Sixteen young leaders from high schools across the United States, including 11 from North Carolina, have been named to the fifth class of UNC Charlotte’s Levine Scholars Program. They will join the University starting with the fall 2014 semester.
The University’s most prestigious merit scholarship is valued at about $105,000 for each in-state student and $155,000 for each out-of-state student. It covers recipients’ 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 scholars’ academic years.
The 11 Levine Scholars from North Carolina are: Quinn Barnette, South Point Senior High School, Belmont, son of Stephen and Jennifer Barnette; Erin Coggins, Jay M. Robinson High School, Concord, daughter of James and Stacie Coggins; Katie Finch, North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, daughter of Laird Doctor and Linda Finch; Morgan Flitt, Forestview High School, Gastonia, daughter of Bruce Flitt and Lu Crompton; Kyle Henson, Eastern Alamance High School, Mebane, son of Eric and Lisa Henson; Daniel Hicks, A.L. Brown High School, Kannapolis, son of Jeff and Amy Hicks; Larry Lardieri, Asheville High School, Asheville, son of Lawrence and Deborah Lardieri; Matthew Lowry, Hickory Christian Academy, Hickory, son of David and Dana Lowry; Esteban Mendieta, International Christian Academy, Indian Trail, son of Pablo and Tina Mendieta; Lauren Stepp, West Henderson High School, Horse Shoe, daughter of William and Marianne Stepp; Megan Woody, Porter Ridge High School, Matthews, daughter of Bryan and Lisa Woody.
The five out-of-state recipients are: Erica Cherian, Lassiter High School, Roswell, Ga., daughter of Cherian Varghese and Mercy Paulose; Gabriella Kroska, Pierz-Healy High School, Onamia, Minn., daughter of Allen and Sheri Kroska; Megan Lemon; Towson High School, Towson, Md., daughter of Michael and Sarah Lemon; Michelle Rudd, Annville Cleona High School, Annville, Pa., daughter of Armin and Sarah Rudd; Randy Staples, Landon School, Silver Spring, Md., son of Randy and Necola Staples.
This year’s recipients were selected through a lengthy nomination and interview process. Nearly 2,200 high school seniors from 27 states were nominated by their schools.
From those nominees, selection committees chose 62 finalists, including 47 from North Carolina. The out-of-state finalists were from as far away as Colorado, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“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 four 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 continue to be excited and energized by the achievements and potential of the high school seniors we recruit for the Levine Scholars Program. The class of 2018 is as fine a group of students as we have ever enrolled in the program. They will be studying in various majors across campus with a wide diversity of interests and talents and we are looking forward to this year’s incoming freshmen joining the current scholars in our program.”
The fifth group of Levine Scholars will take their place among their peers on campus in the fall 2014 semester. 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 also 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, N.C.-based Family Dollar Stores, Inc. The Levines are involved in a number of civic and charitable causes in the Charlotte region through The Leon 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.”