Catalyze

Today we have a story from Morehead-Cain Ambassador David von Storch ’80 about how he met his classmate, Andy Spencer ’80. It’s one of resilience, connection, and gratitude. It begins in the wilderness. The Morehead-Cain Day of Giving is this Friday, November 17. Support the Program by the end of the Day to help us reach our goal of 50 percent alumni giving participation. Thank you for supporting the next generation of scholars! About Morehead-Cain Ambassadors Morehead-Cain Class Ambassadors engage in outreach to their peers on behalf of the Foundation. The group comprises alumni with members representing each graduating class. On the Day of Giving, held every November, alumni remind their classmates to give. As a direct result of ambassadors, around 55 percent of alumni consistently participate. Music credits The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s episode is a recording of a SEVEN Talk from the 2022 Alumni Forum. This talk, given by Frank Bruni ’86, is entitled, “We Are Starfish.” Frank is a Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. The alumnus is also author of four New York Times best sellers, including his new memoir The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found. You can watch all of the SEVEN Talks on our YouTube channel. More about Frank Frank Bruni ’86 has been a prominent journalist for more than three decades, including more than twenty-five years at The New York Times, the last ten of them as a nationally renowned op-ed columnist who appeared frequently as a television commentator. (His archive of columns, starting with the most recent, can be found here.) He was also a White House correspondent for the Times, its Rome bureau chief and, for five years, its chief restaurant critic. Frank is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, including The Beauty of Dusk, which reached #5 on both the hardcover nonfiction and the combined print and e-book nonfiction lists. In July 2021, he became a professor at Duke University, teaching media-oriented classes in the Sanford School of Public Policy. He continues to write his popular weekly newsletter for the Times (you can sign up here) and to produce occasional essays as one of the newspaper’s Contributing Opinion Writers. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Ray Sawyer ’13 is the director of community health partnerships at Well, a health tech and services company co-founded by Dave Werry ’06. On this episode of Catalyze, Ray shares about his path from a small, rural North Carolina town to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He touches on his public service project in Uganda as a Morehead-Cain Scholar and the “happy accident” that led him to South Korea on a Fulbright fellowship. The self-designed curriculum he built in South Korea turned the English block into an exploration of dialogue on poetry and pronunciation, sports and segregation, education, and expression. Using these experiences of innovation, he began working at Google and stayed with the company for more than seven years. Today, he serves as a coach and consultant for Project Be Better, a startup he founded. Ray describes what kinds of problems he coaches college students through, and shares about re-thinking the concept of time management and what it means to live out holistic wellness. As a member of Morehead-Cain’s Black Alumni Working Group (BAWG) and alumni board, Ray shares his aspirations for proactive relationship building among the scholar and alumni communities. The alumnus spoke with co-hosts Stella Smolowitz ’26 and Allyson Horst ’27 of the Scholar Media Team after a coffee chat event with scholars on October 14. Music credits The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

A group of Morehead-Cain Young Alumni, all of whom graduated from UNC–Chapel Hill within the last five years, spoke with Catalyze co-host Stella Smolowitz ’26 about leadership lessons gained at Carolina. Today’s guests include André Ceccotti ’18, Malik Jabati ’19, Sarah Mackenzie ’20, Ashton Martin ’20, and Andrew Buchanan ’23. The alumni have pursued careers in investing (Malik), entrepreneurship (Andrew), and law (André, Sarah, Ashton). In addition to sharing reflections from their leadership positions as Morehead-Cain Scholars, the guests discuss their most impactful mentors at the University and Summer Enrichment Program experiences through the Program. Along with Sean Nguyen ’21 and Melanie Godinez-Cedillo ’22, the alumni served on a panel at the Foundation on September 16 about leadership, from managing imposter syndrome to deciding on a career path. Music credits The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s episode is a recording of a SEVEN Talk from the 2022 Alumni Forum. This talk, given by Bex Frucht ’05, is entitled, “Free Your Tumbleweed Queen.” Bex is the program manager for The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. You can watch all of the SEVEN Talks on our YouTube channel. More about Bex Bex Frucht ’05 is a self-ascribed “Tumbleweed Queen” whose eclectic personal and professional journey has taken her from the red carpet to the Rocky Mountains. After a decade of big-city adventures in media, communications, sustainability, freelance writing, and finally anchoring a daily cable TV show and weekly web series—she blew up her urbanite existence to live and work on an 87,000-acre cattle ranch, and has been exploring the intersection of open range and open minds ever since. If it wasn't for that formative backcountry experience with Outward Bound, she might still be stuck in LA traffic. Bex loves telling stories almost as much as living them—she's shared escapades onstage for NPR’s “The Moth,” launched a storytelling series to destigmatize and advocate for reproductive justice, and enjoys helping organizations and individuals wrangle their narratives. As a program manager for the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s Montana-based philanthropy, she supports innovative nonprofit programming hosted at West Creek Ranch. Bex also moonlights as an environmental educator, amateur cowgirl, karaoke professional, rainbow influencer, and unicorn believer. At UNC, she served as senior class vice president and Freshman Camp (now Carolina Kickoff) counselor, and taught a seminar on “The MTV Generation.” She's lucky to call the funky river town of Livingston, Montana, home, where she floats the Yellowstone with her “Mantana” Kyle Joe, chases their muppet dog Zucca and spoons their kitties—Aldo Meowpold and Ralph Waldo Emerpuss the Catservationists. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s guest is Skip Griffin, a senior associate at Dialogos and an expert on engaging in productive discourse. Griffin was a plaintiff in Virginia’s 1964 school desegregation lawsuit; led Harvard’s Black students through the tumult of the late 1960s; and later worked in a range of community leadership roles in public schools, at Northeastern University, and at the Boston Globe. Griffin received his bachelor’s in government from Harvard and a master’s of education in organizational and social policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dialogos is a management consulting and leadership development firm that seeks to catalyze organizational transformations. Griffin served as the first Food for Thought speaker of the fall semester. He spoke with Catalyze co-hosts Stella Smolowitz ’26 and Sarah O’Carroll, Morehead-Cain’s content manager, after his talk at the Foundation. Modeled after the City Club of Cleveland, Food for Thought provides a central meeting place for members of diverse beliefs and opinions to participate in free and open discussions. The breakfast and conversation series is an initiative of Team Cleveland members from the 2022 Morehead-Cain Civic Collaboration program. Music credits The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s guest is Ashton Martin ’20, a health policy analyst for United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund in Washington, D.C. The nonprofit is an intertribal organization that advocates on behalf of thirty-three federally recognized Tribal Nations, from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. On this episode, Ashton shares about their social justice work as student body president at Carolina (and reflections from the 2023 reunion of former student body presidents at the Morehead-Cain Foundation), their path to working in public policy for Tribal Nations as a recent graduate, and the complexities of working in tribal law and policy. Ashton also gives guidance in using respectful language when referring to Tribal Nations. Prior to joining the fund, Ashton worked as the Rodney B. Lewis Fellow in American Indian Law and Policy at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. During their time at Carolina, Ashton worked as a strategy and fundraising intern at Feedback Labs in Washington, D.C., a company co-founded by Dennis Whittle ’83. They previously worked as a summer investigations intern at the Cook County Public Defender in Chicago law officeand as chief of staff for Daymaker, a charitable giving platform led by CEO Brent Macon ’12. Ashton spoke with Morehead-Cain at a café in Dupont Circle before the 2023 D.C. Regional Event for alumni and scholars. Music credits The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s episode is a recording of a SEVEN Talk from the 2022 Alumni Forum. This talk, given by Ricky Hurtado ’11, is entitled, “Roses in the Concrete.” Ricky is the state representative for the North Carolina House of Representatives. He is the first Latino Democrat to serve in the N.C. House. You can watch all of the SEVEN Talks on our YouTube channel. More about Ricky Ricky Hurtado ’11 is a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing the state’s sixty-third district. As a first-generation college student, Ricky found his passion for public service while at Carolina, mentoring students who grew up in similar circumstances and were working hard to make their dreams come true. Ricky studied business administration at Carolina, later attending graduate school at Princeton University, where he focused on how to create effective public policy to fight poverty and inequality and build strong, vibrant communities. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s guest is Aaron Hiller ’03, chief counsel and Democratic deputy staff director for the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary. On this episode, Aaron reflects on the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and what it was like to work on the ensuing two impeachments of former president Donald Trump. The alumnus also shares his thoughts on having a free and fair presidential election this November, his legal heroes, and why he thinks college students should consider working in politics. Aaron spoke with Morehead-Cain from his office on the Hill before the 2023 D.C. Regional Event for alumni and scholars. The alumnus received his bachelor’s in biology and philosophy from Carolina. He earned his JD and master’s in public policy from Georgetown University in 2007. The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s guests are Sam Lowe ’20, Scott Diekema ’19, Nicholas Byrne ’19, and Jonny Huang ’24, who Zoomed with Morehead-Cain from Brooklyn. Sam, Scott, and Nicholas are the co-founders of recycleReality, a creative technology studio in New York that specializes in bespoke design and software solutions in music, fashion, art, and architecture. Jonny interned with the alumni this summer for his Morehead-Cain Professional Experience summer. On this episode, the Morehead-Cains share about the early collaborations at UNC–Chapel Hill that led to forming their own company, how their different backgrounds and skillsets (computer science to communications and music) complement one another, and a music responsive light box that recycleReality plans to release within a year. recycleReality garnered recognition earlier this year with two OBIE Awards as part of the 2022 “Breakthrough Artist” ad campaign by Amazon Music and Overall Murals. The alumni won the OBIE Craft Award for Best Illustration and a Silver OBIE Award in the Billboards category. The OBIE Awards, presented annually by the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, recognize outstanding contributions to the world of advertising and design. Nicholas and Sam are returning Catalyze guests. The two (along with Eric Lee ’18) spoke with Morehead-Cain back in 2020 during a road trip across the country with a U-Haul-turned-mobile-recording-unit. The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Taylor Sharp ’16 is a director and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. The alumnus co-founded the independent production company Blue Cup Productions with Holland Randolph Gallagher, a writer and director. Taylor spoke with Catalyze at a neighborhood cafe a day after the 2023 New York City Regional Event for alumni and scholars. Hailing from a creative household in Burke County, North Carolina, Taylor recounts his upbringing alongside two older brothers, both Carolina alumni, who immersed themselves in music and imaginative projects (Taylor’s brother, Jacob, is one of the founding members of the string band Mipso). These early explorations paved the way for his career in filmmaking. As a Morehead-Cain Scholar, Taylor interned at the Zimbabwean nonprofit Hoops 4 Hope, experiences that informed his 2017 documentary, Hoops Africa: Ubuntu Matters. He also worked at a sports agency with Jim Tanner ’90, president of Tandem Sports + Entertainment, and in New York with Malcolm Turner ’93, then president of what would become the G League. On today’s episode, Taylor shares other memories from UNC–Chapel Hill, how conversations at He’s Not Here (a famous haunt on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill) led to the founding of Blue Cup Productions, his work with Shaquille O’Neal and the NBA G League, and more. Earlier this year, Taylor and John Zimmerman were inducted into the Southern Fly Fishing Hall of Fame for their humanitarian contributions within the sport. In 2012, they co-founded Casting for Hope, a nonprofit that supports women with ovarian and other gynecological cancers, which has since raised over $1,000,000 for its financial and emotional assistance, programming, and fly-fishing retreats. A natural fundraiser, Taylor is also a Morehead-Cain Class Ambassador, collaborating with peers to support the Foundation’s annual fundraising campaigns. The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s episode is a recording of a SEVEN Talk from the 2022 Alumni Forum. This talk, given by Malini Moorthy ’91, is entitled, “We Are Not in Golden Rock Anymore.” Malini is the General Counsel of argenx, a biotech company. You can watch all of the SEVEN Talks on our YouTube channel. More about Malini Since 2022, Malini Moorthy ’91 has served as the General Counsel of argenx, a biotech company committed to innovating and delivering lifechanging immunology solutions to patients. She has extensive global legal and compliance experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries and is a devoted leader known for building, developing, and mentoring high-performing and inclusive teams. Malini is also passionate about equity, diversity, and inclusion and is leading argenx’s internal efforts to establish a formal DEI policy and programming and to champion robust sponsorship and mentorship initiatives. Before joining argenx, Malini was the Senior Vice President & Chief Deputy General Counsel, Legal, Compliance & Government Affairs at Medtronic. Prior to Medtronic, Malini spent four years as the Head of Global Litigation & Investigations at Bayer and ten years at Pfizer where she progressed to lead civil litigation globally. Recognized for her handling some of the most challenging and complex litigation in the life sciences industry, Malini was named a Visionary Leader in litigation by Inside Counsel magazine and selected for Lawyers of Color’s inaugural Nation’s Best List. Malini also has been recognized by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice for her service to the legal profession and to the nonprofit community, the South Asian Bar Association for her achievements as corporate counsel and Lawyers for Civil Justice for her contributions to civil justice reform. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s episode is a recording of a SEVEN Talk from the 2022 Alumni Forum. This talk, given by Bruce Gellin ’77, is entitled, “Serendipitous Lessons.” Bruce is the Chief of Global Public Health Strategy at The Rockefeller Foundation. You can watch all of the SEVEN Talks on our YouTube channel. More about Bruce Bruce Gellin ’77 has pursued a career that’s blended medicine, science, policy, and public health with a focus on infectious diseases and pandemics. He traces all of this to his days at Carolina, where he crafted an interdisciplinary studies program in human biology. When he took a year off in the middle of medical school at Cornell (’83) as a Luce Scholar in the Philippines, he came back with a clearer picture where he was headed. After completing a residency in internal medicine at Vanderbilt (’86), he became a disease detective in CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service that put him on the ground investigating outbreaks from Leavenworth Penitentiary (a foodborne outbreak of “homemade” ice cream) to New Zealand (an epidemic of bacterial meningitis). His career in vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases included work at Johns Hopkins and NIH and as a Warren Weaver Fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation. In 2002, he moved to Washington as an Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of the National Vaccine Program Office at the Department of Health and Human Services. After 15 years in that post (SARS, MERS, Bird Flu, H1N1, and a growing anti-vaccine movement), he was the president of global immunization at the Sabin Vaccine Institute until last year, when he returned to the Rockefeller Foundation as Chief, Global Public Health Strategy, where he is overseeing their Global Vaccine Initiative and their recently launched Pandemic Prevention Institute. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

On a spring day in Chapel Hill, Bobby Evans ’91 joined scholar host Benny Klein ’25 outside the Morehead-Cain Foundation to share about his life and career as a Major League Baseball executive. Bobby is the former general manager of the San Francisco Giants, a role he served from 2015 to 2018. Bobby speaks about his grandmother’s pivotal advice as a high schooler, his start in baseball as an intern at UNC–Chapel Hill, the opportunities that led to the general manager role, and the highs and lows of working with the Giants. He also gives his perspective on a people-first approach to team building. Bobby now serves on the national leadership council for the Positive Coaching Alliance, a nonprofit that provides research-based training materials and resources for coaches, parents, athletes, and leaders to promote positive youth development experiences through sports. The alumnus also collaborates with Because Baseball, a nonprofit founded by Kemp Gouldin ’02 that aims to “build bridges of friendship” in the Middle East using baseball. “It’s very important not to feel the weight of the world on your shoulders alone, because no one person can manage all of that. You put good people around you.” —Bobby Evans ’91 Music credits The first and second songs in this episode are by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s episode is a recording of a SEVEN Talk from the 2022 Alumni Forum. This talk, given by Sophie Cho ’23, is entitled, “Searching Beyond the Well.” You can watch all of the SEVEN Talks on our YouTube channel. More about Sophie Sophie Cho ’23 of Raleigh received her bachelor’s in public policy, business, and statistics from Carolina. During her time as a scholar, she interned with the U.S. House of Representatives and a sustainability consultancy with Amirah Jiwa ’15, sharpened her Korean langauge skills in Seoul, and embarked on various Lovelace Fund for Discovery projects, from meeting her Morehead-Cain Mentor, Dele Carroo ’99, in Los Angeles to taking singing and acting classes. On campus, you could find her singing with The Loreleis, acting in a student film, working with Kenan-Flagler’s Community, Equity, and Inclusion Board, or in the Foundation’s scholar lounge writing a paper. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles to work as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Maggie Helmke ’23 and Roli Enonuya ’23, two graduating scholars, joined Catalyze to reflect on their four years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Maggie and Roli share with scholar host Stella Smolowitz ’26 about their favorite classes and memories, challenges they overcame, and advice for incoming and current scholars. The seniors also share their plans following graduation on May 14. At UNC–Chapel Hill, Maggie designed her own C-START (Carolina Students Taking Academic Responsibility through Teaching) class about poetry, while Roli was involved in the UNC Campus Y’s Helping Youth by Providing Enrichment (HYPE) program, where she served K-5 students at local community centers through social, cultural, and educational experiences. Following graduation, Maggie will take her Global Perspective summer through the Morehead-Cain, then pursue teaching. Roli will travel to Columbia and Brazil for her Global Perspective summer, then take a consulting role in Atlanta. (Both scholars’ final Summer Enrichment Program were delayed to this year due to the pandemic.) At the end of the episode, other members of the Morehead-Cain Class of 2023 share advice, kudos, and college memories. Thank you to Charlotte Dorn ’23, Amy Feng, McKenzie Martin ’23, and Kartik Tyagi ’23 for sharing your story! Music credits The intro music is by Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. The Catalyze podcast is a series by the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The show is directed and produced by Sarah O’Carroll, Content Manager for Morehead-Cain. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Today’s episode is a recording of a SEVEN Talk from the 2022 Alumni Forum. This talk, given by Janel Monroe ’10, is entitled, “Finding Freedom Through Fertility.” Janel is the strategy senior manager for Accenture. You can watch all of the SEVEN Talks on our YouTube channel. Janel Monroe ’10 is an inclusion, diversity, and equity practitioner who currently works as a strategy senior manager at Accenture. Prior to joining Accenture, she led inclusion and diversity at Campbell Soup Company and spent seven years in strategy consulting, focusing on talent and human potential. Janel resides in Philadelphia but enjoys traveling to warm and tropical locations, as well as internationally. Janel double majored in communication studies and cultural studies at Carolina. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

For Earth Day, we’re releasing a three-part miniseries on sustainable farming in North Carolina. Elias Guedira ’26 and Stella Smolowitz ’26 of the Morehead-Cain Scholar Media Team traveled to Tryon (Polk County) to understand more about the food we consume and those who produce it. The two co-hosts spoke with representatives of a farmer’s market, the founder of a creamer, and Carolyn Roff Henry ’87 of Tryon Mountain Farms. The alumna moved back to her hometown to take over the family business after a career in the food industry. On this episode, Carolyn shares how she and her husband, Tracy, have found a niche through their specialization in seasoning salts and simple syrups, as well as the importance of stewarding native species while exploring new flavors. She also shares advice for how anyone can support local agriculture. After graduating from Carolina with a bachelor’s in English, Carolyn worked with Cargill Incorporated in Food Sales. The alumna earned a master’s in food science from North Carolina State University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce from Lincoln University in New Zealand. She worked as a food scientist at Sealed Air Corporation before building Tryon Mountain Farms. Special thanks The Scholar Media Team trip (the first of its kind!) was made possible by Carolyn, who hosted the scholars for the visit. Thank you, Carolyn, for your hospitality and support! Music credits The intro music is by Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. The Catalyze podcast is a series by the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The show is directed and produced by Sarah O’Carroll, Content Manager for Morehead-Cain. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

For Earth Day, we’re releasing a three-part miniseries on sustainable farming in North Carolina. Elias Guedira ’26 and Stella Smolowitz ’26 of the Morehead-Cain Scholar Media Team traveled to Tryon (Polk County) to understand more about the food we consume and those who produce it. The two co-hosts spoke with representatives of a farmer’s market, the founder of a creamer, and Carolyn Roff Henry ’87 of Tryon Mountain Farms. The alumna moved back to her hometown to take over the family business after a career in the food industry. In this audio tour, Elias and Stella describe the sights and sounds of the farm while feeding bananas to Carolyn’s goats. Up next: On Carolyn’s episode, she shares how she and her husband, Tracy, have found a niche through their specialization in seasoning salts and simple syrups, as well as the importance of stewarding native species while exploring new flavors. She also shares advice for how anyone can support local agriculture. After graduating from Carolina with a bachelor’s in English, Carolyn worked with Cargill Incorporated in Food Sales. The alumna earned a master’s in food science from North Carolina State University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce from Lincoln University in New Zealand. She worked as a food scientist at Sealed Air Corporation before building Tryon Mountain Farms. Special thanks The Scholar Media Team trip (the first of its kind!) was made possible by Carolyn, who hosted the scholars for the visit. Thank you, Carolyn, for your hospitality and support! Music credits The intro music is by Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. The Catalyze podcast is a series by the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The show is directed and produced by Sarah O’Carroll, Content Manager for Morehead-Cain. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

For Earth Day, we’re releasing a three-part miniseries on sustainable farming in North Carolina. Elias Guedira ’26 and Stella Smolowitz ’26 of the Morehead-Cain Scholar Media Team traveled to Tryon (Polk County) to understand more about the food we consume and those who produce it. The two co-hosts spoke with representatives of a farmer’s market, the founder of a creamer, and Carolyn Roff Henry ’87 of Tryon Mountain Farms. In the episode, Elias and Stella chat with Jen Perkins, the owner of Looking Glass Creamery (Columbus County). Jen shares about why visitors are one of the most important parts of her business model, as well as her close-knit relationships with Carolyn and other farmers in the area. This interview took place at the creamery after Jen gave a tour of the cheese cellars. Special thanks The Scholar Media Team trip (the first of its kind!) was made possible by Carolyn, who hosted the scholars for the visit. Thank you, Carolyn, for your hospitality and support! Music credits The intro music is by Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. How to listen On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed. The Catalyze podcast is a series by the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The show is directed and produced by Sarah O’Carroll, Content Manager for Morehead-Cain. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.