Carleton names 2026 Weitz Fellows

Congratulations to the nine newly named Weitz Fellows of 2026!

In 2011, Wally Weitz ’70, P ’96, P ’99, P ’02 and Barbara Weitz ’70, P ’96, P ’99, P ’02 created this fellowship to award and support outstanding students within the fields of advocacy and education, arts and film, law and policy, and nonprofit management. These nine students are granted a one-year, full-time position in their respective fields at various organizations in Nebraska.

Let’s meet them!

ACLU of Nebraska: Jack Gronholz ’26

Gronholz is a history and French double major with a minor in public policy from Seattle, Washington. He will spend the next year at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska, working with their legal team, communications team, and other offices. ACLU is an organization that Gronholz has admired for a long time, aligned with his goal of protecting free speech.

The Nebraska chapter ended up being the perfect place for him to work, as it’s “really at the forefront of several fights for immigrants’ rights, religious liberty, criminal justice, and free expression,” he said. 

Looking forward, he hopes that his experience there will allow him to fully discern his future steps, but right now, he plans on going to graduate school or law school.

Film Streams: Joella Shearer ’26

Shearer is a history and cinema and media studies (CAMS) double major with a minor in digital arts and humanities from Columbus, Ohio. She will spend the next year working at Film Streams, a nonprofit organization in Omaha that enriches culture through exploring film as an art form. While at Carleton, she has explored the intersections of film production and public scholarship, focusing on creating accessible and engaging media content for public-facing institutions.

“The work that Film Streams does was the perfect mix of these interests,” she said. “I’m really excited to be able to deeply engage with the community through film screenings and education.”

Shearer hopes to use this fellowship to expand her experience into the film industry and set her up for graduate school and a career in film production and public media.

I Be Black Girl: Sasha Monks ’26

Monks is an English major from Arlington, Massachusetts. Her fellowship will take her to the I Be Black Girl organization, where she will work on programs to lower the maternal mortality rate for Black women in Nebraska. 

No stranger to this kind of work, Monks spent last summer as an intern with the Southern Birth Justice Network in Miami, and has done maternal health research at Carleton.

She hopes this experience will allow her to stay involved in nonprofit and advocacy work in areas she cares about while accomplishing prerequisites to go to nursing school for midwifery.

Joslyn Art Museum: Yifei Ren ’26

Ren is an art history major with a minor in European studies from Wuhan, China. She will be a fellow at the Joslyn Art Museum, where she will work on exhibition and community program projects. At Carleton, Ren has had plenty of academic experience with art and European studies, as well as organizational experience working as a peer leader for the Office of International Student Life. 

With this experience, she applied to this program to “work closely with museum curators and experience the art museum’s working environment.”

In the future, Ren hopes this position will aid her in applying to graduate programs related to art history and museum studies.

Nebraska Appleseed: Juan Garcia Reyes ’26

Garcia Reyes is a sociology and anthropology major with a minor in gender, women’s, and sexuality studies from Douglasville, Georgia. He will spend the next year doing community outreach and project-based work at Appleseed, a justice-minded organization that tackles issues surrounding child welfare, immigration policy, health care, and poverty. 

With personal and academic backgrounds in thinking about social inequalities, plus experience with social justice internships, Garcia Reyes has “an unyielding sense of responsibility to ‘give back,’” he said, and “the Weitz Fellowship seemed well suited for that.” 

Garcia Reyes hopes to use this upcoming year to test if social service work is a good fit for him.  

Nebraska Civic Engagement Table: Thea Comas ’26

Comas is a psychology major with a minor in theater arts from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. She will be the Advocacy & Organizing Fellow at the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table, where she will work with the organization to create an inclusive democracy, advocate for responsible public policy, and build up grassroots organizing.

While at Carleton, Comas has prepared for the relevant office skills by working for Alumni Relations, in addition to learning communication skills from her internship and externship experiences. Comas applied to the Weitz Fellowship to gain a deeper understanding for advocacy and to have “the opportunity for that on-the-ground, community-strengthening work.” 

After her fellowship, Comas hopes to pursue a dual MSW/JD degree to work in nonprofit management. 

The Rose: Anne Grace Hooper ’26

Hooper is a theater arts major with a minor in educational studies from St. Louis, Missouri. Her fellowship is with The Rose, a children’s theater that produces kids’ shows, holds classes, and runs camps. Hooper will be working both as a teacher in The Rose’s educational programs and on lights with the production manager.

She has an extensive background in technical theater skills from Carleton through department- and student-run productions, as well as educational experience at other children’s theater programs. Hooper hopes to synthesize these two skills and interests in order “to grow this connection between theater and education.” 

In the future, she can imagine herself as either a theater professional or a teacher, but wants to continue pursuing the overlap.

The Union for Contemporary Art: Abdul Rahim Hamid ’26

Hamid is a studio art and computer science double major from Lahore, Pakistan. Their fellowship will take them to the Union of Contemporary Art in Omaha, where they will assist in studio maintenance, running workshops, and assisting with exhibitions.

Their educational background has given Hamid experience in different forms of media, such as printmaking and photography, as well as communication, time management, delegation, and responsibility. They also have personal experience as an artist who has exhibited work in the Twin Cities.

At the Union, Hamid hopes to contribute to a nonprofit organization and bring art to the public with “POC-centered outreach.”

Women’s Fund of Omaha: Zaeda Peter ’26

Peter is an economics major from Laborie, St. Lucia, with minors in data science and statistics, French, and public policy. She will be a fellow at the Women’s Fund of Omaha, a policy and advocacy nonprofit organization for issues primarily facing women, such as the gender pay gap. There, Peter will have the opportunity to work on reviewing potential policy, the frontlines of policy advocacy, and nonprofit financials.

She’s also excited to move to a “cute little city” that has a support system with other Carleton alumni. Peter holds that Carleton has given her the most important skills for post-undergraduate life: “the ability to learn how to learn” and the importance of “centering the voices of the people you want to help.” With an interest in public policy that only developed at the end of her Carleton career, she was encouraged by her friend and previous Weitz Fellow Julia Dunn ’25 to apply.

She hopes that this experience will bring clarity to what she wishes to pursue after the fellowship while doing good work.