One UConn senior has something new for which to be thankful this holiday week. Just days ago, Julianne Norton ’15 (CLAS), from Trumbull, Conn., won a prestigious scholarship to pursue graduate study in Ireland.

The George J. Mitchell Scholarship is awarded to applicants with unusual depth in their academic interests and exceptional records of focused contributions to society – those identified as having the potential to become national leaders.

At UConn, Norton is completing an individualized major in international relations with a concentration in cross-cultural relations and a minor in studio art. In Ireland, she plans to earn a graduate degree in creative writing, as she continues work on a graphic novel that includes a cross-cultural comparison with post-memory of the Holocaust and the Irish Famine.

Early on Norton cultivated her interests in the analysis of artwork. As a freshman in the honors program, she received funding as a Holster Scholar for a project that examined post-memory in five generations of her family’s artwork, and included original paintings. Building upon this work, last year she presented at the U21 International Research Conference in Amsterdam, and has since received a UConn IDEA Grant and a SURF Grant to fund work on her graphic novel.

Norton also earned a SHARE Grant in 2013 to work with Kathryn Myers in the Department of Art and Art History, researching Jewish Indian art and culture. She spent time in Israel during her Holster project, and later studied abroad in the Czech Republic. On campus, she is active as a UCAELI volunteer, HIPS volunteer, and event coordinator for the International Relations Association.

As founder and chief operating officer of Everybody Arts, Norton participates in a group that provides outreach in the arts on campus and to area schools. Her own artwork has been widely acclaimed and has appeared in several galleries across campus. One of her paintings, “Unshaven Rooms,” done in collaboration with Antonio Campelli ’15 (SFA) is on permanent display at the Jorgensen Gallery. More of her stunning images can be seen on her website.