UNC Hussman students named as Phillips Ambassadors

This story was originally published on phillips.unc.edu.

UNC Hussman students Rachel Moody ’26 and Kaitlin Stratemeier ’27 were selected as a Phillips Ambassadors for summer 2025. Moody studied through UNC Phillips Summer in Taiwan, and Stratemeier studied through UNC Summer in Japan.

Fifteen other undergraduates from the University were selected as Phillips Ambassadors for study abroad programs in Asia this summer and fall. Scholarship recipients study in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

The Phillips Ambassadors Program is a program of UNC’s Carolina Asia Center, in association with the Study Abroad Office. Phillips Ambassadors are selected twice a year and each receive a $6,000 scholarship. Selection is based on strong communication skills, intellectual curiosity and engagement, academic achievement, evidence of generous service to the campus and wider community and a previous record of leadership.

Twenty-five percent of the scholarships are reserved for qualified undergraduate business majors and minors at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Up to two scholarships each year are available to qualified Duke University undergraduates.

Phillips Ambassadors choose from more than 70 academic programs in Asia that are approved by the College of Arts & Sciences and Kenan-Flagler Business School. Scholarship recipients enroll in a three-credit hour global studies course designed uniquely for them. Led by UNC’s Earl N. Phillips Jr. Distinguished Professor of International Studies, Dr. Michael Tsin, the course challenges students to explore their study abroad locale in significant detail and seek understanding of the region in a global context.

A distinguishing feature of the program is an emphasis on what is called a “Give Back,” or sharing of one’s study abroad experience in Asia with the Carolina community and the student’s hometown. In accepting the scholarship, students agree to fulfill a Give Back related to their study abroad experience. Give Backs include endeavors such as published articles, presentations, art exhibitions and group projects focused on Asia.

The Phillips Ambassadors Program is made possible through a gift from Carolina alumnus Earl N. “Phil” Phillips Jr., an entrepreneur and former U.S. ambassador, and his family.
“Our goal with this gift has been to encourage more students to spend their study abroad experiences focused on Asia — an increasingly vital region of the future,” said Phillips, who splits his time between High Point and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The first group of Phillips Ambassadors studied abroad in Asia in the summer of 2007. Since then more than 450 Carolina undergraduates have studied abroad in Asia as Phillips Ambassadors. The Phillips Ambassadors Program also oversees the Phillips Passport Initiative, a scholarship to assist students in applying for their first passport, and UNC Phillips Summer in Asia, a faculty-led study abroad program that has been based in Shanghai and Taipei. For more information, visit phillips.unc.edu.

The new Phillips Ambassadors are listed below alphabetically by North Carolina county, followed by out-of-state and international recipients.

NORTH CAROLINA AMBASSADORS

Mecklenburg

• McKenzie Peters of Charlotte is studying and interning through CET Shanghai. She is a pre-business major.
• Matthew Shen of Charlotte is interning in Singapore through a Kenan-Flagler business school international internship program. He is a statistics and business double major.
• Grace Yi of Charlotte is studying through Korea University. She is a history and Korean double major.

New Hanover

• Sasha An of Wilmington is studying through Yonsei University in South Korea. She is an exercise and sports science and Asian studies double major.

Union

• Devan Patel of Waxhaw is studying through Singapore Management University. He is a business and data science major.

Wake

• Joshua Baird of Raleigh is interning in Tokyo, Japan, through a Kenan-Flagler business school international internship program. He is a business and global studies double major.
• Claire Cai of Cary is studying through Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is a quantitative biology major.
• Rachel Moody of Wake Forest is studying through UNC Phillips Summer in Taiwan. She is a media and journalism and sociology double major.
• Rebecca Stocks of Raleigh is studying through UNC Phillips Summer in Taiwan. She is a computer science major.
• Kaitlin Stratemeier of Apex is studying through UNC Summer in Japan. She is a political science and media and journalism double major.

Wilkes

• Nathaniel Burchette of Ronda is studying through Yonsei University in South Korea. He is a biology major.

OUT-OF-STATE AND INTERNATIONAL AMBASSADORS

• Fareeda Akewusola of Houston, Texas, is studying through National University of Singapore’s honors program. She is a neuroscience major.
• Amanda Jesuca of Boca Raton, Florida, is studying through Mahidol University in Thailand. She is a philosophy major.
• Riva Kaneria of Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, is studying through Singapore Management University. She is a business major.
• Giang Pham of Hanoi, Vietnam, is studying through Fudan University in China. He is an economics major.
• Will Walker III of Minneapolis, Minnesota, interning in Tokyo, Japan, through a Kenan-Flagler business school international internship program. He is a business major.
• Yiduo Wang of The Hague, Netherlands, is studying through the University of Hong Kong. She is a chemistry and mathematics double major.