Morehead-Cain launched the Sophomore Intake Initiative last fall to identify a small cohort of current sophomores at UNC–Chapel Hill. Fifteen sophomores joined the Morehead-Cain Program as members of the class of 2026.

Four members of the inaugural cohort 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 as scholars. Learn more about the initiative.

Today’s guests: Christopher Jaime Arraya ’26, Kassandra Ciriza-Monreal ’26, Mary Esposito ’26, and Daniel Simon ’26.

Listen to the episode.

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.

Episode transcription

(Mary)

Hi, my name is Mary Esposito. I’m from Raleigh, North Carolina, and I’m currently studying business.

(Christopher)

Hi, my name is Christopher Arraya and I’m from Woodbridge, Virginia. I’m a double major in computer science and sociology.

(Kassandra)

Hi, my name is Kassandra Ciriza-Monreal. I’m from Asheboro, North Carolina, but I grew up in Mexico. [I’m] double majoring in human organizational leadership development and Hispanic studies with a minor in translating and interpreting.

(Daniel)

Hi, my name is Danny Simon. I’m from Wake Forest, North Carolina, and I’m a double major in economics and potentially math with a minor in either business or data science.

(Allyson)

Describe the moment you received the Morehead-Cain. Where were you, and what was your reaction?

(Christopher)

So, I have a pretty funny story for that, actually. I was in a Bojangles, and it was in the Bojangles on campus, and I was eating lunch with my roommate. And I was really worried already because I heard it was coming out that day, so I kept refreshing my email, seeing if there was anything there. And then all of a sudden, I get an email, and I read it. And it doesn’t actually sound like an acceptance email at first because the first sentence was almost like they’re congratulating me, but not exactly. But then I read more intensely to it, and I realized I was accepted. And then I started crying in the middle of the Bojangles. And I bet a lot of people thought that was probably like the lowest point of my life because who really cries in a Bojangles? But I thought it was pretty funny.

(Mary)

I learned that I received the Morehead-Cain Scholarship when I was in my dorm, I got an email, and the first gut reaction that I had was to call my parents and told them that we did it.

(Daniel)

I was in my dorm room in Morrison. I was taking a nap. And funnily enough, I had a dream. And in that dream, I got an email, and I got the scholarship. So, then I woke up from the dream. I was like, man, that would be really nice. So, I checked my phone, and I had an email. My roommate was in the room. So, I grabbed my phone, went outside, and was just kind of sitting on the balcony. And then I read it, and I was pretty emotional. I kind of sat down and took a couple of moments to breathe in. It meant a lot, and it felt a lot.

(Kassandra)

My first reaction was to scream. And then I called my mom, and I was like, “Mom, guess what?” This conversation is happening in Spanish as well. And I was like, “I got it.” And she was like, “I knew you would.” She’s my biggest supporter. I’m my biggest hater. So, there’s like a balance between us. She’s always telling me, “You can do it.” And then there’s me, always ready for the worst-case scenario.

(Allyson)

What activities or organizations are you part of at UNC and the surrounding community?

(Mary)

At UNC, I am in the cypher club. That’s more just like a freestyle rap club, very informal. I don’t do it myself, but I enjoy going to all the club meetings on Wednesdays in the Pit. In terms of the surrounding community, I wouldn’t say I belong to any particular organization. I do have a crochet business and a financial literacy educational platform that I manage, and those take up a lot of my time.

(Daniel)

The club that I’m most involved with right now is called Alpha. Stands for the Association of Latino Professionals for America. And we focus on providing networking and skill-building opportunities for Latino students, especially those interested in going into any business-y areas, but also into some nonprofit and NGO work. I’m also very involved with PORCH Communities. I’ve interned with them twice in the past year since I got to campus, focusing on food security work with this food drive organization. And lastly, I’m supposed to start working with the Department of Food and Nutrition Services of North Carolina.

(Christopher)

Main things right now on UNC campus are CS + Social Good club. I’m the education lead for that. So basically, I’m teaching like full stack web development to a class of, I think we had like 130 people that are attending the class or participating in the class. And then another thing is the TechX Society, that’s another organization on campus for computer science. There, I’m also the education lead. Technically, it’s called the “headmaster” at that club. And there I’m teaching more about, also a little bit more advanced full stack development stuff, but also how to think like a startup and how to make your projects into startups.

(Kassandra)

So right now, I’m the secretary of AMEXCAN, the first association of Mexicans at UNC. We’re a chapter under a Mexican-incorporated and nonprofit organization based in ECU. And our main goal is to spread awareness about volunteerism and opportunities in the Mexican community. And also, we welcome allies and other people that are interested in the heritage and culture of Mexico. I have a work study position at the Institute for the Study of the Americas, and I’m a BIC collaborator, which stands for “building integrated communities.” And I’m also part of the collaborative of the Language Access Collaborative. And I help mainly with translating and communication specialists, media assistant. Last week, I attended a council meeting for the Hispanic and Latinx affairs for the governor’s office. And that was pretty wholesome just to be in a space surrounded other people and leaders from the community, the Hispanic community as well.

(Allyson)

Had you heard of the Morehead-Cain Program before you were invited to apply?

(Daniel)

So I have. I first applied to this Program in high school. I remember the first time I heard about it. I was visiting family in Costa Rica, and I was pretty, just kind of awestruck by the incredible opportunities that the Program afforded. So, in high school, I was pretty dead set on applying, and I made it all the way to the finalist round as a high school senior.

(Kassandra)

I moved here my junior year of high school. So, I finished high school here. And then, in my senior year, I remember that my high school ran a process to select the school nominee, and my ESL teacher, Ursula Goldston, whom I love, mentioned, like, oh, you should apply. And then I applied to be the school nominee, but then I was not the nominee. And then, the counselor talked about self-nomination. But I was going through a lot, still adapting from moving from another country and learning the language and kind of getting all the credit requirements to graduate high school. So, I did not apply, but I knew about the Program kind of like a little bit, not much about their goals or their purpose, but I knew that it was a full ride and that it offered really good experiences. And that was all the information that I had about Morehead-Cain.

(Christopher)

I heard about it a little bit, not too intensely, though. I didn’t really know what they offered. I just knew that it was like a full-ride scholarship. And that’s basically the extent of it. I didn’t know anyone part of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, like, I heard of people part of it, but I didn’t know anyone personally.

(Allyson)

How has the Morehead-Cain Program impacted your life?

(Mary)

So I’ve only been a scholar for a couple of months, but it’s already made a huge, tremendous positive impact, I would say. Now, I feel like I have a smaller community within UNC. As someone who didn’t come in as part of a community or, a club or an organization. I feel like I have a group of people now that I trust and who are friendly to me, and it’s just really incredible to have that on campus. I’m also super excited to study abroad this summer and to also take advantage of the Global Perspective [summer].

(Christopher)

I think the connections are probably one of the biggest things that I’ve gotten out of it. I’ve already gotten, actually an internship that I’m currently doing right now as a software engineer at Well, which is a health tech company on Franklin Street. And that was something that Morehead-Cain totally helped me out with, connecting me with because I just wanted to earn a little extra money while also doing professional development.

(Kassandra)

Coming as a freshman, building my community, creating bonds with friends and with other students was kind of complicated. And one of the biggest changes that the Morehead-Cain has given me is friends because now some of my closest friends are also intakes or scholars from other classes. So, I will say that’s one of the biggest changes that the Program has given me.

(Allyson)

What are you most excited for as a Morehead-Cain Scholar?

(Daniel)

I mean, obviously, the summer experiences are wild, but one of the things that’s really excited me is the network. There’s a ton of people doing a ton of really, really cool work, and I’m excited to get to reach out to them and learn from everything that they’ve done and see how that can shape what I want to do and go into.

(Christopher)

Definitely excited for the summers. I’m excited for that. I think it’s going to be pretty cool to see what I can learn and also just kind of the connections I’m going to be able to make. I’m excited this summer I’m doing Civic Collaboration. So, it’s going to be really cool one to get to meet and know the class of 2027, but also on top of that, be able to make a lot of connections. That’s why I’m hoping to at least make some connections in the startup space or just, in general, the tech space. Also, on top of that, I’m probably going to be taking a stop-out year eventually. So that’s another exciting thing that Morehead-Cain is helping me out with. I’m trying to plan it out with some of the advisors, and there I’m going to hopefully just be on the West Coast just trying to do a bunch of startup stuff. I’m excited for that because that’s kind of an opportunity that I didn’t really think I would be able to have in the safety of, like, yeah, I’m still able to return to college afterwards, which is very cool.

(Kassandra)

I’m excited about our [Outdoor Leadership] hiking trip to Utah. I’m kind of terrified, to be honest, but still, it’s a challenge, and I’m always ready for a new challenge, and I’m not another person. So that’s why I’m excited, because something that I like is just to keep that piece of excitement, just to keep doing something different every single time that I can. And I know that it’s going to be like a bonding experience with my cohort.

(Allyson)

Is there a particular summer experience that you’re most excited for?

(Mary)

There is. I am so excited for the Global Perspective summer. I’ve decided to do it this summer after my sophomore year, and I’m hoping to go to Japan and study different meditation practices under the theme of mindfulness and reflection. And then my deliverable would be chapters of a memoir.

(Kassandra)

I’m excited about Civic Collaboration, about social service, and everything, but I’m also excited about Global Perspective because Morehead-Cain has given me the opportunity to explore other things that I would not have the opportunity if it wasn’t for Morehead-Cain. Firstly, because financial constraints—I‘m a daughter of immigrant parents, they have worked really hard, but still I don’t have anything settled. So having this opportunity to explore different cultures and perspectives, it’s something that really interests me, especially with my major hold and just kind of like see leadership around the world.

(Allyson)

What advice can you give for current UNC freshmen interested in the sophomore intake program?

(Daniel)

Looking back, I kind of did everything I did, not really knowing that this was an existing program, so it’s kind of hard to say that there was anything that really was important. If it’s going to continue to be a nomination process, I’d obviously encourage you to get to know your professors. But beyond just for the Sophomore Intake, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my professors, so I’d encourage you to do it no matter what. They’re ridiculously interesting people who are doing all sorts of interesting research, and at the very least, they’re fun to talk to.

(Kassandra)

This is funny because everyone keeps telling you, “Just be yourself.” But that’s the true answer. Just be genuine. Don’t try to pretend to be someone you are not, and that will speak for yourself when you are writing your application. Later on, when you’re doing your interview with the alumni and doing all the activities that you have throughout as a finalist. Be genuine. Don’t try to be someone else.

(Allyson)

What has been your favorite Carolina memory?

(Daniel)

One of my favorite Carolina memories has been going to the Old Well the very first time I went for my first day of class, my roommate and I set an alarm for 3:30 a.m. And then biked over to the Well. And it was just us and two other people, two nursing students, who had the same awful idea. It was raining, it was windy, it was altogether kind of an awful night. But going to the well, just kind of on a whim in the middle of the night, on our own, was a really cool experience. I think it’s something that I’ll cherish forever. And then rushing Franklin Street last week was pretty awesome, too.

(Mary)

My favorite Carolina memory has probably been every Wednesday, the UNC Cipher Club gathers in the Pit area, and we turn on the speakers, people play their beats, and then people hop on free styling. I’ve never actually hopped on the mic, but honestly, it’s just everybody’s welcome, which makes it even better. There are no invitations, no nothing. But there are some regulars. I’m a regular, and so it’s just been an incredible way to meet super-talented people.

(Christopher)

Honestly, I’d probably say when I got accepted into the Scholarship, I felt like it was kind of a culmination of a lot of my experiences here that I’ve went through, and its kind of all hit me at once. I’m very much like a person that I feel like I always have to be doing more. And a lot of times I don’t take what I do as the accomplishment. In general, I feel like I just always have to keep pushing forward. But to have the recognition for what I have done and kind of have that as the culmination of everything that I’ve experienced at UNC.

(Kassandra)

I feel like some people will say it’s like rushing Franklin, but mine actually was rushing Keenan Stadium field. When we beat Duke during the football season last semester, I was with great company—friends that I can now call essential parts of my life, and that I kind of like having this sense of unity in Carolina after what happened last semester where we lost a life and then kind of like recovering the sense of community and unity that represents Carolina. And that’s something that I still remember, like, oh, my God, beating Duke and then kind of like sports, unifying us as a single community and just being there, supporting each other and being so excited and tripping because you wanted to get there so fast, but still you felt like you were not moving. And then you got there, and it was just like, [mimics screaming], so just being with everyone there and kind of like knowing that Carolina is part of our identity. It’s part of who we are, not only as students, but then as, like, student leaders, and then as part of this amazing community.