University Fellows Experience

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University Fellows Experience

The University Fellows Experience seeks students with a true passion for service and leadership.

Those selected will pursue knowledge and action in the classroom, on the campus, in the community, and in the world.

06/17/2026

Witt Fellows Senior Spotlight!
After graduating with dual degrees in Biology and French Language & Literature, Sela Trimm will continue to work with the Kentuck Art Center until she departs for France in October. Working as an English teaching assistant through the TAPIF program, she will spend seven months teaching middle and high school students in rural France. Her Magnum Opus consisted of oral history interviews with fiber and textile artists, through which she sought to address the longstanding inequality in documenting and archiving the stories of female artists. One of Sela’s most cherished memories was serving as a Black Belt leader for Cohort 18, allowing her to make deep connections between her own Black Belt Experience and international trip to Cuba.

Aparna Bhooshanan is a rising senior of Cohort 16. In 2024, she took a year away from her Computer Science major to study Mandarin Chinese full-time in Taiwan under the Department of Defense’s Boren Scholarship and the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship.
She is currently performing an internship in Washington DC and hopes to design machine translation technology to better translate between Chinese and English in the future.
For her Magnum Opus, Aparna created a centralized resource for second-generation immigrants to use prompt engineering techniques to learn more about their heritage cultures through Generative AI interactions.
Aparna’s favorite Fellows memory is eating Whizzards at Whillard’s in the Black Belt summer heat!

Addison Miller graduated from New College with a degree in International and Comparative Education Policy and minors in Blount and Chinese. Next year, she will pursue a Master’s in Politics and International Relations (East Asia) at SOAS University through the Marshall Scholarship.
Her Magnum Opus was titled, “Global Citizen or American Patriot: Study Abroad and Young American Identity Formation.”
Addison’s favorite memory from her time as a Witt Fellow is making floral arrangements with her cohort before Finalist Weekend!

05/24/2026

Cohort 19 of the Dr. Robert E. Witt University Fellows Program has officially completed their Black Belt Experience in Marion, Alabama! Over the course of the spring semester, these Witt Fellows dedicated countless hours to researching and developing service projects aimed at building lasting relationships within the Marion community through holistic collaboration. Their projects addressed topics including public health, education, economic development, and historical preservation.
This milestone reflects years of deep partnership between the University of Alabama Honors College and the Marion community. We are profoundly grateful for the opportunity to learn, grow, and serve together year after year.

05/16/2026

Witt Fellows Alumni Spotlight!
We are proud to recognize John Richardson (Cohort 14) for all the great work he has accomplished following his time as a Witt Fellow.

Since graduating, John completed a Master’s in Public Policy at the University of Oxford as an Eisenhower Global Scholar where his work focused on local communities, institutional trust, and state-level policy. Alongside his academic work, he serves as a Visiting Fellow at the Alabama Policy Institute. John spent this past season working as a wrangler on a ranch in Colorado an experience that has proven grounding and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This fall, John will attend Stanford Law School as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He hopes to pursue a career in litigation with the long-term goal of working within the law to help strengthen the people and places that shape everyday life.

Reflecting on his experience in the Witt Fellows Program, John shared: “Witt Fellows was the first community on campus that truly encouraged and invested in me. It surrounded me with people who cared more about character and service than résumé lines or status. More than anything, it emphasized that life is not about trying to be someone, but about doing something meaningful for other people.”

05/13/2026

As WF20 approaches and you make plans to attend on April 2-3, 2027, we wanted to share the programming theme that will guide this year’s reunions: Head, Heart, and Hands.

Events and activities throughout the weekend will center around these three ideas. Head represents thinking deeply and leading wisely, Heart represents serving selflessly, and Hands represents acting boldly to create a lasting impact.

Be sure to update your Fellows Directory Information by visiting the Linktree in our bio!

12/03/2022

The members of The University Fellows Experience had a great time at the annual Winter Gathering. Thanks to members were able to reflect together on the fall semester over a wonderful meal. Special thanks to the wonderful interns and directors that made everything possible this semester.

Alabama Class of 2027: Remember that the application to UFE is due December 8th. The application can be accessed through the link in our bio. Stay tuned this week to learn why you should take an hour out of your day to apply to the program!

09/06/2022

Just a little throwback to our Annual Back to School Barbecue! We had so much fun gathering as a community, hearing from our directors, and learning words of wisdom from our seniors. UFE hopes everyone has had a great start to the school year!

Stay tuned in in the upcoming weeks for a spotlight of our 16th cohort!

08/13/2022

We’re back with !! This week we are featuring Katy Hurd, a rising senior and 13th Cohort member from Tampa, Florida.

Katy is a Addiction & Recovery and Psychology Major. On campus, Katy is the student director of Engage Tuscaloosa, a returning student in the Blackburn Institute, and an Honors College Ambassador. She is also a member of the 34th order of The ###I, the Anderson Society, and Mortar Board.

In the past few months, Katy spent her second summer as a Jean O’Connor-Snyder Intern with UA New College, worked at the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, and the Walker Area Community Foundation. At her time at the Walker Area Community Foundation, Katy was placed with The Healing Network at Capstone Rural Health Center to work with addiction prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery organizations in Walker County, Alabama. Katy’s favorite part about fellows is the support from both her cohort and the Fellows community at large! No matter what’s going on, Katy always feels like she can find someone in Fellows who absolutely understands or knows what to do next - and they’re always happy to jump in!

07/15/2022

Happy ! This week we are highlighting rising sophomore and 15th cohort member Andrew Sheridan. Andrew is originally from Springboro, Ohio, but now lives in Jacksonville, Florida. On campus, Andrew is a member of McCollough Institute for Premedical Scholars, an Honors College Ambassador, the SGA Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs, and an Undergrad Researcher in Dr. Ryan Earley’s lab.

Over the summer Andrew is working as a CNA in the surgical oncology unit at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville. In his free time he loves making iced coffee, binging reality TV, and exploring Jacksonville with my family. Andrew says his “favorite part of Fellows is the community that we get to build together. Each cohort is made up of people that may not ordinarily meet, but Fellows gives us the chance to grow closer and learn from one another”.

07/09/2022

This weeks is rising Junior and 14th Cohort member Sam Robson! Sam is double majoring in political science and philosophy and is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. On campus, Sam is a returning member of the Blackburn Institute, a Legal Research Club editor, project assistant and Advisory Board VP of Return My Vote () and the incoming team lead of Vote Everywhere UA ().

This summer, Sam is working on Return My Vote, a virtual voting rights restoration clinic for people with prior convictions, and working with the Crossroads Civic Engagement Center to prepare campus for the 2022 midterm elections. Sam’s favorite part about Fellows is the people and the lengths they will go to support their community.

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07/04/2022

Congrats to 12th Cohort Member and Alum Lindsay Fincher for being crowned Miss Alabama 2022!

Lindsay’s social impact initiative, Catalyst: Arts For All, strives to make arts education a reality by creating accessible arts programming,
fundraising for scholarships, advocating for pro-arts policy
at the state and national levels, and sharing her own children's
book! This year Lindsay has shared Catalyst's mission with schools, community organizations, and advocacy groups across the nation, and will continue to expand
arts education to more children through her work to imagine a more empathetic, equitable, and creative future for all! Lindsay’s Magnum Opus doubles as her social impact initiative, and she has put in countless hours researching, working with professors, and getting feedback from other Fellows. We are so proud of you, Lindsay!

Address

Nott Hall, 533 6th Avenue
Tuscaloosa, AL
35401

Telephone

+12053485500

Website

https://honors.ua.edu/programs/university-fellows-experience/

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