Through a two-year fellows program, the six students in this multidisciplinary cohort will undertake mentored undergraduate research projects, enroll in specialized coursework and engage in community-based learning with diverse religious communities.
Six rising juniors have been named members of the tenth class of Multifaith Scholars, a two-year fellows program for juniors and seniors that offers a closely mentored, experientially rich and intellectually rigorous educational opportunity for students with significant potential.
After a highly selective application and interview process, students are awarded $5,000 annually to support research and study in global contexts connected with religious diversity and multi-religious societies. Students who show great potential as academically curious and socially engaged leaders committed to their own ongoing development and the enhancement of their local and global communities are selected each spring.
“I am delighted to welcome these six impressive rising juniors into the Multifaith Scholars program and look forward to supporting their compelling projects over the next two years,” said Amy Allocco, director of the Multifaith Scholars program. “Their research interests include music and Christian religious experience, linguistic anthropology and the vocabulary of faith, religious diversity in clinical settings, gender and religious roles in Asian art, the intersection of biomedicine and traditional healing practices and the history of Black churches here in Alamance County.”
In addition to pursuing their faculty-mentored undergraduate research projects and undertaking academic coursework in religious studies and interreligious studies, the scholars will extend the program’s ongoing community partnership with the Burlington Masjid. Through the partnership, scholars teach English classes, participate in youth and social events with the local Muslim community, join community garden workdays, volunteer with the food pantry and take part in potlucks and iftar meals during Ramadan.
“It is wonderful to welcome such a strong class with such diverse academic interests,” reflected Brian Pennington, director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, which supports the Multifaith Scholars program. “As we approach the tenth anniversary of the MFS, it is gratifying to see so many clear signs of the program’s maturity and significance: our largest class ever, the inclusion of seven new faculty mentors, and students majoring in three disciplines never before represented in MFS.”
The 2026-2028 Multifaith Scholars
Addison Anderson
Majors: History, Sociology
Minors: Museum Studies, Public History, and Interreligious Studies
Mentor: Amanda Kleintop (History and Geography)
Project Title: History and Memory of Alamance County’s Black Churches
Proposed Research: Examine the relationship between Alamance County African American churches and local politics in North Carolina from Reconstruction through 1900.
Blair Berenson
Major: Anthropology
Minors: Jewish Studies, Sociology, Philosophy and Interreligious Studies
Mentors: Amy Allocco (Religious Studies) and Devin Proctor (Sociology & Anthropology)
Project Title: An Anthropological Approach to Cross-Generational Shifts in Hindu and Jewish Perspectives of Faith in the US
Proposed Research: Conduct fieldwork in Jewish and Hindu communities in Atlanta to understand how different generations articulate the concept of faith.
Katie Castelo
Major: Biochemistry
Minors: Neuroscience, Spanish, and Interreligious Studies
Mentor: Cathy Quay (Nursing)
Project Title: Bridging Faith and Medicine: Improving Cultural Awareness of Religious Practices in the Healthcare System
Proposed Research: Explore the healthcare industry’s approach to death and ways it can be more open to diverse religious practices.
Faith Elliott
Major: Neuroscience
Minors: Expressive Arts and Interreligious Studies
Mentors: Lynn Huber (Religious Studies) and Morgan Patrick (Music Theory)
Project Title: Neurotheology: An Interdisciplinary Study into Sacred Music and Feelings of Well-Being
Proposed Research: Examine the historical significance of music and understand and measure the behavioral impact associated with an emotional, transcendent spiritual experience and the well-being that results from listening.
Mariama Jalloh
Major: Public Health
Minors: Biology and Interreligious Studies
Mentor: Sandra Darfour-Oduro (Public Health)
Project Title: Faith, Healers, and Health: How Religious Beliefs and Community Trust Shape Healthcare Decisions in West African Communities
Proposed Research: Examine how religious leaders and traditional healers influence healthcare decisions in communities in Ghana, and how public health programs can partner with these practitioners to improve health education outcomes.
Ryleigh Rouse
Majors: Art History, Religious Studies
Minors: Museum Studies and Public History and Asian Studies
Mentor: Kirstin Ringelberg (Art History)
Project Title: Religion’s Impact on Japanese Women: Through an Art Historical Lens
Proposed Research: Employ art as a lens to examine how religion shaped gender perceptions and Japanese women’s roles.
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Amy Allocco
Professor of Religious Studies
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Brian Pennington
Director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society and Professor of Religious Studies
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Amanda Laury Kleintop
Assistant Professor of History
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Devin Proctor
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
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Cathy Quay
Associate Professor of Nursing and Department Chair/Program Director for the Department of Nursing
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Lynn Huber
Professor of Religious Studies
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Morgan Patrick
Assistant Professor of Music Theory
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Sandra Darfour-Oduro
Assistant Professor of Public Health Studies
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Kirstin Ringelberg
Professor of Art History