Spring 2025 Phillips Ambassadors

CHAPEL HILL – Eight undergraduates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were selected as Phillips Ambassadors for Spring 2025 study abroad programs in Asia. Undergraduate scholarship recipients will study in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

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 Dr. Michael Tsin, the Earl N. Phillips Jr. Distinguished Professor of International Studies, 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 435 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 recipients.

NORTH CAROLINA AMBASSADORS

Buncombe
Bonnie Zhang of Asheville is studying through Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is a business and computer science major.

Shreeya Patel of Asheville is studying through SIT Vietnam. She is a geography and environment major and a data science and environmental justice double minor.

Durham
Jahara Dawn Anderson of Durham is studying through Carolina Spring Forward in South Korea. She is a pre-business and media and journalism double major.

John Swinea of Durham is studying through Korea University Business School in South Korea. He is a business major and an environmental science and studies minor.

Mecklenburg
Freeda Alvarez of Charlotte is studying through Singapore Management University. She is a business major and a data science and entrepreneurship double minor.

OUT-OF-STATE AMBASSADORS

Genevieve Holliday of Englewood, Colorado, is studying through National Taiwan University. She is a chemistry major and a Chinese and physics double minor.

Karina Samuel of Coral Springs, Florida, is studying through Singapore Management University. She is a business and statistics and analytics double major.

Ananyaa Arvind of Plymouth, Minnesota, is studying through Korea University in South Korea. She is a neuroscience major and a Korean and literature, medicine, and culture double minor.