MACON, Ga. — Nine Mercer University students have been awarded a UN Millennium Fellowship, presented by the United Nations Academic Impact and the Millennium Campus Network. The fellowship is a semester-long leadership development program that takes place on campuses worldwide. Aimed at advancing leadership skills, the program offers a unique opportunity to engage with a global network of peers dedicated to making a significant social impact.
Eight students were chosen for the fellowship based on their work designing and implementing a project to educate schoolchildren about the dangers of vaping. The group included Aiyaz Ali, CLAS ‘28; Tania Anand, CLAS ‘28; Akanksha Manna, CHP ‘29; Phu “Bill” Nguyen, CLAS ‘29; Chase Nixon, CLAS ‘29; and Julia Tanase, CLAS ‘29. The project was presented through Mercer’s Visionary Student Panel and grew under the leadership of Ujvali Patel, CLAS ‘28, and Arya Prajapati, CLAS ‘28. A ninth student, Jorden Bostic, CLAS ‘28, was awarded a fellowship on the merits of her VSP project, “A family-centered and youth-serving health education initiative that addresses healthy eating, physical movement and stress relief.”
Since 2015, the Visionary Student Panel program has empowered and equipped undergraduate students with the skills and resources to move their community engagement ideas from discovery to implementation. Director of Engaged Learning Lauren A. Shinholster worked closely with several members of this cohort through the VSP.
“I am proud to see Mercer students recognized in this way,” she said. “I have seen firsthand how deeply they care about the social issues their projects aim to address. The Millennium Fellowship provides a global perspective, framework and resources to help move their ideas forward. I am excited to see what our students accomplish, how their work contributes to our local community and how they grow through this experience.”
The UN Millennium Fellowships class of 2026 brings together more than 500 undergraduate fellows from over 330 campuses across 60 nations and territories, selected from a record-breaking 76,627 applicants.
About the Millennium Campus Network
Millennium Campus Network (MCN), Inc., is a global student network advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. MCN programs convene, challenge, and celebrate student leadership for social impact. The network, celebrating its 10th anniversary, has worked directly with over 23,000 young leaders from 400+ universities through its programs.
