Fifteen young leaders from high schools across the United States, including 12 from North Carolina, have been named Levine Scholars at UNC Charlotte. They will arrive on campus at the start of the fall 2013 semester.
It is the fourth year for this prestigious merit scholarship program, which covers the cost of all tuition and fees, housing and meals, books, a laptop computer and summer experiences. Additional funding is provided to support community service work during the academic years. The value of the scholarship is about $90,000 for each in-state student and $140,000 for each out-of-state student.
The 12 Levine Scholars from North Carolina are:
Casey Aldridge, Concord High School, son of William and Sandra Aldridge; Bailey Allen, Whiteville High School, son of Bobby and Tracie Allen; Vincent Cahill, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, son of Barry and Mary Blackburn; Jefferson Cooper, D. H. Conley High School, son of Nelson and Mary Cooper; Caroline Fowle, Raleigh Charter High School, daughter of David and Elizabeth Fowle; Addison Goff, Ashbrook Senior High School, daughter of Darius Goff and Christine Peeler; Eileen Jakeway, William Hough High School, daughter of Patrick and Angela Jakeway; Ryan Mach, Burns High School, son of Randall and Maryanne Mach; Joneka Percentie, Northwest School of the Arts, daughter of John and Ila Percentie; Austin Philemon, Wesley Chapel Christian Academy, son of Stephen and Sherri Philemon; Jamie Smith, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, daughter of Timothy and Shirley Lee Smith; Davis Vaughan, High Point Christian Academy, son of Victor and Patricia Vaughan.
The three out-of-state recipients are:
Jaden Barney, Indian Springs School, Venetia, Penn., daughter of Curtis Barney and Mary Fasnacht; Isabella Calpakis, Manhasset High School, Manhasset, N.Y., daughter of Gregory and Melita Calpakis; Jenny Jessen, Annandale High School, Annandale, Va., daughter of Peder and Nancy Jessen.
This year’s recipients were selected through a lengthy nomination and interview process. Nearly 1,800 high school seniors from 31 states were nominated by their schools.
From those nominees, selection committees chose 54 finalists, including 36 from North Carolina. The out-of-state finalists were from as far away as California, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Texas.
“The response of top students from North Carolina and around the country continues to be outstanding,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “As with the first three classes, the students who will join us this coming fall as Levine Scholars are among the very best that can be found. We’re very pleased that they have chosen UNC Charlotte.”
Diane Zablotsky, faculty director of the Levine Scholars Program, echoed those sentiments: “We are very excited to welcome this outstanding group of incoming freshmen. For the first time we will have all four cohorts of Levine Scholars starting the academic year, with the freshmen adding their own blend of talent and interests. We have recruited very gifted and energized students and look forward to welcoming them to the Levine Scholars Program and UNC Charlotte.”
Throughout the school year, Levine Scholars will be expected to actively engage with established community organizations or develop their own resolution to key issues facing Charlotte. To support their work in service to society, recipients will have access to an $8,000 grant funded by the Leon Levine Foundation and distributed by the UNC Charlotte Foundation.
The scholarships were made possible by philanthropists Leon and Sandra Levine, who committed $9.3 million to UNC Charlotte for the merit scholarship program to develop community service leaders. Leon Levine is the founder and chairman emeritus of Matthews-based Family Dollar Stores Inc. The Levines are involved in a number of civic and charitable causes in the Charlotte region through the Levine Foundation.
“This is truly an outstanding group of young people,” said Leon Levine. “We are looking forward to following their progress at UNC Charlotte and their involvement in our community.”
Photo: Casey Aldridge, Bailey Allen, Jaden Barney, Vincent Cahill, Isabella Calpakis (top row, l-r); Jefferson Cooper, Caroline Fowle, Addison Goff, Eileen Jakeway, Jenny Jessen (middle row, l-r); Ryan Mach, Joneka Percentie, Austin Philemon, Jamie Smith, Vaughn Davis (bottom row, l-r).
Inset – Leon and Sandra Levine