This newsletter is the second edition of what we hope will become a biannual tradition in the Echols Scholars Program. Since we continue to reconnect with alumni and expand our email list, if you haven’t seen our first newsletter, you can read it on our “Events and News” page.
This summer, we welcomed 188 new first-year students into the program, continuing a tradition that stretches back to 1960. Like those first scholars, our newest cohort has the opportunity to live together in the “Scholars Dorm” (Balz-Dobie), which is a vibrant hub of activity, community, and learning. However, we have also kept up with the times. Along with my colleague Dean Sarah Cole and a crew of upper-year scholars, we hosted a number of Zoom sessions in June and July to provide advising and support. We take our duty to help them chart the best path for their interests and abilities very seriously.
We also had the pleasure of welcoming 97 current UVA students into the Echols Scholars Program as rising second-years. Each summer, a team of faculty, alumni, and students review applications from hundreds of would-be scholars. Over the years, we have found that these new second-year scholars enhance our community in ways we couldn’t have imagined, from serving on Echols Council, to facilitating conversation groups, to (in one special case) planning experiential learning opportunities for students in Balz-Dobie.
In this newsletter, we shine a spotlight on some of the remarkable things happening this year in Echols. We value our connection with you and want to make sure you’re up-to-date on our wonderful community.
One of the most rewarding parts of my role as Director is to connect with alumni, so if you’d ever like to learn more about the program, learn how to get involved, or have a conversation, please reach out.
Karl Shuve
Director, Echols Scholars Program
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
A Message from Echols Council
Last newsletter, we introduced you to the Echols Council, which was created over 20 years ago to provide student leadership in the program. We’re hard at work again this year.
The council plans events for scholars with our committees focusing on five key areas: Social, Academic and Professional Development, Fireside Chats, Public Relations, and Outreach Ambassadors, who work to recruit admitted Echols Scholars. Fireside Chats give students the opportunity to meet with a professor over dinner to discuss a question of broad interest. These committees are each chaired by student leaders, who manage small teams that take on very large tasks, from planning social events for students and dinners with professors, to coordinating outreach to newly admitted scholars.
We kicked off the year with our Mentorship Pizza Social. Peer Mentorship is a very important aspect of the program. Each year, new scholars are matched with upperclassmen, who provide guidance and support to them during their first year and beyond. At our Mentorship Social, hundreds of students showed up to connect with one another.
We also hosted a coffee tab at Grit Coffee, Back to School Social at 1515, and saw some of you at our Young Alumni Reunions social. Our academic programming has ranged from conversations on getting into research to hosting employer information sessions with companies in different fields. And as in previous years, we are excited to continue providing free opportunities to scholars like professional headshots.
Hannah Carter (Batten ’26)
President, Echols Council
For more information about the Council, please visit our website.
Program Spotlights
The Common Read
Did you know that Echols has a Common Read?
Each summer, incoming first-year scholars receive a book, which they will discuss in small groups led by upper-year scholars in September. We sometimes select a novel, other times creative non-fiction, but we always seek to share something with them that is intellectually wide-ranging and we know will stimulate great discussion. Many long-term friendships and connections emerge from these groups.
This year’s book is What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance and Hope in an American City, by Mona Hanna, a pediatrician and public health specialist. She was part of the team that uncovered the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and this book is a page-turning account of her discovery, the public health response, and what this all says about medicine, politics, and social justice in the United States.
We hope in future years to find ways to engage interested alumni in our Common Read experience, so we hope you stay tuned for updates in future newsletters. But, for now, we encourage you to consider reading this powerful, revelatory book, which made such an impression on this year’s new class of Echols Scholars.
YAR Social
The 2nd Annual YAR Echols Drop-In Social, organized by fourth-year scholar Millie Pandya, was a huge success! Hosted on October 5 in Garden IX, the event brought together Echols alumni and current scholars to reconnect and celebrate the postgrad achievements of the Echols community. Guests enjoyed a light spread from Mona Lisa and MarieBette while reminiscing with old friends and meeting the next generation of Echols Scholars. We were thrilled to see so many alumni join us during the Young Alumni Reunions weekend, and we hope to see more of you on Grounds at our next YAR Social!
The Echols Interdisciplinary Major Program: A Student Perspective
One of the most intellectually exciting aspects of the Echols Scholars Program is our Interdisciplinary Major Program, informally known as the IMP. Students have the opportunity to design their own major around a particular theme or question and selecting courses from three departments or programs. Many choose to write a thesis in their final year.
Bryce Holland, who graduates this December, designed a major entitled, “Cradle-to-Career Education.” His plan of study exemplifies the ways that students can take advantage of an array of courses across Grounds and prepare themselves for impactful careers.
Bryce writes: “I came to UVA on a mission to eliminate intergenerational poverty, and I wanted a major that would provide me with the tools I needed to return to my home city of Poughkeepsie, New York to address the social issues I faced as a child.
“The Echols IMP, with my disciplines in Education, American History, and Neuroscience, provided me the flexibility I needed to understand exactly all of the many ways places, like mine, are unable to provide the opportunities for youth to realize social mobility. Not only did my education give me the neuroscience background that informs best education practices and the technical skills in urban planning to move the needle in local policy, but it gave me my career and my purpose.
“Upon graduation, I will join the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet, a collective impact organization that will scale the Harlem Children’s Zone’s Cradle-to-Career model so that our systems can holistically respond to our children’s needs and ensure place, or circumstances at birth, will no longer dictate life outcomes.”
Echols Mentoring Echols
One of our biggest goals in Echols is to create meaningful connections between alumni and current scholars. We’re excited to announce our first Alumni-Student Cocktail Hour event, which will take place at the Colonnade Club on Saturday, February 22, 2025. This in-person networking event aims to facilitate meaningful professional connections and mentorship opportunities for the Echols community, giving undergraduates the chance to learn from your lived experience. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to reconnect with other alumni and share your career journey with current Scholars over refreshments and light fare. If you would like to receive the RSVP link and more information as the date approaches, please indicate your interest using this link.
As part of the effort to create an online community of Echols alumni and students, we are using the UVA Alumni Association’s Wahoo Connect app. Please visit this link to create or update your profile. Be sure to check the box for Echols Scholar in the “Student Activities: Academic Programs, Awards & Honor Societies” section. New users will need to complete an extra but simple verification step.
Support the Echols Scholars Program
The Echols Scholars Program relies on the generosity of alumni to continue offering a full slate of events and opportunities. Gifts can be made online using our secure giving form.
Support the Echols Scholars Program