Catalyze

Latest Episodes:

So you’re thinking of taking a gap year, with Sachi Akmal ’28 Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

Sachi Akmal ’28 visited campus during a break in her International Gap Year to speak with Catalyze host Allyson Horst ’27.
So far, Sachi has traveled to ten countries over the span of nine months. From climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with fellow incoming scholars to exploring Italian monasteries, Sachi shares some of the highlights from her time abroad. She also touches on some of the more challenging aspects of a gap year, such as coping with loneliness and navigating unfamiliar environments.
Sachi will join the scholar community at UNC–Chapel Hill this fall as a public policy major.

If you enjoyed this conversation, you can check out our previous gap year episodes, which include studying climate change in the Himalayas and interning at a children’s hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
Morehead-Cain recipients are invited to consider taking a funded gap year between graduating high school and coming to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Music credits
The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul.
How to listen
On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.
Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on social media @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Patton McDowell ’89 of PMA Nonprofit Leadership on the strategies that empower change makers in philanthropy Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

Patton McDowell ’89 is the founder and president of PMA Nonprofit Leadership. The firm provides philanthropic and organizational consulting services. Patton is also the host of the podcast Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, a career development series focused on philanthropy.
Patton shares with Catalyze host Charles McCain ’27 how interning at Special Olympics International as a Morehead-Cain Scholar launched his career in nonprofits. The alumnus also tackles key challenges facing organizations today, from fundraising dilemmas to strategic vision and effective board governance.

Music credits
The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul.
How to listen
On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.
Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on social media @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Nandini Kanthi ’27, CEO and co-founder of Sensible, on increasing women’s access to cervical screenings May 21, 2024

Show notes

Nandini Kanthi ’27 is the CEO and co-founder of Sensible, a startup that provides an affordable menstrual hygiene product that screens for cervical diseases. The diagnostic device uses naturally discharging menstrual blood.
The scholar shares with Catalyze host Allyson Horst ’27 about her entrepreneurship journey, from competing on a high school debate team to filing for a patent. Nandini is studying public policy and neuroscience at UNC–Chapel Hill.

Meet some of the new scholars through the Morehead-Cain Sophomore Selection Initiative Apr 09, 2024

Show notes

Morehead-Cain launched the Sophomore Selection initiative in fall 2023 to identify current sophomores at Carolina who have demonstrated exceptional scholarship, leadership, and character. Fifteen students joined the Program as members of the Morehead-Cain Class of 2026.
Four members of the class joined Catalyze co-host Allyson Horst ’27 to share about the moment they received the good news, their campus involvements, and what they’re looking forward to in the Program. Learn more about the initiative.
Today’s guests: Christopher Jaime Arraya ’26, Kassandra Ciriza-Monreal ’26, Mary Esposito ’26, and Daniel Simon ’26.

Music credits

The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Kevin Guskiewicz, UNC–Chapel Hill Chancellor Emeritus, on his legacy at Carolina Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

Today’s guest is Kevin Guskiewicz, the twelfth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Food for Thought speaker at Morehead-Cain. The chancellor emeritus spoke with Catalyze as his final engagement on campus before moving to East Lansing, Michigan, to serve as president of Michigan State University.
Guskiewicz shares with scholar host Benny Klein ’24 insights on the current landscape of public higher education in North Carolina, how he uses roadmaps as a leadership tool, and some of the highlights from his tenure at the University.

Guskiewicz received his bachelor’s of science from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, his master’s in exercise physiology and athletic training from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, and his doctorate in sports medicine from the University of Virginia.
Before recording this episode, the outgoing chancellor spoke at the most well-attended Food for Thought event to date at the Morehead-Cain Foundation on February 2.
Modeled after the City Club of Cleveland, Food for Thought provides a central meeting place for members of diverse beliefs and opinions to participate in free and open discussions. The breakfast and conversation series is an initiative of Team Cleveland members from the 2022 Morehead-Cain Civic Collaboration program.

Music credits

The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on social media @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Josh Lee ’04 releases Lucha: A Wrestling Tale Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

Most Morehead-Cain Alumni know Josh Lee ’04 as the co-founder of Green Top Farms, a farm-to-table catering and food service company based in New York City. But after the work day, you’ll find the entrepreneur in the South Bronx coaching girls how to wrestle.
Josh is the founder of the Taft High School women’s wrestling team, one of the first of its kind in the city. A new film by Nike’s Waffle Iron Entertainment chronicles the team’s path to championship over the course of two years.
Centering on the experiences of four team members, Lucha: A Wrestling Tale is a story of resilience, transformation, and victory. From family struggles to homelessness and immigration, the film gives an inside look at how the girls have found connection and success through wrestling. The docufilm was directed by Marco Ricci and produced in association with Noble Heart Films.
Lucha premiered at DOC NYC, the largest film festival in the country, and received two awards. The film will be viewed during Discovery Weekend for Morehead-Cain recipients.

Music credits

The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

Peter Hans, president of the University of North Carolina system, on the sustainability of affordable public education Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

Today’s guest is Peter Hans, president of the University of North Carolina system and a Food for Thought speaker at Morehead-Cain.
On this episode, President Hans shares about how growing up in rural North Carolina has informed his work, his experiences as president of the North Carolina Community College System, and his perspective on the future of affordable public education in the state.
Hans received his bachelor’s in political science from UNC–Chapel Hill and a master’s of liberal arts in extension studies from Harvard.
The president served as the first Food for Thought speaker of the spring semester. He spoke with Allyson Horst ’27 of the Scholar Media Team after his talk with scholars at the Foundation.
Modeled after the City Club of Cleveland, Food for Thought provides a central meeting place for members of diverse beliefs and opinions to participate in free and open discussions. The breakfast and conversation series is an initiative of Team Cleveland members from the 2022 Morehead-Cain Civic Collaboration program.

Episode art by Aayas Joshi ’26, Scholar Media Team

Music credits

The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

SEVEN Talk, by Kartik Tyagi ’23: “Haste and Hustle” Jan 07, 2024

Show notes

Today’s episode is a recording of a SEVEN Talk from the 2022 Alumni Forum. This talk, given by Kartik Tyagi ’23, is entitled, “Haste and Hustle.” Kartik was the senior class president at UNC–Chapel Hill.
You can watch all of the SEVEN Talks on our YouTube channel.
Morea bout Kartik
Born and raised in Cary, North Carolina, Kartik Tyagi ’23 received his BSPH in Health Policy and Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
As a senior Morehead-Cain Scholar, Kartik served as International President at HOSA-Future Health Professionals, an international career and technical student organization serving over 250,000 middle school, secondary, and postsecondary/collegiate members and 2.7 million alumni.
Kartik’s passion for service and advocacy—through uplifting and empowering the voices of others – is what has propelled both his work and his drive, be it through engagements that have enabled him to embody his leadership journey or build his professional passions in the public health policy, healthcare reform, and public service sectors.
Kartik is thankful to have had the opportunity to develop these passions in supporting work as a Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Intern within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ America Needs More Family DoctorsCollective Impact Initiative, and as an Alumni Policy Ambassador for NAF: Be Future Ready, a national organization aiming to transform the outlook of secondary education. Kartik also served his peers as the senior class president at UNC–Chapel Hill and as a member of the board of directors of the General Alumni Association at Carolina.
In an increasingly polarizing world, Kartik aims to utilize the unifying capability of both health and leadership as a guiding light into the 21st century, optimistically and intentionally, to secure a more accessible, equitable, and inclusive field of healthcare.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

Welcoming sophomores as new scholars, celebrating educators, and what’s ahead in 2024, with Morehead-Cain President Chris Bradford Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

Morehead-Cain President Chris Bradford sat down with scholar co-host Benny Klein ’24 to share about an initiative that welcomed more than a dozen sophomores from UNC–Chapel Hill into the Program last fall, recent efforts to celebrate and support educators in North Carolina and beyond, and what’s ahead for the Morehead-Cain Foundation in 2024.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

From the class of 1985 to 2020: Quick takes with five Morehead-Cain Alumnae leading in consulting, tech, nonprofits, and government Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

Navigating leadership transitions. Tackling education inequities. Finding inspiration within cancel culture.
Five Morehead-Cain alumnae share with Benny Klein ’24 about their entrepreneurship journeys from the worlds of consulting, tech, nonprofits, and government.

The group shares their role models, most impactful Morehead-Cain summers from college, and what’s keeping them motivated at the moment.
Today’s guests:

Jane Sommers-Kelly ’85, founder of JSK Leadership (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld ’87, co-founder and strategic advisor for MiracleFeet (Chapel Hill)
Caroline Lowery ’16, product and customer insights manager at Amazon (Seattle, Washington)
Cecilia Polanco ’16, director of community growth and outreach for Pupusas for Education and CEO of So Good Pupusas (Durham, North Carolina)
Pavani Peri ’20, co-founder and COO of Acta Solutions (Chapel Hill)

The group spoke with scholars at the Morehead-Cain Foundation on September 30, 2023.

Music credits

The episode’s intro song is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

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