UA Students Cho, Emerson Earn Mitchell Scholarships

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The University of Alabama on Wednesday announced that UA seniors Anika Cho, of Beaverton, Oregon, and Owen Emerson, of Huntsville, have been selected as two of 12 college students to receive the U.S.-Ireland Alliance’s George J. Mitchell Scholarship.

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Named in honor of former U.S. Senator George Mitchell’s contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process, the scholarship is designed to introduce and connect generations of future American leaders to Ireland.

UA says Cho is an Honors College student studying electrical engineering, who is interested in developing acoustic methods and technologies that will advance ocean exploration.

Ahead of her most recent honor, Cho received the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship in June 2022 and has conducted research at NOAA Ocean Exploration, Dauphin Island Sea Lab and an underwater acoustics lab at UA.

What's more, Cho is vice president of the Amateur Radio Club and has volunteered as a MATE ROV underwater robotics team mentor and Science Olympiad event captain.

Cho says she plans to study electrical and electronic engineering at University College Cork.

Emerson is studying economics at the Capstone and is also an Honors College student.

A guitarist and singer-songwriter who fuses Appalachian folk music techniques with modern pop and alt-rock styles, Emerson is quick to note the Ulster Scots influence on Appalachian music.

UA says Emerson wants to become a documentarian and educator of Appalachian-Irish musical heritage.

A member of the University Fellows Experience — a community of elite scholars from diverse disciplines who share a similar passion to become change agents through a commitment to leadership and service — Emerson plans to study music and media technologies at Trinity College Dublin.

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