Belk College Student Earns Prestigious Pickering Fellowship

A Belk College of Business student is one of the first UNC Charlotte students or alumni ever chosen for the highly competitive Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Program graduate fellowship.

Betsabe Rojas Gonzalez, a senior who is double majoring in economics and political science, will receive up to $84,000 for two years of graduate studies, internships and other professional development opportunities and have the opportunity to work as a U.S. Foreign Service officer as a recipient.

The Business Honors Program student has felt a sense of duty to her community members and her country since she became a U.S. citizen in her teens following her family’s migration to Charlotte from rural Texcaltitlán, Mexico, when she and her twin brother Kyle were 3.

Just 45 individuals were named Pickering Fellows from among applicants nationwide. Each year, approximately 3 to 5% of applicants are chosen.

You can read more about her award in Inside UNC Charlotte.