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

Kandyce Brennan

Clinical Assistant Professor
School of Nursing

Current Scholars: Class of 2027

 

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

Angela Stuesse

Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology

Current Scholars: Class of 2028

 

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

staff photo

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