Erskine Bowles to support middle-income families across North Carolina, and since then it has grown to encompass many named Blue Sky Scholarship funds. The Blue Sky Scholarship is awarded to outstanding students who have demonstrated both a capacity for hard work and a strong sense of responsibility. Additionally, scholars are given a one-time enrichment award to support internships, study abroad, or other related experiences that promise to expand horizons or foster social mobility. Blue Sky Scholars are automatically invited to join the UNC Scholars Program.
Mentors
Hometown: Brevard County, Florida
Research Areas: Equitable Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health
Classes Taught: Reproductive Health and Public Health
Matthew McGarry
Teaching Assistant Professor of Russian
Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures
Current Scholars: Class of 2028
Hometown: Lawrence, Kansas
Research Areas: Realisms and the Ethics and Practice Historical Writing
Classes Taught: RUSS 101, 102, 203, 204, 412, 455
Shimul Melwani
Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Business Program
Kenan-Flagler Business School
Current Scholars: a combination of class years
Hometown: I carry home on my back; I make it wherever I go.
Research Areas: Global capitalism, citizenship, racism, labor, the methodologies and politics of research, Latin and Latinx America
Classes Taught: ANTH 102: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology; IDST 128: Never in Polite Company; ANTH 450: Ethnographic Research Methods; ANTH 714: Current Issues in Participatory Research; GLOB 703: Global Migration
Dan Thornton
Adjunct Associate Professor of Dutch
Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures
Current Scholars: Classes of 2025, 2026
Hometown: I grew up on a farm in Williams County, OH in the countryside between the tiny towns of Montpelier and Bryan.
Classes Taught: DTCH 402 – Elementary Dutch, DTCH 403 – Intermediate Dutch, DTCH 404 – Advanced Intermediate Dutch