Shania Hunt receives 2026 Faith Danielle Hedgepeth Award

This year’s recipient of the UNC American Indian Center’s Faith Danielle Hedgepeth Award is a Lumbee citizen inspired to pursue a health care career by the disparities she saw growing up in Robeson County, North Carolina.

“Our communities have high rates of comorbidities such as diabetes and heart disease. I want to improve the health and lives of our current and future generations,” said Shania Hunt. She is a sophomore preparing to major in community and global public health at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Hunt plans to pursue a career in optometry to teach and discuss preventative measures for eye diseases, especially related to diabetes mellitus. “My grandma has diabetes and is now having to go through dialysis because of the progression,” she said.

Hunt hopes to create initiatives and programs that will help educate people on self-care and wellness and focus on preventative measures for generations moving forward. In the summer of 2025, she earned a certified nurse assistant license from Robeson Community College in Pembroke, North Carolina.

The Faith Danielle Hedgepeth Award is a $1,000 scholarship established by the UNC American Indian Center for sophomores dedicated to serving American Indian communities, often through health or helping professions. The scholarship supports academic costs and honors the legacy of Hedgepeth, a Carolina student and Haliwa-Saponi tribal citizen who was killed in 2012.

“It’s an honor and privilege to be the recipient of this year’s Faith Danielle Hedgepeth Award,” Hunt said. “It’s not just a financial blessing, but it’s also a way to continue on the name and legacy of Faith herself. This is a way to illuminate her life and presence here at UNC and in all Native communities. I hope to raise awareness for the many Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.”

‘Making a difference’

Hunt is proud of her heritage and likes to share it with others. “Lumberton is home for me because that’s where I grew up. I was raised there. My family lives there and I’m surrounded by my Lumbee community.”

She described her greatest accomplishment as “making a difference within Native communities and educating others about Lumbee people along with other tribes in North Carolina. I like to educate people and make them aware that we are still here and we still exist.”

Since she was a little girl, Hunt was a Tar Heel fan and wanted to attend Carolina. Her favorite times on campus have been watching the Carolina-Duke games and other sporting events. She likes to go on walks around campus and spend time with her friends.

“I also love to read my Bible to help me stay grounded,” Hunt said. She enjoys music, too, and recently traveled to California for a concert by Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton.

Hunt is active in her campus community, especially at the UNC American Indian Center. As the Native Health intern, she assists with the Healthy Native North Carolinians Network managed by Ryan Dial ’20. She is also banquet co-chair for the Carolina Indian Circle.