In a hyper-partisan political climate, it can be hard to be engaged, especially with people who hold opposing viewpoints. The inaugural Student Dialogue Fellowship was designed to address this challenge, bringing together nearly 300 UVA undergraduate and graduate students from all backgrounds and with a diverse range of views and experiences for a monthly series of conversations about the 2024 U.S. elections.
“In this election, students have been an important focal point for the major issues. And with the landscape and even candidates constantly changing, our generation has an opportunity to begin to shift the paradigms around political discourse.” —UVA student Brian Ng
Representing 11 of UVA’s 12 schools and viewpoints from across the spectrum, the Karsh Institute’s Student Dialogue Fellows share a sense of curiosity and responsibility for creating a more robust democratic future.
"The active participation of the inaugural class of Student Dialogue Fellows demonstrates that, even in polarized times, people who care about democracy can come together to make it stronger. These students know what each of us chooses to do daily strengthens our institutions, holds our elected officials accountable, and defines our democratic culture.” —Karsh Institute Executive Director Melody Barnes
The Student Dialogue Fellowship builds upon the culture of constructive conversation at the University and the Karsh Institute’s portfolio of engaged dialogue work, weaving these together with scholarship from faculty across Grounds. This fellowship program integrates three facets in a unique format, specifically cultivating:
- Peer-to-peer dialogic skills through structured conversations with ideologically diverse cohorts;
- Self-regulation skills through the incorporation of mindfulness practices;
- Knowledge about the American political landscape and the 2024 presidential election.
Fellows were assigned to ideologically diverse cohorts of approximately 50 students each to come together over shared meals in fall 2024—and within those groups are discussion pods of 8 to 10 students each. Students have the option to continue their fellowship the following semester, at which point they will contribute to the development of the program’s future structure, informed by their own experiences and insights.
The Karsh Institute launched the Student Dialogue Fellowship with Rachel Wahl, director of the Good Life Political Project, which is supported by the President and Provost’s Funding for Institutionally Related Research. Other schools, centers, and units across Grounds have also joined the effort:
- College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
- Contemplative Sciences Center
- Darden School of Business
- Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
- School of Data Science
- School of Education and Human Development
- Student Affairs
“My interest in American politics is shaped mainly by the fact that I am a premedical student and Army ROTC cadet. My educational pathway allows me to view politics from multiple perspectives but, more importantly, to be curious about learning through discussions with other students and leaders.” —UVA student Leilani R. Ropati
“My interest in this year’s Student Dialogue Fellowship stems from my journey as a liberal Catholic woman. Raised in a devout Catholic family, I initially embraced the church’s conservative values. However, as I matured, my worldview expanded... [My sister and I] spent countless hours with the rest of our family discussing how religion intersects with our political ideologies. The Student Dialogue Fellowship brings together people with many lived experiences, desiring to mend our polarized nation and uphold democracy during this critical election season.” —UVA student Annie McGahren
“Growing up as a self-identifying conservative in a deeply liberal state, I often experienced the benefits of dialogue with people of diverse viewpoints. From a young age, I found myself getting involved in political discussions with classmates and teachers, learning to navigate tricky topics with respect for the people across from me.… Being able to sit across from someone and have a frank exchange of views has been necessary for me to find success.” —UVA student Zach Mendelovici
Participating UVA Students
Yatta Ackom, Darden School of Business
Makayla Rosalie Adams, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Jake Alfonzetti, School of Law
Grace Allen, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Chloe Alpert, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Bethany Amanuel, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Maya Amman, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Owen Andrews, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Abigail Anger, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Melat Asmerom, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Toby Atwill, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Margaret (Molly) Ayres, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Tesher Baer, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Sophia Baez, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Sophia Bangura, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Jeremy Barnett, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Erin Bass, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Eli Beaubien, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Avalon Bennett, School of Data Science
Gabriel Bickham, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Thomas Boak, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Kathryn Bonheur, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Caroline Brinkman, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Kaitlyn Brooks, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Henry Brown, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Donovan Brown, School of Medicine
Shaadaan Burn, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Vivian Alana Caesar, School of Law
Jenny Calderon, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Juliette Calderon, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Katherine Canada, School of Medicine
Jorge Cano Febles, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Amelia Cantwell, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Mac Caputi, Darden School of Business
Jim Carlisle, School of Education and Human Development
Julia Carroll, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Wyatt Carter, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Mackenna Caruso, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ford Chapman, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Krisha Chichili, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Chloe Chiles, School of Law
Caitlin Clarke, School of Law
Meredith Clay, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Miles Cooper, School of Law
Virginia Carolyn Crawford, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Carson Crenshaw, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Matthew Cunningham, Darden School of Business
Evan Davisson, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Wyatt Dayhoff, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Diego De Leon, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Quana Dennis Jr
Evelyn Dickey, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and School of Education and Human Development
Andrew Dillman, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Lillian Dorathy, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Nomi Dua, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ashley Duhaney, School of Architecture
David Dzul, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Samuel Ellis, School of Law
Ari Esrig, School of Medicine
Seth Faberman, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Simon Falokun, School of Law
Matthew Farina, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Sarah Finkelstein, School of Medicine
Braidon Fitzpatrick, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Lauren Forrester, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Rachel Fu, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Jon Haakon Gangsaas, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Erin Gaul, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Ashutosh Gehlot, Darden School of Business
Selome Gizaw, Darden School of Business
Amanda Golden, Darden School of Business
Henry Grieco, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Oriane Guiziou-Lamour, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Leah Gunnoe, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Anika Gupta, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Diya Gupta, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and McIntire School of Commerce
Trevor Hanna, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Matthew Harmon, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Emma Hartman, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Kate Hatley, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Phoebe Helms, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Edgar Hercila, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Julia Herrmann, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Justin Heywood, School of Law
Fabian Hick, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Lachlan Hinds, School of Law
Marvin Hirt, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Mariah Hudson, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Reid Jacobson, Darden School of Business and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Ali Jarrah, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Paul Jasper, School of Architecture
Caleb Jay, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Zoë Jenkins, School of Education and Human Development and College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
David Jia, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Nancy Jones, Darden School of Business and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Willimiah Kakuchie, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Raffi Kanayan, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Radha Kapadia, Darden School of Business
Amy Kaplan, School of Medicine
Sarah Karlen, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Noah Kasky, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ruby Kaufman, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Ander Kelley, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Emma Kelly, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Stephen Kelly, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Oscar Kemp, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Ibrahim Khalil, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Basil Khan, School of Education and Human Development
Ashna Khianey, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Julianne Kiker, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Sarah King, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Campbell Kirby, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Nedd Kirsch, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Kevin Kissinger, School of Law
Owen Kitzmann, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
William Klink, School of Law
Lisa Kopelnik, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Nina Kudlak, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Abhishek Kulkarni, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Darden School of Business
Eunice Kwak, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Nicole Kwan, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Kristine Kwon, School of Law
Tobias Lâ Esperance, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Mayan Lawent, School of Law
Misa Layne, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Riley LeBon, School of Education and Human Development
Charis Lee, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Jackson Lehner, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Aden Levenson, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Evelyn Lewis, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Hadley Lewis, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Mason Lewis, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and McIntire School of Commerce
Diego von Lieres und Wilkau, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Joel Lim, Darden School of Business
Michael Lipton, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Tianqi (Frances) Liu, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Lingyun Lou, School of Law
Yutong Lu, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Linh Luc, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Seanna Lynn Baldwin, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ching Ma, Darden School of Business
Alexander Macturk, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ben Makarechian, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Grace Makin, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
John Mancini, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Mary Holland Mason, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Lydia Matthews, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
RJ May, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Will Mayer, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Nicole Mays, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Annie McCallum Bryant, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Julia McCormack, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Nicole McCormick, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ahryanna McGuirk, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Chelsea McKelvey, School of Law
Zach Mendelovici, School of Law
Gilbert Meng, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Rohan Menon, School of Law
Katherine Metheny, School of Law
Skye Milne, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Chandler Nandkuamr, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Caroline Nash, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Calista Nelson, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Lucy Newmyer, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Brian Ng, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Phuc Nguyen, School of Architecture
Tran Nguyen, School of Law
Anna Niepold, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Kevin Norris, School of Law
Ian Novak, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Gabriel Octavio, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Arola Oluwehinmi, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Charlotte Ong, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Nnenna Onyima, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Delaney Owens, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ben Packer, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Millie Pandya, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Zaki Panjsheeri, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Suliana Barrera Paredes, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Fallon Parrish, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Anna Douglas Piper, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Sofia Posadas, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Isabella Dal Pozzolo, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Kendyl Pugh, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Pratha Purushottam, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Morgan Pustilnik, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Condoleeza Quansah, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Sylvia Rahim, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Mira Ramachandran, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Peyton Readler, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Sydney Reese, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Andrea Retz, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Salar Riar, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Ann Leslie Riley, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Patrick Kyle Riopelle, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and School of Law
Jacob Rizzio, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Ashley Rodríguez, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Leilani Ropati, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Destini Ruffner, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ketsia Saint-Armand, Darden School of Business, School of Law
Wafa Salah, School of Medicine
Nathaniel Salomon, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Madison Satz, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Hovsep Seferian, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Saron Setotaw, School of Law
Velan Shanmuganathan, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Sabriya Sheikh, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Thomas Shriner, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Jack Siegel, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Vivian Sievers, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Emily Simon, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Anshita Singh, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Delaney Sniffen, School of Law
Elvira Soldatenko, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Seonbin Song, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, McIntire School of Commerce
Kushaan Soodan, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Hayden Sousa, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Rachel Stegmeier, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Josh Stevenson, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Emily Stone, Darden School of Business
Charlotte Strickland, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Scarlett Sullivan, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Frances Summers, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Allison Szvetitz, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Cyrus Tafti, School of Law
Yao Tang, School of Nursing
Breanna Tatel, School of Education and Human Development
Jeevan Tewari, School of Medicine
Pratik Thakkar, Darden School of Business
Ezra Thau, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Amy Thiam, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Terry Thornton, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Daniel Tierney, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Akanksha Tiwari, Darden School of Business
Arden Trudeau, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Naldy Turcios, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Carolina Turner, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Tara Udani, School of Data Science
Apal Upadhyaya, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Andriy Vretsona, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Joseph Quoc Vu, School of Law
Ali Wally, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Danna Wang, Darden School of Business
Kai Ward, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Jack Warfield, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Alan Watts, School of Architecture
Emma Weinstein, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Jonah Werbel, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Nicholas Whitener, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Deanna Wilbourn, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Ross Williams, Darden School of Business
Dennis Williams II, School of Education and Human Development
Ashleigh Williamson, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Wylly Willmott, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Dimitri Wolford, School of Law
Maya Wrona, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Di Wu, School of Architecture
Lexy Yeager, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Darrah Young, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Camden Young, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Caroline Yu, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Jay Santos Yumul II, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and School of Medicine
Karam Zein, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Yinuo Zeng, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Shunmei Zheng, College and Graduate School of Arts & Science
Yilin (Elaine) Zheng, School of Education and Human Development