Annabelle Hill named UNC Charlotte’s first Marshall Scholarship finalist

Annabelle Hill, a Levine Scholar and member of the Honors College, is UNC Charlotte’s first-ever finalist for the prestigious postgraduate Marshall Scholarship.

“Annabelle has shown real persistence and motivation during her years at UNC Charlotte, and her tenacity is a real inspiration to her peers,” said Andrew Keener, assistant director for nationally competitive awards and advising in the Honors College. “She says that she wants to work with and serve people, and she does exactly that, tirelessly. Annabelle has a real ‘pay-it-forward’ mentality — she lends her expertise and insights to early-career students [and] is a success-multiplier in that regard. She really represents the best of Charlotte.”

The Marshall Scholarship, founded in 1953, provides full support for an American graduate student to pursue one to three years of study at almost any university in the United Kingdom.

Hill, a senior from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is triple majoring in political science, French and international studies. Her academic interests are in international policy and humanitarian service, specifically regarding migration.

“My commitment to migrants and migration is really a commitment to my neighbors,” Hill said. “Migrants are an incredibly valuable part of our community here in Charlotte and around the world. That goes for all sectors — economically, in terms of their talent and skills — but more than anything, their humanity and the value they have as humans within our society.”

Hill is highly engaged in migrant-oriented studies on campus through the Levine Scholars Program and leadership roles in the UNC Charlotte Model United Nations and the Charlotte Global Studies Organization.

“The city of Charlotte is such an international city,” she said. “Within this international city, UNC Charlotte is a welcoming campus — one that encourages people to thrive and be vibrant in their authentic identity. That encourages me to continue working to create a more welcoming world.”

Hill’s knowledge of migration is bolstered by her significant internship and professional experiences, including with the U. S. Embassy Ankara, the International Rescue Committee, Church World Service, the UNC Charlotte Center for Migration and Diaspora Studies and the UNC Charlotte Office of Global Education and Engagement.

Her work in the field began with an internship at the Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency in summer 2023.

“I helped refugees within a 100-mile radius find their footing by setting up housing, applying on their behalf for benefits, registering children for school, identifying work opportunities and more,” she wrote in her Marshall Scholarship application. “Each day, I took some of the procedural stress off the shoulders of new arrivals and got to know them as people.”

On time required interpreting for a French-speaking Haitian man during a meeting related to his inability to obtain American citizenship. Another instance was confirming the permits of a Ukrainian couple — the husband held a master’s degree in economics and the wife was a doctor — who would work as custodians in the U.S.

“Their stories made migration jump off the page more than it ever had before, inspiring me to change my empathetic devotion to migrant aid into a committed pursuit of a career in people-centric migration policy,” she said.

Her proposed academic program is a two-year plan focused on pursuing master’s degrees and deepening her expertise in migration studies and public policy. She sees herself potentially becoming a director of policy and advocacy for an organization working at both the federal and grassroots levels to support migrants in the U.S. and beyond.

“I believe that by centering the people who are living the experience of migration within our policy and research, we can create a better system,” said Hill. “One that’s more humane for everyone and that helps our cities and countries move forward in a more prosperous way for both migrants and broader communities.”