Meet the 2026 Summer Fellows
Eight Undergrads Look Forward to Immersive Experiences
We’re excited to share with you the 2026 Class of Summer Fellows. These outstanding students include six awardees from our Summer Environmental Fellows Program, an ongoing partnership with our colleagues at Wake’s Environment and Sustainability Studies (ENV) Program, and two City of Winston Salem Sustainability Fellows.
Summer Environmental Fellows
Kendall Cosby, ’27: Loggerhead Marine Life Center (Juno Beach, Florida)
Kendall, an ENV major, will be working at a sea turtle rehabilitation, research, education, and conservation center in Juno Beach, Florida. She’ll be assisting with community outreach, collecting and recording conservation data, and advancing her leadership, research, and presentation skills.
Hunter Jones, ’27: Davie County Public Utilities (North Carolina)
Hunter, an ENV major who was recently named to the ACC All-Academic Team for the 2025 cross country season, will be supporting Davie County’s wastewater treatment team, including testing and purifying water for the community while learning about the preservation of resources and the conservation of water through the water treatment cycle.
Orrin Jones, ’27: Field Research with Prof. Crystal Dixon (Southeast USA)
Orrin, a Politics and International Affairs major, will research equity in disaster recovery funding, with a focus on how FEMA assistance is distributed across marginalized and more affluent communities. They’ll use interviews, community engaged research, and policy analysis to assess how disaster relief systems shape recovery in vulnerable communities.
Reese Lile, ’28: Urban Ecology Lab (NC State)
Reese, an Environmental Science major, will be researching the relationship between urban white clover patches and the visitation rates and diversity of bees around Raleigh. Her work will include both field data collection and lab work, allowing her to sharpen her practical lab skills, research methodologies, and observation and analytical abilities.
Lily Scarlett, ’28: Asekia (Puerto Rico)
Lily, a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major, will be interning with Asekia, a sustainable agriculture and conservation nonprofit in Puerto Rico. Lily will be working on community engagement within the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge while collaborating across NGO and governmental relationships.
Harper Shanly, Fall ’26: Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful (Winston-Salem, NC)
Harper, an ENV major, will be working with the city’s Keep Winston Salem Beautiful team to lead community cleanups for the Beautification Brigade initiative, educating groups on native species plantings and invasive species removals, and supporting green space development.
City of Winston Salem Sustainability Fellows
Eliana Floge, ’29
Eliana, a rising Sophomore, will be assisting the City’s Office of Sustainability with social media, creating community outreach materials, updating their adoption process for clean-ups, and working in the field with the Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful team.
Owais Kamran, ’27
Owais, an Engineering major, will be supporting the City of Winston Salem’s Office of Sustainability with their strategic work, including community resilience, clean energy, and stakeholder engagement.
