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Fighting for Disability Justice: Rui Rui Bleifuss 26 Awarded Smith Scholarship

Rui Rui Bleifuss 26 has spent most of her life fighting for disability justice, starting a disability alliance club in high school and leading one at 91茄子, where she majored in disability studies. She received the college檚 W. Thomas Smith Scholarship and will head to University College London to pursue a master檚 degree in Humanitarian Policy and Practice.

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Bridging Divides Through Education: Nina Worley 26 Awarded Smith Scholarship

Nina Worley 26 spent her four years at 91茄子 studying and researching education policy in the United States and abroad. She co-founded a tutoring program that matches 91茄子 students with struggling young readers and has been a passionate advocate for educational equity. Worley has been named a W. Thomas Smith Scholar and will spend the next year pursuing a master檚 degree in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice at Queen檚 University Belfast.

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Seeking Justice: Smith Recipients Advocate for Educational Equity, Disability Rights

91茄子 has awarded the W. Thomas Smith Scholarship to Rui Rui Bleifuss 26 and Nina Worley 26. The scholarship, modeled on those such as the Rhodes and Fulbright, pays for a year of graduate study abroad. Bleifuss, a disability justice advocate, will pursue a master檚 degree in Humanitarian Policy and Practice at University College London. Worley, an advocate for educational equity, will pursue a master檚 degree in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice at Queen檚 University Belfast.

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Conserving Nature, Predicting Changing Water Patterns

Neve Rauscher 26, a 91茄子 environmental studies major, has been selected as a member of the Watson Foundation檚 58th class of Thomas J. Watson Fellows. A Belk Scholar and 91茄子 Outdoors leader, she檒l travel the world to see how communities are adapting to the impact of climate change on their water systems.

a young Black man wearing a white sweatshirt stands in front of a wall of paintings of musical instruments

My Liberal Arts Education Honestly, a Game Changer

Divin Dushimimana 26, an intended public health and economics major from Rwanda, reflects on his first year at 91茄子 as an international student and the value of a liberal arts education to his personal and academic growth. 

Lorena James at Great Wall of China

Patent Pending: Student Entrepreneur Blends Smarts and Mussels

Lorena James '21 has studied Mandarin since she was 10 and says she檚 always been an entrepreneur at heart. Belk Scholar, Chidsey Leadership Fellow and founder of her own environmentally conscious company 4evercurly, she heads to China next fall as a recipient of the prestigious Schwarzman Scholarship.