We are thrilled to welcome the Shi Institute’s 2026-27 class of Student Fellows. This year’s cohort comes from Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Communications and their projects are just as diverse. Our Eco-Rep Fellows are growing peer-to-peer education and engagement. The Communications and Outreach Fellow is amplifying stories that spark behavior change. The Recycling and Residential Composting Fellow is helping Furman rethink waste. Our Arboretum Fellow is elevating tree literacy across campus. And at the Furman Farm, the Student Assistant Farm Manager and the Systems and Strategy Fellow are strengthening sustainable food systems and community connections. Dive into their bios to see how curiosity, collaboration, and hands-on learning are driving a more sustainable Furman.<\/p>\n
Emmett Neal, ’28 Jada Hunt, ’27 Maddie Krachon, ’27 Aubin Vertueux Dzossa Bontse, \u201927<\/strong> Julia Anne Williamson, ’29 Olivia McPhail, ’29 Sophie Crook-Delgado, ’28 Please join us in congratulating this year\u2019s Fellows and in supporting their work. Follow along for future updates, show up for Eco-Rep events, volunteer at the Furman Farm, and help spread the word! Here\u2019s to a year of curiosity, creativity, and community-powered sustainability action at Furman. We can\u2019t wait to see what they accomplish and we\u2019re so grateful you\u2019re part of the journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are thrilled to welcome the Shi Institute’s 2026-27 class of Student Fellows. This year’s cohort comes from Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Communications and their projects are just as diverse. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":2497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,13],"tags":[15,14],"class_list":["post-2501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-student-news","tag-furman-innovation-lab","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2501"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2503,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501\/revisions\/2503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/shi-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>Eco Rep Fellow<\/em>
\nEmmett Neal is a junior Chemistry major on the biochemistry track from Round Rock, Texas. This fall, he is working as an Eco-Rep Fellow. He and Maddie Krachon are leading the Furman Eco-Reps, a group of students, to teach and host events around sustainability in the Furman Community. Emmett believes that the key to environmental change is education and meeting people where they are. In his free time, Emmett enjoys reading, origami, hiking, and meeting new people.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Communications and Outreach Fellow<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong>Jada Hunt, \u201827, is a senior Communications major with minors in journalism and musical theater from Florence, South Carolina. She is serving as the Communications and Outreach Fellow this year. \u202f Working in this role allows her to combine her love of educating those on the importance of sustainability with communications and social engagement. \u202fShe is most looking forward to growing the Shi Institute’s visibility and making an impact on campus. In her free time, Jada can be found singing, dancing, and missing her 7-year-old red-eared slider.\u202f<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Eco Rep Fellow<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong>Maddie Krachon is a senior biology major on the environmental and conservation track, with a minor in science education. She is from Atlanta, GA. This year, she is one of the Eco-Reps Fellows alongside Emmett Neal. The Eco Reps are a group of students on campus that believe environmental education can make a difference in making Furman\u2019s campus more sustainable. Maddie believes that education can truly make a difference for our planet.<\/p>\n
\nStudent Assistant Farm Manager<\/em>
\nAubin is a senior majoring in Physics with a minor in Data Analytics. He grew up in Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon, where he completed all his education before coming to Furman University. He was drawn to this fellowship by his strong desire to learn new skills and techniques for successful organic and sustainable agriculture . In his free time, Aubin loves watching science documentaries, playing video games and listening to music.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Furman Farm Systems and Strategy Fellow<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong>Julia Anne Williamson is a sophomore from McLean, Virginia, majoring in Biology. This year she is serving as the Systems and Strategy Fellow at the Furman Farm. She will be working closely with the Farm Managers to strengthen farm systems, identify operational bottlenecks, and document critical farm data. She will also help connect the farm with the Furman community by building a strong culture around volunteering, food, and sustainability. In her free time, JA can be found hiking, swimming, or trying new foods!<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Recycling and Residential Composting Fellow
\n<\/strong><\/em>Olivia MacPhail is a sophomore from Sarasota, Florida. She is a biology major on the pre-vet track with hopes to work with wildlife. As Furman\u2019s Recycling and Composting Fellow, she is passionate about educating her peers on sustainability and helping Furman rethink waste to build a greener community. During her free time, Olivia likes kayaking, hiking, riding horses, and spending time with her 10 cats.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Arboretum Fellow<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong>Sophie Crook-<\/span>Delgado<\/span>, \u2019<\/span>28,<\/span>\u00a0is a\u00a0<\/span>Biology<\/span>\u00a0major on the Environmental and Conservation track from Spartanburg, South Carolina.\u00a0<\/span>Sophie<\/span>\u00a0is serving as the Arboretum Fellow<\/span>,<\/span> a newly created position this year.<\/span> She will be focused on <\/span>the Georg<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>G<\/span>. Willis\u00a0<\/span>Jr<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Arboretum<\/span>\u00a0on campus<\/span>, where she will be working to updat<\/span>e tree<\/span>\u00a0labeling and\u00a0<\/span>expanding<\/span>\u00a0public knowledge<\/span>\u00a0of the Arboretum.\u00a0<\/span>In her free time,\u00a0<\/span>Sophie enjoys\u00a0<\/span>drawing, reading science fiction,\u00a0<\/span>crafting, and\u00a0<\/span>getting food with her friends.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n