As college acceptance letters have begun to arrive for many Northwood seniors, some students have received major scholarships that they have worked for for all four years of high school. These scholarships include the Park Scholarship (North Carolina State University), the Goodnight Scholarship (North Carolina State University) and the McNair College of Arts and Sciences Scholarship (University of North Carolina Greensboro). The NHS recipients were found worthy of these scholarships due to high grades, participation in many extracurriculars, as well as their applications and interviews. Some of these scholarships only accept as few as 70 students, both in-state and out-of-state, annually.
Senior Meera Butalia recently received the Park Scholarship, which is a full ride to North Carolina State University, covering all expenses to attend the school. According to NC State’s student services website, the total cost of attendance to the university for an in-state student would be $24,258 annually.
“Wow,” Butalia said when asked about her reaction to receiving the scholarship. “I didn’t really expect it to happen.”
The Park Scholarship, which only accepted 112 finalists for the class of 2023, judges applicants based on scholarship, leadership, service, and character. It is a highly coveted award that thousands a year apply for.
Butalia offered advice to other students regarding the rigorous application process.
“They’re going to be able to see through it if you’re making up achievements or pretending to be someone that you’re not,” Butalia said. “If you’re passionate about something and if you believe you can help the world and find success, let them know through the process that you’re a genuine person because that is they want to see.”
Despite the favorable result, the scholarship application process was not easy for Butalia.
“I wouldn’t say that [the application process] is something for everyone, and it has certainly taken its toll on me and my friends who have gone through similar processes,” Butalia said. “When you go into the process, make sure you’re prepared. At a certain point, it all becomes up to chance.”
Butalia explained each step in the application.
“First I had to get nominated by the school, and then I had to fill out an application surrounding how my achievements aligned with the four pillars of the scholarship,” Butalia said. “After that, I turned in the application and made it into the semi-finalist round, so I had to be interviewed. I spoke to a panel and talked about myself so the panel could get to know me. Then we did a group activity where we were evaluated on how we worked under pressure.”
Senior Clayton Hinson also received a full ride to NC State. His scholarship is known as the Goodnight Scholarship, which is a program designed to help students from low-to-middle-income families study STEM programs at State.
“The scholarship is sponsored by Jim Goodnight, who is a wealthy alumnus of State who donates funding to give 50 people a full ride to NC State,” Hinson said.
The news that he had been awarded the scholarship came as a welcome surprise.
“I was shocked. They call you, and I was in school when they called so I couldn’t answer. I found out when I heard the voicemail,” said Hinson, “I was just amazed, and my whole family was crying because it’s $100,000 dollars they don’t have to pay.”
When asked what he had done in high school that benefited him the most in the application process, Hinson’s answer differed from the other interviewed students.
“Making connections is the most beneficial thing you can do,” said Hinson, “Having teachers you talk to every day as friends is so important. I talk to Señor Foust every day.”
Hinson and Butalia both believe that being selected is partially up to chance.
“In honest truth, whoever’s application is on top, whoever happens to get lucky, I was one of the lucky ones out of the thousands who applied,” Hinson said.
Another student that received an academic scholarship is senior Anisha McFadden. She was awarded the McNair College of Arts and Sciences Scholarship.
“I just have to stay in an arts or science major and have a 3.0 [GPA] at least for the next four years,” McFadden said.
The scholarship will pay for any remaining funds after the FAFSA she received.
McFadden went on to stress the importance of college scholarship hopefuls involving themselves in their school community and in the activities offered.
“I was captain of the dance team, I volunteered a lot,” McFadden said. “During the summer I did a lot of programs which really helped a lot. When you fill out scholarship applications you have to send in a brag sheet, or a list of extracurricular activities, and mine was two or three pages long.”
Like other recipients, she was in shock when she got the news that she received the scholarship.
“I cried,” she said. “I wasn’t nervous about not getting into college because I always knew I could go to community college for two years; I was just nervous about paying for it. When I got my FAFSA, UNCG paid for half of it, and then I got an email saying ‘Congratulations, you’re done paying for school’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ So I FaceTimed my mom and we cried.”
When it comes to scholarships, these students agree that they’re beyond happy to be in the position that they’re in and recognize just how lucky they are. Their hard work, dedication, and passion allowed them to receive these honors and they hope other Northwood students will be able to do the same.
–By Georgia O’Reilly & Henry Taylor
