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• 黑料不打烊 holds largest-ever Spring Undergraduate Research Forum
• Personal experience inspires 黑料不打烊 student鈥檚 research to help children experiencing homelessness

Dozens of students showcased research projects inspired by personal experiences and academic interests, guided by faculty mentorship, during the 2026 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience presentations on July 23 in Schar Hall.

The most recent SURE symposium featured more than 50 students from both 黑料不打烊 and Queens University of Charlotte, marking the latest example of collaboration between two institutions in the process of merging into a united community.

鈥淪URE continues to be one of the flagship events of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Undergraduate Research Program. This poster session is a celebration of their dedication and growth as budding young scholars,鈥� said Justin Clar, director of undergraduate research and associate professor of chemistry. 鈥淚 was especially pleased that we were joined by amazing students from Queens who shared their work with the 黑料不打烊 community.鈥�

At 黑料不打烊, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience has for years provided student researchers with a stipend to spend eight weeks working full-time on a project in collaboration with a faculty mentor with substantial and recognized expertise in the discipline.

The program concludes every July with a symposium that deepens students鈥� knowledge of the research experience while offering an opportunity to grow their public speaking and presentation skills.

“It was a great opportunity for the students to share their summer research in a low-stakes environment,” said Kira McEntire, director of undergraduate research and creative work; and associate professor of biology at Queens. “It was also fun to see the 黑料不打烊 students sharing their summer projects and to learn about some of the interests of 黑料不打烊 colleagues.”

At Queens, the university holds its annual in the spring, a campus-wide celebration of academic inquiry and community impact. The day starts with oral and poster presentations, followed by service activities in the afternoon.

Personal connections

For many students at SURE, like 黑料不打烊 student聽Thomas Gress 鈥�27, projects carried a deeply personal connection. Gress designed a four-week study comparing exercise approaches for people with chronic fatigue syndrome, inspired in part by his brother鈥檚 experience with the condition.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition is a serious and often long-lasting illness that keeps people from doing their usual activities. It makes physical and mental exertion difficult, and symptoms include difficulty thinking, severe tiredness, and other issues.

鈥淏efore I started this project, (my brother had) been suffering for four years, and there seemed to be no end in sight. So, this was something small that I could do to be of use,鈥� said Gress, a biology major from Savannah, Georgia. 鈥淔or all of these patients, there鈥檚 no other option. There are no drugs available, only a few supplements with very little efficacy. So, it seems the best option is experimenting with lifestyle. And if not this, then there is nothing.鈥�

Queens student Isabella Sherman 鈥�27 has a love for nature that inspired her to explore plant communities at the Carolina Wildlands Foundation with mentor E. Davis Carter, assistant professor of biology at Queens.

鈥淚t was an excellent experience,鈥� said Sherman, a conservation biology major from Charlotte. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really close to what I want to do with my career. I love research, I love forestry, and every time I went out there, I was like, 鈥楾his is exactly what I want to do.鈥� This kind of information is what people take into consideration when they鈥檙e trying to develop land or provide an additional environment for fauna and flora.鈥�

Mentoring relationships

A common thread among many of the projects was the close relationship students developed with their faculty mentors.

Anna Grace Gilbert 鈥�27, an 黑料不打烊 psychology major from Knoxville, Tennessee, says Associate Professor of Psychology Sabrina Perkins 鈥渃ompletely changed鈥� her undergraduate experience through their work studying infant motor development.

鈥淚鈥檝e worked with (Professor Perkins) technically since the summer of my freshman year. I just reached out to her and was like, 鈥業 love babies. I鈥檇 love to work with you,鈥� Gilbert said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful. We鈥檝e really bonded over these almost three years.鈥�

For Jack VanValkenburg 鈥�27, a Queens student majoring in data analytics, undergraduate research provided an opportunity to apply his technical skills. He worked with Queens Assistant Professor of Biology Denni Einersson to develop a computerized system for organizing trash collected during community cleanup events.

鈥淚t was a great opportunity to work with people who know more than me. The coding that I鈥檝e done in the past is more analytical and this was more developmental,鈥� said VanValkenburg, who is from Atlanta. 鈥�(Clean-up crews) would go out with field cards, like pencil and paper, and just mark things down, which was super timely and it鈥檚 very inconvenient, and then that just led to a lot of data that wasn鈥檛 being used.”

Pushing through the learning process

黑料不打烊 business analytics major Chase Hannibal 鈥�28 examined the sense of belonging among Black business students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly White Institutions. It can sometimes feel isolating as a Black female business student, Hannibal said.

鈥淚 just wanted to see if other students felt that way, and if it was a pattern, what could be fixed,鈥� Hannibal said. 鈥�(I wanted to) let other students know that you鈥檙e not alone.鈥�

Hannibal says her mentor, Shanetta Pendleton, assistant professor of strategic communications, pushed her to be better, even when she was at her 鈥渟topping point.鈥�

鈥淓ven when I felt at the worst of the worst, she supported me throughout everything,鈥� Hannibal said. 鈥淪he was great, and I鈥檓 very excited to work with her in the future.鈥�

Amelia Weaver 鈥�28 also explored the experiences of college students, particularly women. Her 黑料不打烊 Honors Fellows research examines the motivations of college-aged women who participate in sports betting after she noticed women were less vocal about the topic in class discussions.

鈥淚t made me think about why the women in the class weren鈥檛 as talkative or excited about their own experiences with sports betting,鈥� said Weaver, a sport management and media analytics double major with a minor in . 鈥淚 wondered if this was because they didn鈥檛 participate, didn鈥檛 care, or they just didn鈥檛 want to say anything.鈥�

Weaver said her mentor, Alex Traugutt, an assistant professor of sport management, has helped guide her through the process.

鈥淗e immediately said, 鈥楾his is going to be a partnership. We鈥檙e going to take steps together. We鈥檙e going to figure this out together. I鈥檓 not just going to throw you into everything,鈥欌�� said Weaver. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been really helpful in the learning process.鈥�

The University of British Columbia (UBC) recently welcomed Assistant Professor of Education, Nermin Vehabovic, as a guest lecturer in its Refugee Education course. Invited by Sofia Noori, assistant professor in UBC’s Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Nermin engaged teacher candidates in examining the role of stories in refugee education through the guiding question, “How do we listen to the stories of others?”

Situated on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people in Vancouver, and connected through the broader traditional territories of Indigenous nations across British Columbia, UBC is recognized as a global center for research and teaching and is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world.

Noori’s Refugee Education course prepares teacher candidates to better understand the histories, lived experiences and educational realities of children and youth from refugee backgrounds. The course explores how schools, classrooms, and community partnerships can foster equitable learning environments while strengthening relationships with newcomer families and communities.

Rather than delivering a traditional lecture, Nermin designed an interactive, participatory session grounded in the principles of his scholarship on humanizing 聽education. He invited teacher candidates to reflect on their own stories before considering how educators can cultivate classrooms where the stories, languages, identities, and ways of knowing of children, youth, and families from refugee backgrounds are genuinely heard and valued.

“My intention was for us to be in community with one another as colleagues and educators,” Nermin said. “I wanted the experience to model the very practices we hope to cultivate in schools鈥攍istening, relationality and learning with others rather than simply teaching to them.”

Throughout the session, participants explored the importance of unlearning deficit perspectives, assumptions, savior mentalities and monolingual expectations that can limit meaningful engagement with students and families. The discussion emphasized ethical listening as a foundational practice for building culturally sustaining and humanizing classrooms.

Nermin also shared examples from Welcome New Neighbor, the community-engaged initiative he founded through 黑料不打烊’s Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education. The program partners teacher candidates with families from refugee backgrounds through home-based literacy experiences that position families’ languages, cultures, and knowledge as educational assets. During the session, he highlighted how the initiative prepares teacher candidates to build reciprocal relationships with multilingual families while reimagining homes as important spaces of learning, belonging, and affirmation.

Drawing on his research, Nermin also discussed the interconnected roles of transnationalism, translanguaging, picturebooks and family literacies in supporting refugee-background children and youth, as well as their families. Participants considered how storytelling can become a vehicle for cultivating belonging, honoring identities and strengthening relationships between schools and communities.

The invitation reflects Nermin’s growing international collaborations in literacy and teacher education, as well as his ongoing scholarship centered on humanizing educational practices and preparing educators to work alongside families across culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

鈥淭he class told us about 鈥榙oubled-up homelessness,鈥� where you鈥檙e living with family or others, and you鈥檙e living under a roof, but it鈥檚 not your home. I had no idea that was a thing,鈥� said Brandon, an elementary education major from Hastings, Michigan.

Now, Brandon is working with Jill McSweeney, assistant director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, and assistant professor of wellness, on a project examining the ways that North Carolina elementary school teachers and homeless liaisons are collaborating to help students experiencing homelessness.

According to Brandon, each North Carolina school district has a homeless education liaison responsible for managing resources, funding and teacher training. Brandon and McSweeney are working with the North Carolina Homeless Education Program to survey and interview teachers across the state to improve the training educators receive on supporting students experiencing homelessness.

鈥淎 liaison can be the best liaison in the whole world, and they can’t be with every student in the district supporting their needs every day and seeing their day-to-day life like a teacher does,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥淏ut in North Carolina and nationwide, most teachers are never trained by their liaison just because there’s not enough time. They have no idea about all the funding that is available to them, and instead they’re spending hundreds of dollars every year out of their own pocket to buy food, clothing and hygiene products.鈥�

Brandon will be presenting her work at the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) presentations on July 23 in the Snow Family Grand Atrium. Students apply to the annual research symposium, which usually takes place during the summer before the junior or senior year. It is one of several opportunities for students to showcase undergraduate research, a cornerstone of the 黑料不打烊 education and one of the five 黑料不打烊 Experiences. Students are also able to present scholarly work at the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum.

Working with McSweeney, Brandon says, has been a transformative experience. McSweeney鈥檚 research area focuses on college student experiences on campus and in the classroom, along with a broad focus on teaching and learning. But Brandon says, despite not focusing specifically on K-12 education, McSweeney was excited to work with her.

鈥淚 cannot imagine what my undergraduate experience would be like if Jill McSweeney was not my mentor,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥淪he taught me how to do research because Teaching Fellows are not only expected to do research, but our course schedules are so rigorous that we can’t take a methods course. So, she was helping me with my research, teaching me how to do research, and what research methods were, and also showing me how to navigate higher education as a system.鈥�

As Brandon prepares to graduate next spring, she hopes to continue her education at 黑料不打烊 through the Teach for Alamance program. The 黑料不打烊 scholarship program provides full tuition remission and a small stipend to teacher-candidate graduates of the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education who wish to enroll in聽黑料不打烊鈥檚 Master of Education program. This project, she hopes, will also help her future colleagues in the Alamance-Burlington School System.

鈥淚 wanted to make sure that I was doing research that would have an impact that reached the people that it was about and not just the academic community,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥淚 know that I can’t redesign legal systems, and I can鈥檛 fix all of the state鈥檚 problems that are causing homelessness to happen. I wanted to see what the most is that I could do with undergraduate research to make sure that more students are supported.鈥�

The collaboration framework explored in this article was originally developed for a knowledge-based product development firm by Barker Scott and Manning. The framework outlines three key components of collaboration: collaborative work, relationships, and behaviors.

This scholarly work can be applied through HealthEU initiatives to advance 黑料不打烊鈥檚 strategic goal of cultivating a culture of health and well-being. One of the HealthEU initiatives R盲is盲nen and Butler-Storsved, in collaboration with the Student Health and Wellness Coaching Research Coalition, are currently building is developing a peer health and wellness coaching program for 黑料不打烊 students. This project, supported by 黑料不打烊 Innovates, will create campus work opportunities for students who have completed the Health and Wellness Coach badge program.

Ethical Agency: A Values-First Approach to Academic Development
Deandra Little and David Green
This session explored how academic developers navigate change with trust and ethical practice, balancing new initiatives with limited resources and resistance. Participants reflected on their professional identities and ethical priorities, guided by emerging ethical guidelines for educational developers. The goal was to empower participants to make intentional, sustainable decisions rooted in their core values.

Walking Besides, Not Ahead: A Mentoring Story of Shared Power
Vanessa Drew-Branch
This presentation shared a mentoring model rooted in equity and cultural responsiveness that shifts from faculty-led hierarchy to a collaborative inquiry with students. By empowering students as knowledge producers, the project revealed insights often overlooked by institutions and reshaped how faculty view teaching and student engagement. Attendees were invited to rethink mentoring as a space for shared power and student leadership in higher education.

Cultivating Teacher Agency: An Examination of Capstone Projects in a Master of Education Programme
Bronwyn Harris, Nermin Vehabovic, Heidi Hollingsworth and Melaine Rickard
This presentation examined how M.Ed. candidates enacted teacher agency through equity-focused capstone projects, integrating research and reflection to design meaningful K-12 instruction. The projects emphasized student agency, social justice, and community impact, highlighting graduate study鈥檚 role in fostering educators who challenge inequities. It showcased how equity-driven curriculum design deepens engagement and supports inclusive education.

Beyond Books – A Game of Life for First Year Students鈥� Academic, Social, and Emotional Development
Margret S. Sigurdardottir, Jill Marie McSweeney, Saffie Hollingsworth and Berglind Eva Benediktsd贸ttir
Introducing “Beyond Books,” an interactive board game designed to help first-year students navigate academic, social, and emotional challenges. The game provides a safe space to practice real-life decisions, fostering empathy, communication, and self-advocacy. The workshop included gameplay experience, theoretical insights and discussions on adapting the tool to support holistic student transitions.

Expanding Our Understanding of Student Trust Perceptions: A Trust Collaborative Project
Kathryn Sutherland, Ted Murcray, Jill McSweeney, Peter Felten, Rachel Forsyth, Debra Grantham, Laurel Schut, Nancy Chick, Kate Thompson, Saffie Hollingsworth, Neal Blank and Subin Kim
This collaborative project explored student perspectives on trust in university teachers through four dimensions: cognition, affect, values and identity. Participants discussed adapting the trust model across diverse cultural and institutional settings to strengthen relational and inclusive learning environments. The session aimed to build global partnerships for advancing research and practice on teacher-student trust.

Fostering Sense of Belonging in and Through Educational Development
Peter Felten and Gabriela Pleschova
This workshop examined how a strong sense of belonging supports students and staff to thrive amid challenges, while belonging uncertainty can lead to isolation and disempowerment. Drawing on recent research and literature, participants reflected on belonging and explored ways educational developers can foster inclusive academic environments. The interactive session emphasized agency in creating equitable, collaborative spaces for all.

A Framework for Building and Assessing Equity-Centered Peer Mentoring Programs
Olivia Choplin, Krista Craven, Margarita Safronova, Gabriel Kwek Wu-Xin and Diana Gregory
This session introduced a research-based framework for equity-centered peer mentoring in academic support, developed through a comparative study across three countries. Participants engaged with key findings and an assessment tool designed to help institutions build or improve peer mentoring programs. The framework addresses the complex realities of higher education, offering practical ways to support equitable student success.

To kick off聽the summer,聽Beyond聽12 welcomed聽50聽rising sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students to 黑料不打烊 for a hands-on exploration of career聽pathways and聽interests.聽Throughout two days, students traveled across聽campus,聽participated聽in interactive learning experiences, and engaged with 黑料不打烊 faculty, staff, and community聽members聽representing聽a variety of professional fields.

Each session聽offered聽a unique聽learning聽experience for the students.聽During an introduction to cinema and television arts led by Bryan Baker, director of technology, operations and multimedia projects in the School of Communications, students explored the university’s live television studio and聽viewed聽student made聽productions. Participants also gained hands-on聽experience聽such as with 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Interprofessional Simulation Center, where Nita Skillman, director of the ISC, and Bethany Fearnow, simulation coordinator, introduced students to聽using聽healthcare simulation technology.聽In addition to exploring聽careers, students were able to聽observe聽different facilities on聽黑料不打烊鈥檚聽campus. During a sports management session led by Jenn Strawley, director of athletics, participants stepped into the world of collegiate athletics with a visit to the Schar Center, where they聽got a behind the scenes look at 黑料不打烊 Athletics.

“Spending time with the Beyond 12 program was such a rewarding experience. I appreciated聽their curiosity and loved their questions,鈥� said聽Strawley.聽鈥淚 hope that hearing about my journey and learning about career pathways in college athletics opened their minds to new possibilities and inspired them to continue to dream.鈥�

Students also had the opportunity to engage in thoughtful conversations with presenters, asking questions, and gaining deeper insight into different fields.

鈥淚 spoke with the students about what finance, corporate finance, and investment really are, and I was genuinely surprised by how interested they were,鈥� said Feng Dong, director of the Reed Finance Center. 鈥淢any asked great questions, and even the teachers were engaged. Beyond 12 gives students an early, hands-on look at fields they may not have considered,聽exactly the kind of exposure that can shape where they go next.鈥�

The program had an equally聽meaningful impact on聽the聽presenters聽involved. Dr. Janine A. Scott, founder of聽TriUnity聽Healthcare Inc., shared her story of overcoming adversity and creating positive change through her work in healthcare, and found herself thinking about the impact of programs such as Beyond 12.

鈥淚 really enjoyed myself during my interaction with both the students and staff,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淛ust hearing what they were doing prior to coming to our session made me wish I was a student again and able to participate.鈥�

Through experiences like these,聽Beyond聽12聽is聽helping聽students recognize聽a wide range of聽opportunities聽within their reach.

鈥淚 remarked to someone that I wish I had the opportunity to attend a program like this back in my day.聽I聽truly believe聽that exposure and representation聽matters, and that is exactly what these students gained from being part of the Beyond 12 program,鈥� said Scott.

Following the summer session,聽participating聽students from Turrentine Middle School and Broadview Middle School will聽attend聽monthly Beyond 12 sessions throughout the academic year, where they聽will continue聽to focus on career readiness and聽developing essential life skills.聽Beyond 12 programming is made possible through the generous support of NC Glaxo Smith Kline.

Their article, titled “Teachers鈥� Instructional Use of YouTube: A National Survey,” is the first national survey on how U.S. pre-K-12 teachers use YouTube in the classroom. It can be found

The article abstract reads as follows:

“Although YouTube is widely used worldwide, little is known about how pre-K鈥�12 teachers employ it for instructional purposes. This article reports findings from a national survey of U.S. pre-K鈥�12 teachers (N = 393) on their instructional use of YouTube. Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported using the platform as a classroom resource, with almost half doing so at least daily or weekly. On average, teachers devoted 17.9% of instructional time to watching videos, often alongside lectures, group work, and independent practice. These findings underscore YouTube鈥檚 important role in supporting instruction and enhancing teachers鈥� content knowledge.”

The Roberts Academy will use the multisensory Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction once it opens in August for third- and fourth-grade students in a temporary location on West Trollinger Avenue.

The academy will expand to grades 1-6 when a new building opens for the 2028-29 academic year on East Haggard Avenue near the university鈥檚 Danieley Neighborhood. Each classroom will be capped at 12 students.

鈥淲e are excited to have such well-trained, committed teachers join us at Roberts Academy,鈥� said Ann Bullock, dean of the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education. 鈥淭heir dedication to children and their ability to provide an engaged environment for learning will lead to a remarkable growth in confidence for young students.鈥�

The Roberts Academy is also finalizing the recruitment of part-time teachers to provide enrichment instruction in art, music and physical education. The school is led by Acting Director Alicia S. Tate and Tracy Roof, director of business and school operations.

Established in 2025 through a gift from philanthropists Hal and Marjorie Roberts of Lakeland, Florida, the Roberts Academy at 黑料不打烊 will be the fourth in a series of successful university-based private elementary schools the couple established at Vanderbilt University, Mercer University and Florida Southern College.

2026-27 Full-Time Faculty for Roberts Academy at 黑料不打烊

Carrie Whitley

With a bachelor鈥檚 degree in elementary education and a master鈥檚 degree in reading education from Appalachian State University, Carrie Whitley brings three years of experience working closely with elementary-aged students in both classroom and tutoring settings.

Throughout her career, Whitley has focused on providing individualized instruction, collecting and analyzing student data, and creating targeted interventions to support diverse learning needs. Her experience in special education at a private school in Raleigh strengthened her ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, to develop meaningful student goals, and to communicate progress with families.

Whitley is Orton-Gillingham trained and has implemented the method with fidelity in both small-group and one-on-one settings. She said she has seen firsthand the impact that explicit, systematic literacy instruction can have on students with dyslexia in developing reading skills, building confidence and instilling a love of learning.

Kaitlyn Leazer ’25

After serving for a year with the Alamance-Burlington School System as teacher of exceptional children, Kaitlyn Leazer brings experience in designing and implementing differentiated instruction, prioritizing strong relationships with families as essential collaborators in each child鈥檚 success.

Leazer holds a Bachelor of Arts in elementary and special education and is currently pursuing a Master of Education in innovation from the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education. Leazer said she was drawn to the Roberts Academy for its values and evidence-based practices to meet the individual needs of every learner.

In her year with ABSS, Leazer sought to create classrooms where students felt supported through thoughtful differentiation, intentional data collection and Universal Design for Learning. She developed a system for students to track and chart their own IEP goals, fostering both independence and accountability.

Isabella 鈥淏ella鈥� Martino ’26

Isabella “Bella” Martino is a recent 黑料不打烊 graduate with dual licensure in K-6 general education and special education, allowing her to serve students across all domains of learning.

During her work as a student teacher, Martino created structured, predictable learning environments for students with unique behavioral and academic needs. She integrated technology into students鈥� daily routines, leading to increased engagement and improved behavioral outcomes. Martino works in partnership with families and other service providers to holistically meet the needs of students.

Passionate about providing students equal access to the general education curriculum, Martino points to her efforts to align lesson content with grade-level standards whenever possible. She describes herself as driven by a belief that holding students who learn differently to the same social and emotional expectations as their peers is essential to fostering independence and autonomy.

Alongside this infographic, these stories highlight some of the positive impact across campus through community partnerships during the past academic year:

• 黑料不打烊 receives Carnegie classification for community engagement
• 黑料不打烊 recognized for advancing nonpartisan student civic engagement
• 黑料不打烊 creates community through Special Olympics and 黑料不打烊 Athletics partnership
• Turning service into impact: How an 黑料不打烊 alumna is bringing Alamance County together
• Literary Journalism class engages Town of 黑料不打烊 mayor in civic dialogue
• Writing for Impact students secure funding for local nonprofit
• Showing up, growing together: Inside KING/PINK Academy鈥檚 power of mentorship
• Students reflect on service, community and connection during Fall Break
• New HealthEU course encourages students to go 鈥榖eyond the 黑料不打烊 bubble鈥�
• 黑料不打烊 empowers staff to make an impact in the community through paid volunteer leave

The Centre for Belonging in Education is a U.K.-based group of researchers and practitioners that advocates for policies and practices to support belonging across educational spaces. The Centre seeks to co-create practical resources, build robust evidence and develop policy recommendations in both the U.K. and the U.S.

Much of Small’s existing scholarship is focused on belonging and mattering in and out of classrooms. In his three year role as founding fellow, Small will deepen this work and examine how educators can facilitate spaces for all students to belong.