Catalyze Morehead-Cain

Sachi Akmal ’28 visited campus during a break in her International Gap Year to speak with Catalyze host Allyson Horst ’27. So far, Sachi has traveled to ten countries over the span of nine months. From climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with fellow incoming scholars to exploring Italian monasteries, Sachi shares some of the highlights from her time abroad. She also touches on some of the more challenging aspects of a gap year, such as coping with loneliness and navigating unfamiliar environments.

Patton McDowell ’89 is the founder and president of PMA Nonprofit Leadership. The firm provides philanthropic and organizational consulting services. Patton is also the host of the podcast Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, a career development series focused on philanthropy.

Patton shares with Catalyze host Charles McCain ’27 how interning at Special Olympics International as a Morehead-Cain Scholar launched his career in nonprofits. The alumnus also tackles key challenges facing organizations today, from fundraising dilemmas to strategic vision and effective board governance.

Nandini Kanthi ’27 is the CEO and co-founder of Sensible, a startup that provides an affordable menstrual hygiene product that screens for cervical diseases. The diagnostic device uses naturally discharging menstrual blood. The scholar shares with Catalyze host Allyson Horst ’27 about her entrepreneurship journey, from competing on a high school debate team to filing for a patent. Nandini is studying public policy and neuroscience at UNC–Chapel Hill.

Four Sophomore Intake scholars 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.

Today’s guest is Kevin Guskiewicz, the twelfth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Food for Thought speaker at Morehead-Cain. The chancellor emeritus spoke with Catalyze as his final engagement on campus before moving to East Lansing, Michigan, to serve as president of Michigan State University.

Most Morehead-Cain Alumni know Josh Lee ’04 as the co-founder of Green Top Farms, a farm-to-table catering and food service company based in New York City. But after the work day, you’ll find the entrepreneur in the South Bronx coaching girls how to wrestle. Josh is the founder of the Taft High School women’s wrestling team, one of the first of its kind in the city. A new film by Nike’s Waffle Iron Entertainment chronicles the team’s path to championship over the course of two years.