The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently honored 41 freshmen, five undergraduate nursing students and 13 graduate nursing students with its most prestigious need-based merit awards, the annual James M. Johnston Scholarships. The freshmen scholarships are renewable for three more years of study.
All students with financial need are considered for Johnston Scholarships, but merit determines the winners. Stipends vary among recipients according to need and cover all expenses.
UNC awarded more than $390,000 to freshmen, $78,500 to undergraduate nursing students and $104,000 to new graduate nursing students for a total of almost $573,000 in new Johnston Scholarships this year. Awards for all new and returning Johnston Scholars totaled more than $1.8 million.
Besides the monetary awards, Johnston Scholars receive enrichment opportunities including summer internships and support for study abroad. They also are assigned faculty mentors who organize extracurricular learning opportunities and offer guidance.
“The Johnston Awards Program is about so much more than just monetary support,” said Dan Thornton, Ph.D., associate director for the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. “It is about providing a platform for intellectual enrichment and personal growth that will impact these scholars for the rest of their lives.”
The scholars suggest topics for Johnston seminars, taught each semester by Carolina faculty or distinguished visitors and offered for academic credit. Scholars are given preference for enrollment in the seminars. They also plan and execute an annual spring issues forum.
The awards are funded each year by the Johnston Trust of Chevy Chase, Md., founded by the late James M. Johnston. An Orange County native and UNC student (1912-15), Johnston established a successful investment banking firm in Washington, D.C. He owned the Washington Senators baseball team in the 1960s.
The trust’s latest contributions for the scholarships count toward the Carolina First Campaign, a comprehensive, a multi-year private fund-raising campaign that has raised more than $2 billion to support Carolina’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university.
Undergraduates entering the UNC School of Nursing as juniors and graduate nursing students are eligible for Johnston Nursing Awards, a special focus of the Johnston program. Winners are included in most of the Johnston program’s special events, and a senior award is given annually for the most outstanding nursing student.
NOTE: Listed here by North Carolina county, and by state for out-of-state students, are the freshmen 2007-08 Johnston Scholars. The six Johnston Nursing Scholars who provided information are listed below. Asterisks denote students listed in more than one location.
FRESHMEN JOHNSTON SCHOLARS: NORTH CAROLINA
Alamance
Mikhala Renee McMasters of Burlington; daughter of Alice McMasters of Graham and David McMasters of Burlington; graduate of Walter M. Williams High School.
Craven
Brett Spencer Whitney of New Bern; son of Hilda and Stewart Whitney; graduate of New Bern High School.
Durham
*James Nathaniel Wasson of Boonville; son of Ann and James Wasson; graduate of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics.
Edgecombe
Irese Lizzette Robinson of Tarboro; daughter of Frangie Mungo and Quincy Robinson; graduate of Tarboro High School.
Forsyth
Rebecca Lynne Lovewell of Pfafftown; daughter of Leanne Floyd; graduate of Mount Tabor High School.
Gaston
Caitlin Elizabeth Clement of Gastonia; daughter of Sheree and Edward Clement; graduate of Forestview High School.
Kiera Monet Grier of Gastonia; daughter of Cynthia Burris; graduate of Hunter Huss High School.
Guilford
Virginia Leigh Cartwright of Greensboro; daughter of Suzanne and Richard Cartwright; graduate of Northwest Guilford High School.
Samuel McCulloh Crump of Greensboro; son of Pamela and Irving Crump; graduate of Northeast High School.
John Randall Davis of High Point; son of Nancy Asbury and Randall Davis; graduate of Southwest Guilford High School.
Iredell
*David Alexander Whitlow of Statesville; son of Jill McCartney of Statesville and Jeffrey Whitlow of Gilbert, Ariz.; graduate of Statesville Senior High School.
Lee
Anne-Shirley Abell of Sanford; daughter of Shirley and Dennis Abell; graduate of Lee County High School.
Lincoln
Hannah Lindsay Ross of Cherryville; daughter of Carole and David Ross Jr.; graduate of West Lincoln High School.
McDowell
Nicholas Alexander Ruiz of Marion; son of Lissette and Rafael Ruiz; graduate of McDowell High School.
Mecklenburg
Corinne Marie Arundell of Charlotte; daughter of Beth Ann Bryenton and Joseph Arundell; graduate of East Mecklenburg High School.
Charlotte Taylor Westfall of Charlotte; daughter of Charlotte and Lake Westfall; graduate of Myers Park High School.
New Hanover
Andrew Curtis Burton of Wilmington; son of Beth Burton; graduate of John T. Hoggard High School.
Steven Nicholas Byrd of Wrightsville Beach; son of Cyndi Byrd of Wrightsville Beach; graduate of John T. Hoggard High School.
Orange
Colleen Patricia Krajci Murphy of Chapel Hill; daughter of Karen Murphy of Carrboro and Dan Murphy of Chapel Hill; graduate of Chapel Hill High School.
Onysym Onysymovych Silivra of Chapel Hill; son of Iryna Skudar and the late Anissim Silivra; graduate of East Chapel Hill High School.
Pender
Alyssa Dawn Hewitt of Burgaw; daughter of Kathy and Robert Hewitt Jr.; graduate of Pender High School.
Pitt
Amber Yvonne Roebuck of Bethel; daughter of Rose and Roy Roebuck; graduate of North Pitt High School.
Randolph
Heather Suzanne Sher of Archdale; daughter of Nikki and Richard Sher; graduate of Trinity High School.
Surry
*Justin Alexander Pruitt of State Road; son of Anita Pruitt of State Road and Michael Sparks; graduate of Elkin High School.
Wake
Shelley Marie Fluke of Raleigh; daughter of Deborah and Alan Fluke; graduate of Leesville Road High School.
Miquela Lynn Ingalls of Raleigh; daughter of Cynthia and Gary Ingalls; graduate of Raleigh Charter High School.
Rabiya Jawahir of Cary; daughter of Rahat Jawahir and Jawahir Bashir; graduate of Green Hope High School.
Chloe Joy Whiteaker of Apex; daughter of Colleen Whiteaker; graduate of Apex High School.
Wayne
*Suhana Sarkar of Fort Wayne, Ind.; daughter of Suparna Sarkar of Fort Wayne and Asish Sarkar of Goldsboro, N.C.; graduate of Homestead High School in Fort Wayne.
Wilkes
*Justin Alexander Pruitt of State Road; son of Anita Pruitt of State Road and Michael Sparks; graduate of Elkin High School.
Yadkin
*James Nathaniel Wasson of Boonville; son of Ann and James Wasson; graduate of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham.
FRESHMAN JOHNSTON SCHOLARS: OUT-OF-STATE
Arizona
*David Alexander Whitlow of Statesville, N.C.; son of Jill McCartney of Statesville, N.C. and Jeffrey Whitlow of Gilbert, Ariz.; graduate of Statesville Senior High School.
Arkansas
Caroline Elizabeth Guerra of Little Rock; daughter of Lisa Lewis and J. Russell Guerra; graduate of Little Rock Central High School.
Colorado
Jonathan Daniel Waldmann of Arapahoe; son of Rosann and Daniel Waldmann; graduate of Cherry Creek High School.
Georgia
Alexandra Holly Woodall of Fulton; daughter of Wilma and John Woodall; graduate of Roswell High School.
Indiana
*Suhana Sarkar of Fort Wayne; daughter of Suparna Sarkar of Fort Wayne and Asish Sarkar of Goldsboro, N.C.; graduate of Homestead High School.
Sarah Joanne Heneghan of Ziansville; daughter of Lorie and Michael Heneghan; graduate of Ziansville Community High School.
Kansas
Wen-How Edward Hsyeh of Lenexa; son of Yalu Pao and Chih Chi Hyseh; graduate of Shawnee Mission South High School.
Missouri
Diane Alison Ross Esson of Kansas City; daughter of Susan and Robert Esson; graduate of Park Hill South High School.
New York
Tiffany Amanda Dyer of Saint Albans; daughter of Brenda Marshall-Dyer and Winston Dyer; graduate of Cathedral High School.
Ohio
Stephen Wojtkun of North Olmstead; son of Susan and James Wojtkun; graduate of St. Edward High School in Lakewood.
Texas
Heidi Anya Clarke of College Station; daughter of Somkid and Eric Clarke of Bryan; graduate of A&M Consolidated High School.
Virginia
Barton Bradford Grover of Suffolk; son of Janice and Legare Grover; graduate of Nansemond Suffolk Academy.
Margaret Elizabeth McDowell of Roanoke; daughter of Janet and John McDowell; graduate of Patrick Henry High School.
Thomas Clay Vickers of Luray; son of Layne and Ronald Vickers; graduate of Rappahannock County High School.
JOHNSTON UNDERGRADUATE NURSING SCHOLARS
Durham
Alisa Grey Echstenkamper, daughter of Kim and Mike Echstenkamper, graduate of C.E. Jordan High School.
Gastonia
Sarah Day Dickson, daughter of Martha and Michael Dickson, graduate of Ashbrook High School.
Wake Forest
Kathryn Ellen Menzel, daughter of Lydia and Richard Menzel, graduate of Wake Forest Rolesville High School.
JOHNSTON GRADUATE NURSING SCHOLARS
Cary
Courtney Helen Huffman, graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill.
Durham
Jennifer Lou Jones Allran, graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill.
Mills River
Joanita Rose Wesler, graduate of Indiana University East.
Office of Scholarships and Student Aid Web site: http://studentaid.unc.edu/studentaid/
Note: For more information, call the UNC Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at (919) 962-4168.
Office of Scholarships and Student Aid contact: Dan Thornton, (919) 962-4168, Dan_Thornton@unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589