Education | Employment
Contributions Beyond the Classroom
Reflections from the Carolina Across 100 Undergraduate Course
Jess Dorrance (ncIMPACT Research Director) and student authors
September 21, 2023
Last May, as the Spring 2023 semester wrapped up, we published this blog post that highlighted the incredible ways UNC students have been contributing to the Carolina Across 100 (CX100) initiative since the very beginning. Now, as the Fall 2023 semester gears up and the energy of our students can be felt across campus, we want to turn the spotlight once again to the impact they have made on this work. In particular, we want to highlight students’ own reflections on these contributions.
In the CX100 experiential learning course, offered during the fall and spring semesters, 28 students had the opportunity to work with one of the 13 cross-sector collaborative teams participating in the Our State, Our Work program. Students were paired with a community team to help expand their capacity, carry out specific workplans or tasks, and contribute to the program goal of reaching and supporting Opportunity Youth across North Carolina.
Emma Parry is a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Health & Society, graduating in 2025. She is originally from Dallas, Texas, but has spent most of her life in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Read her reflection about her experience joining “Our State, Our Work” Team 9.
Hazel Whyte is a public policy major at UNC–Chapel HIll. She grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina with experience getting involved with youth-focused non-profits. Read her reflection on working with “Our State, Our Work” Team 9.
Jack Ye is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Management and Society. He was born in the city of Rocky Mount, located in Nash County. Read his reflection on his work with Team 10.
Jalen Hwang participated with “Our State, Our Work” during their senior year at UNC–Chapel Hill while majoring in Medical Anthropology and Biology. Read their reflection on working with “Our State, Our Work” Team 10.
Jordan Carlton participated with the “Our State, Our Work” program during her junior year at UNC-Chapel Hill studying cultural anthropology and communication studies. She is from West Jefferson, NC, a small mountainous town in the very top left corner of the state—just above Boone. Read her reflection on working with Team 1.
Jordan Pugh participated with the “Our State, Our Work” program during his junior year at UNC-Chapel Hill. Read their reflection on working with “Our State, Our Work” Team 5.
Kendal Thompson participated with the “Our State, Our Work” program during her junior at UNC-Chapel Hill while majoring in Medical Anthropology and minoring in Medicine, Literature, and Culture. Read her reflection on working with “Our State, Our Work” Team 5.
Miranda de Leon participated with the “Our State, Our Work” program during their senior year at UNC–Chapel Hill while studying medical anthropology. Miranda came to UNC from Eastchester, New York, a small suburb north of the Bronx. Read their reflection from their work with Team 10.
Susanna Pradhan participated with the “Our State, Our Work” program as a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, class of 2023, pursuing a degree in Global Studies and Anthropology. Read her reflection on student participation with this experiential learning course.
Know a student who might be interested in our work? Direct them to our Student Engagement Form. We’re always looking to connect!
Carolina Across 100 is a five-year initiative whose goal is to aid community-driven recovery and build sustainable efforts in all 100 counties by providing human resources, data insights, coaching, facilitation, coordination efforts, and program design.
