Nikita Lee Billman ’21 hails from Carrboro, North Carolina. She decided to join the Kenan Scholars program because of how well her values align with those of the program’s priority of the public good. Having connected with Kenan Scholars before applying, Nikita knew that she could both grow and make an impact in this innovative community.

Nikita is a business administration major and computer science and Spanish double minor. She has organized several American Red Cross blood drives, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and conducted research on how to help children with disabilities learn to read. She provides pro-bono consulting advice for local nonprofits through Consult Your Community and is one of only 20 students in the North Carolina Fellows Leadership Program. During her first semester at Carolina, she founded From Houses to Homes, a Guatemalan culture club that organizes cultural events on campus and plans annual trips to Guatemala to build homes for locals.