UNCP REACH Fellows Turn Research into Career Pathways and Community Impact

Thousands of miles from Pembroke, Sheena Holbrook handed Aboriginal Elder Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor two baskets crafted by Lumbee artists.

The exchange reflected more than a shared appreciation for art and history. It became a moment of connection between Indigenous communities separated by oceans but linked through storytelling, preservation and cultural memory.

That kind of work is at the heart of UNC Pembroke's REACH program, where students are turning archival research, oral histories and community storytelling into graduate school opportunities, national internships and careers in public humanities work.

Funded by the Mellon Foundation, REACH (Research, Engagement, Action, Community and Humanities) gives students hands-on experience in archival research, digital humanities, public history, cultural preservation and community-based scholarship. Fellows work closely with faculty mentors to develop projects tied to race, identity, labor, language, place and the historical records that shape how communities are remembered.

This year's projects explored topics ranging from Black religious life and Southern folklore to Indigenous identity, language in North Carolina and the history of desegregation in Caswell County through materials connected to the Federal Writers' Project and Farm Security Administration archives.

For many Fellows, the work has also opened doors to graduate school, internships, teaching and national scholarship.

Among this year's accomplishments:

• Kristin Stowell was accepted into the Master of Letters in Ethnology and Folklore program at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland as well as the Master of Arts in Oral History at Columbia University.
• Sheena Holbrook was accepted into the University of Maryland's Cultural and Heritage Resource Management MPS program. She currently serves as project manager of Indigenous Cultural History and Archives in REACH.
• Mason Schwenneker has accepted a position as a Teach for America corps member and will begin teaching in Colorado Springs in the fall. He currently serves as project manager of Digital Humanities and Social Media in REACH.
• Anastasia Sinclair was awarded a summer internship with the Library of Congress Manuscript Division in Washington, D.C., and has applied to the Master of Arts in History program at Morgan State University.
• Taliah Hannah received the Outstanding Senior Award in the Department of English, Theatre, and World Languages and will begin a new position with a publishing company in Charlotte.

The Fellow's work culminated earlier this spring during REACH's annual symposium in Livermore Library. The event featured a research poster session, an oral history exhibit highlighting Lumbee veterans, a poetry reading by Tonya Holy Elk, the 2026 Lloyd Oxendine Artist in Residence, and presentations by REACH Fellows and the Lumbee Warriors Association.

The program's reach also extended beyond campus this year. REACH Director Dr. Michele Fazio traveled to Sydney, Australia, with three students and Drs. Christopher Woolley and Ashley Allen, to present at the Working-Class Studies Association's annual conference. The group delivered a plenary presentation and later led a second session focused on archival research and digital humanities.

“Presenting as part of the plenary panel was an exhilarating opportunity to advocate for Indigenous data sovereignty and share our REACH program's work in the FSA/FWP archives, particularly as it pertains to Lumbee history,” Holbrook said. “Meeting Aunty Rhonda and gifting her baskets handcrafted by local Lumbee artisans was a deeply moving moment of cultural connection.”

Holbrook said her time in REACH has fostered “a lifelong love for archives, history and cultural resource management.”

Stowell, Hannah and Schwenneker also presented with Fazio and other scholars during the annual conference for the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the U.S., participating in a roundtable exploring ethnicity in Federal Writers' Project archives.

Fazio will continue expanding the program's national impact this summer as a project faculty member and participant selection committee member for the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Higher Education Faculty, “New Directions for Research, Teaching, and Public Engagement,” which focuses on the Federal Writers' Project.

REACH alumni Holbrook and Schwenneker will co-present with Fazio on the REACH program's learning outcomes and assist scholars with archival research at the Library of Congress in July.

“REACH gives students the tools to see themselves as scholars, storytellers and stewards of history,” Fazio said. “Their work shows how archival research can uncover overlooked narratives, strengthen community connections and prepare students for meaningful careers in public humanities.”

As UNCP prepares for a new REACH cohort, the accomplishments of current fellows demonstrate the program's growing impact. Through research, mentorship and public engagement, REACH students are building career pathways while helping communities reclaim, preserve and share their stories.