Phil serves as the assistant director of external relations for the institute’s Luther Hodges Scholars program.

His primary focus is to foster relationships with campus and community stakeholders, support continued engagement opportunities for program alumni, and develop cross-sector summer experiences for students. Prior to this role, Phil was the program’s adviser, providing advising and programmatic support for student development and achievement. Before joining the institute, Phil was a student success adviser at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He has experience working in public, private and community colleges.

Phil earned his master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from the University of South Carolina and graduated from Campbell University with a bachelor’s degree in government.

While completing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Phillippa Owens worked as a student intern at the Kenan Institute. As an integral part of the External Affairs team, she helped with website development, programming and IT Help Desk projects. She worked closely with NCGrowth to develop Homegrown Tools, a website that connects public officials, practitioners and researchers to case studies of successful economic development strategies. Additionally, Owens spent a summer interning at Kenan Institute Asia in Bangkok, Thailand.

Phillippa, a Morehead-Cain scholar and international student, was heavily involved in the wider business school community, serving as the operations advisor for UNC’s Undergraduate Business Symposium, the largest and oldest student-run career event in the country. At Carolina, she was the director of finance for Carolina Creates and co-founder of UNC’s first intercollegiate case competition, the Carolina Case Challenge. Phillippa represented UNC Kenan-Flagler on an international case competition team and was the director of internal operations for the Consulting Club. Over the last four years, Phillippa has enjoyed exploring her interests in technology and entrepreneurship as a Rewriting the Code Fellow and through scholarships to attend conferences including SLUSH and the Grace Hopper Celebration.

After graduation in May 2019, Owens will join BrightHouse, a BCG Company, as a strategist in Atlanta.

Ellis (Reeves) Moseley ’21 was born and raised in Argyle, Texas and came to UNC for the experience of living in a different part of the country. He became a Kenan Scholar because of the opportunities it offers to explore the interconnections of public service and business/entrepreneurship as well as the opportunity to work closely with Kenan-Flagler faculty on a research project.

The political science and economics double major has interned for Senator John Cornyn and Congressman Michael Burgess of Texas where he focused on small business development and millennial civic engagement. Reeves is very active in student life at Carolina. As a Buckley Public Service Scholar, he enjoys volunteering with various organizations, especially the North Carolina Special Olympics. He has served as a student senator since his first semester when he introduced the university’s first “Mental Health Awareness Week” bill to promote healthy living on and around campus. He also serves as the executive assistant to the UNC Student Body President. He has worked on Pi Kappa Alpha’s executive board as secretary, co-philanthropy chair and now as vice president of external affairs. Reeves serves as a Fellows Ambassador for the UNC Institute of Politics and as a student representative on the Student Fee Audit Committee, the Student Organizations Council and the Carolina Union Board of Directors.

Upon graduation, Reeves hopes to attain his JD/MBA degree from the University of Texas, and later serve the country as a Navy JAG attorney. After that, he hopes to return to his native Texas where he will continue his commitment to public service.

Sonio Kum ’21 is from Durham, North Carolina. He decided to become a Kenan Scholar because of the program’s networking and learning opportunities, as well as to become part of a community of like-minded business students.

In the summer of 2018, the business administration major and psychology minor volunteered at a nonprofit based in Taiwan where he translated important documents for their website. By doing so, he helped expose more of the organization’s work to English-speaking populations around the world. He is an avid member of the UNC Rock Climbing team and frequent user of UNC’s Makerspace. In his spare time, he loves to read, perform magic, play Pokemon Go and pursue his passion for flying cars.

Gino Esposito ’21 comes to UNC-Chapel Hill from Milford, Connecticut. He decided on the Kenan Scholars program for the opportunity to develop as a tri-sector business leader, engage in research and have access to mentors in the business community, public sector and academia.

The business administration major and city and regional planning minor is an NCAA Division I student-athlete on UNC’s wrestling team, where he serves as the Carolina Outreach liaison. In addition to wrestling, Gino is an elected member of the student-athlete leadership team for Athletes in Action, photography business owner and founder and president of Tar Heels for Christ, a service-based organization on campus.

Jessica (Jessie) Paige LaMasse ’21 is from Crystal Lake, Illinois. She joined the Kenan Scholars Program to learn from inspiring business leaders and to do her part to make positive change for the public good. She is eager to collaborate with other scholars in the program and grow into a strong change agent.

Jessie plans to obtain degrees in business administration and communications with hopes to work in community development. She currently serves as the fundraising co-chair for Carolina Kickoff in order to introduce students to social justice organizations at UNC. Jessie has enjoyed volunteering for APPLES Service Learning and interning with the executive director of a free and charitable clinic.

Claudia Opper ‘21 grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. She was drawn to Carolina because of the university’s commitment to public service. The Kenan Scholars program is attractive to Claudia for similar reasons. As someone who wants to use business as a tool to make positive social impact, Claudia joined the program because of its dedication to “putting the private sector to work for the public good.”

With concentrations in business administration, global cinema and public policy, Claudia maintains a wide range of commitments on and off campus. She loves serving her community as a Buckley Public Service Scholar. She is a recipient of the Robert E. Bryan Fellowship and director of administration for the Eve Carson Scholarship Committee. She also helps create student-produced short films through the Carolina Film Association. In addition, Claudia enjoys sharing her passion for law and justice by volunteering with NC Youth and Government, serving as a member of the UNC Honor Court and interning at Illustrated Law, a start-up that creates study resources for law students. She plans to further pursue her passions by working in private industry post-graduation and eventually obtaining a joint JD/MBA degree.

Jacob Ryan Sackstein ’21 hails from Northport, New York. Majoring in business administration and political science, he decided to become a Kenan Scholar because of the amazing resources provided by the Kenan Institute, which can him help lay the foundation for an impactful career on the global stage.

Jacob has been a marketing intern at Henry Schein, a Fortune 500 company focused on the distribution of medical supplies, and as an intern at Together for Girls, a public-private partnership focused on ending violence against women and children. Jacob has served as the vice president of social media for the Undergraduate Accounting Club, served on the Mental Health Task Force of the Student Government Association and is an active member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Nikita Lee Billman ’21 hails from Carrboro, North Carolina. She decided to join the Kenan Scholars program because of how well her values align with those of the program’s priority of the public good. Having connected with Kenan Scholars before applying, Nikita knew that she could both grow and make an impact in this innovative community.

Nikita is a business administration major and computer science and Spanish double minor. She has organized several American Red Cross blood drives, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and conducted research on how to help children with disabilities learn to read. She provides pro-bono consulting advice for local nonprofits through Consult Your Community and is one of only 20 students in the North Carolina Fellows Leadership Program. During her first semester at Carolina, she founded From Houses to Homes, a Guatemalan culture club that organizes cultural events on campus and plans annual trips to Guatemala to build homes for locals.

Tahia (Hia) Hannan’21 is from Fayetteville, North Carolina. As a business administration and public policy double major, her professional interests include economic development, microfinance and social entrepreneurship. Hia decided to join the Kenan Scholars program to collaborate with peers and mentors who share her goal of improving society using business perspectives.

Hia spent summer 2018 interning in the Woman’s Business Center of the North Carolina Center for Economic Empowerment and Development. She has also volunteered with Cape Fear Valley Hospital and Chapel Hill Refugee Support Center. On campus, she is a business analyst for Consult Your Community and a member of the Executive Branch of Student Government. Hia also enjoys playing piano and gardening in her free time. After college, Hia hopes to work in consulting for nonprofits or businesses who maintain a social mission.