Rhodes scholar brings hope back home to Jamaica
Tiana Dinham is working to improve water quality on the island, devastated by Hurricane Melissa last fall.
When Tiana Dinham flew home to Jamaica in November 2025, the Carolina senior experienced the “lowest of lows and highest of highs.”
She planned the trip to do the exciting final round of interviews for the 2026 Rhodes scholarship. But weeks before, Category 5 Hurricane Melissa devastated the island with 190 mph winds.
The historically strong storm caused rampant destruction in Dinham’s home parish of Hanover, on the island’s western edge, including the loss of her grandmother’s home. Jamaicans across the island lost access to food, water and electricity. “It looked like a scene out of an apocalyptic movie,” Dinham said.
Dinham boarded the plane home with a heavy heart and two extra bags stuffed with donated food and relief supplies.
Days later, Jamaican Governor-General Patrick Allen announced Dinham had been named the island’s 2026 Rhodes scholar, and she tearfully dedicated the honor to her community.
“What I came to realize is that the scholarship gave a lot of people hope — and that’s not something that I fully expected,” said Dinham, one of three Tar Heels to earn a 2026 Rhodes scholarship.
“I think people just wanted something good to root for because all we were seeing was negativity. Seeing one of their fellow community members, a fellow Jamaican, in a position like this, it brought tears to their eyes.”
Dinham’s Rhodes studies could also lead to a tangible impact back home.
At the University of Oxford, Dinham will pursue master’s degrees in water science, policy and management as well as sustainability, enterprise and the environment. With expertise in those disciplines, she hopes to improve water issues that plagued Jamaica before and after Hurricane Melissa.
Making an impact
When Dinham left home for Carolina, she knew she wanted to bring positive change back to Jamaica — even if she wasn’t sure how. A first-year geology seminar solidified her focus.
“I discovered geology is not the study of rocks; it’s the study of Earth and how humans play a role in shaping the Earth,” said the Honors Carolina student. “And I just fell in love with it.”
Dinham focuses her work on the fate and transport of contaminants in groundwater and sediment systems and explores ways to harness the Earth’s resources and preserve the environment.
In Jamaica, much of her family’s water supply came from rainwater, rivers and similar sources. Water insecurity remains an issue for many Jamaicans, especially after the hurricane. Water that is collected isn’t always treated safely, leading to health issues and disease.
“I haven’t seen a lot of water quality work being done in Jamaica,” she said. “That’s what I want to focus on going forward.”
A Robertson scholar, Dinham has devoted much of her time at both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University to those issues. Dinham studies geological sciences at the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, with a minor in geography, and has conducted research in the UNC Isotopic Geochemistry Laboratory and for the North Carolina Collaboratory. She’s also a Duke Climate scholar and has worked in the Duke Water Quality Lab and the United States Geological Survey.
Dinham has already put her research to work in Jamaica and educates her community about proper water treatment. Two years ago, she founded the Rainwater Initiative for Sustainability and Empowerment. Through RISE, Dinham supports community-led rainwater harvesting and water safety education and has donated water tanks, chlorine residue comparators and other equipment.
Helping her fellow Jamaicans is the “why” behind her work.
“I credit a lot of who I am today as a person to growing up in such a tight-knit community where we all looked out for each other,” Dinham said. “You don’t succeed without the people around you. Understanding that lesson from a young age dictated what I desired for my life.”
