2017 Sharoky Fellowship Program supports 14 UNC Hussmaners interning in DC
Thanks to the Sharoky Fellowship Program, 14 students and recent grads from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media are living and interning in Washington, D.C., in Summer 2017.
Through a generous donation from the Sharoky Family Foundation, students are each awarded a summer fellowship to assist with living expenses while participating in an internship opportunity in Washington, D.C. The remaining funds from the Sharoky family’s gift are used to underwrite enrichment and networking events held during the summer for Sharoky Fellows.
“The Sharoky family sees the importance of education from experiences that you just can’t find inside a classroom,” said 2017 fellow Allison Johnson. “Their support and dedication to this program allowed me to live out my childhood dream, and that’s something special that I will be eternally thankful for.”
On Thursday, June 8, the fellows gathered for an annual Sharoky luncheon to meet and thank Mel and Alexias Sharoky. The program has supported dozens of students in the decade since alumna Kate Sharoky’s 2006 graduation from UNC Hussman.
Meet the 2017 fellows:
Carleigh Barnett ’17 is a social impact intern with Powell Tate/Weber Shandwick. While in school, Barnett was a UNC Hussman Ambassador and editor-in-chief of The Odyssey, a national online site covering the college Greek community. She also interned with Bolt Public Relations in Raleigh, was a staff writer for Her Campus and was part of a student team that developed a campaign for Lenovo North America to grow its PC platform.
Carter Chambliss ’18 is interning this summer with APCO Worldwide. Chambliss is currently a UNC Hussman Ambassador and has been a media intern with Figure 8 Films in Chapel Hill and Thunder Mountain Media in Carrboro. Chambliss was part of the four-person team that won the PRSSA Bateman Competition national championship in 2017 with an innovative campaign to raise mental health awareness on campus.
Chris Cotillo ’18 is working for SB Nation/Vox Media as a Major League Baseball reporter. He helps manage the MLBDailyDish.com as site manager and managing editor (site averages about 30,000 readers daily). He previously worked as a reporter for CLNSRadio.com, covering the Boston Red Sox.
Eliza Duckworth ’18 is interning with U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and the U.S. State Department’s office of public affairs. This past year, Duckworth was an undergraduate research assistant for a UNC political science professor, researching police traffic stops in major cities and states. She is an admissions ambassador for UNC Admissions and has been a public relations intern with the nonprofit Push Play Sing!
Kate Frauenfelder ’18 is an intern with the National Governor’s Association. Frauenfelder is the director of public relations for the Eve Carson Scholarship and managing editor of CampusConnect. In Spring 2017, she worked as a public affairs intern for Hamilton Place Strategies in Washington, D.C., working with clients in the early childhood education, banking, energy and technology sectors.
Allison Johnson ’18 is a communications intern with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. She has been a public relations intern with the Ronald McDonald House and the public relations chair for Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. She also worked as a communications intern with the Greenville-Pitt County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Johnson is a member of the UNC Marching Tar Heels.
Danny Nett ’17 is interning this summer with NPR in social media and audience engagement. Nett served as online managing editor and columnist this past year for The Daily Tar Heel. In Summer 2016, he worked as a Dow Jones News Fund editing intern at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and also worked with UNC Hussman’s Reese News Lab. He was the founder and president of the UNC chapter of National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
Sharon Nunn ’17 is interning in the Washington, D.C., bureau of The Wall Street Journal. Nunn was most recently a policy reporter for N.C. Capitol Beat at WRAL.com and has been a weekend assignment editor for WRAL. While in school, she was president of the Carolina Association of Black Journalists — which was just named a finalist for national chapter of the year by National Association of Black Journalists — and a UNC Hussman Amabassador. Sharon has also been a reporter/anchor for Carolina Week, interned with Al Jazeera’s Beijing bureau and has been a writer and editor for The Daily Tar Heel.
Samantha Paisley ’18 is an intern this summer with U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin. In Summer 2016, Paisley was an editorial operations intern with CNN in Atlanta. She is a staff writer with The Daily Tar Heel and was a reporter for Times Media in Cape Town, South Africa. She has worked on Carolina Week and has interned with U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes.
Abbey Rogers ’18 is an intern in the public affairs office of the U.S. Marshal’s Service. This past spring, Rogers was a media relations intern for the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Press Center. She has also been an intern with the Lab of Unconventional Conflict Analysis and Simulation and with the Triangle Institute for Security Studies. She has interned with MMI Public Relations in Raleigh and has been fundraising director for Coulture Magazine.
Mary Campbell Rouse ’17 is interning with Ogilvy PR. This past fall, Rouse was a public affairs intern with Capstrat in Raleigh. Previously, she interned with French West Vaughan PR in Raleigh and Halpern Strategic PR and Communications Consultancy in London as part of the Honors Carolina Program.
Devin Simpson ’17 is a public affairs intern with The Hatcher Group. In Summer 2016, Simpson was a corporate engagement intern with Discovery Communications. She has been a resident adviser and a resident adviser mentor with UNC Housing and a marketing consultant with the Carolina Union Activities Board. She is also pursuing a minor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Sarah Sturdivant ’18 is interning in the media relations office of the D.C. Public Schools. Sturdivant worked this past spring as a legislative and community affairs intern for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. She has been a publicity intern with Algonquin Books and a public relations intern for the Chuck Stone Program for Diversity in Education and Media. Sturdivant was also part of the four-student team from UNC Hussman that won first place in the national PRSSA Bateman Competition in 2017.
Lindsay Thompson ’18 is a media relations intern with the U.S. Department of Justice. This past year, she was a marketing intern for Launch Chapel Hill, an award-winning startup accelerator. She also worked as an advertising account executive for The Daily Tar Heel. In Summer 2016, Lindsay interned with the Cooper & Kirk law firm in Washington, D.C., assisting in research for constitutional and appellate law courses.