The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently honored 39 freshmen and 16 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.
Among the freshmen, 32 in-state and seven out-of-state students won the awards.
All students with financial need are considered for Johnston Scholarships, but merit determines the winners. Awards vary among recipients according to need.
UNC awarded $290,000 to entering freshmen, more than $55,000 to new undergraduate nursing students and $104,000 to new graduate nursing students, for a total of $408,000 in new Johnston Scholarships this year. Awards for new and returning Johnston Scholars totaled more than $1.5 million.
Johnston Scholars have numerous opportunities to widen their intellectual horizons and grow personally and socially, said Dan Thornton, Ph.D., associate director for the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. Each is assigned a faculty mentor who organizes extracurricular learning opportunities and offers friendship, guidance and support.
“The Johnston Awards Program is one of the best-known and enduring scholarship programs at the University,” he said. “Now in its 38th year, it has not only provided generous scholarship support to hundreds of students through the years, but it also has provided invaluable enrichment opportunities as well.”
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. The scholars also plan and execute an annual spring issues forum.
The awards are funded by the Johnston Trust of Chevy Chase, Md., founded by the late James M. Johnston, an Orange County native and UNC student (1912-15) who established a successful investment banking firm in Washington, D.C., and owned the Washington Senators baseball team in the 1960s.
“This group of Johnston Scholars is comprised of top students from North Carolina and other states who exhibit outstanding academic achievement and demonstrate promise for impacting the campus community in positive ways,” Thornton said.
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 below by North Carolina county, and by state for out-of-state students, are 38 of the 2008-09 freshmen Johnston Scholars. One in-state undergraduate student did not provide information. Fifteen of the Johnston Nursing Scholars are listed at the end. (One of the 16 did not submit information.) Asterisks denote students listed in more than one location. For more information, call the UNC Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at (919) 962-4168.
North Carolina FRESHMAN JOHNSTON Scholars
Alamance
Jacob Sidney Crawford of Haw River, graduate of Southern Alamance High School, son of Tammy and Bobby Crawford.
Ashe
Kelsy Edward Combs of Crumpler, graduate of Ashe County High School, son of Shirley and Allen Combs.
Caswell
*Min Yan Dong of Yanceyville, graduate of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, daughter of Yu Jiao Zhao and Yong Qi Dong.
Cumberland
Denise Nicole Mitchell of Fayetteville, graduate of Reid Ross Classical High School, daughter of Selena and Dennis Mitchell.
Joshua Bernard Simmons of Fayetteville, graduate of Seventy-First High School, son of Marian and Felix Simmons.
Dare
Lauren Ruth Hollowell of Kitty Hawk, graduate of First Flight High School, daughter of Maggie and Brent Hollowell.
Justin Robert Robey of Kill Devil Hills, graduate of First Flight High School, son of Elaine and John Robey.
Logan Christian Wilkerson of Kill Devil Hills, graduate of First Flight High School, son of Kim Wilkerson.
Durham
*Min Yan Dong of Yanceyville, graduate of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, daughter of Yu Jiao Zhao and Yong Qi Dong.
Edgecombe
Jasmine Nicole Burroughs of Tarboro, graduate of Tarboro High School, daughter of Angela and Anthony Burroughs.
Gaston
Andrew Charles Pierce of Gastonia, graduate of South Point High School, son of Melinda and Charles Pierce.
Guilford
Derek Howard Carr of Greensboro, graduate of Ragsdale High School, son of Charlene and Michael Carr.
Henderson
Reed Timothy Weatherill of Hendersonville, graduate of Hendersonville High School, son of Karen Larken and Timothy Weatherill.
Johnston
Daniel Alfred Adams of Four Oaks, graduate of South Johnston High School, son of Flor and Travis Adams.
Wendy Tapia of Willow Spring, graduate of West Johnston High School, daughter of Maria and Manuel Tapia.
Mecklenburg
Asm Sakibul Bhuiyan of Charlotte, graduate of Independence High School, son of Saleha and Aslam Bhuiyan.
Patrick Allon Dutch of Charlotte, graduate of Independence High School, son of Amy and Tom Dutch.
Moore
Kristin Hali Brock of Aberdeen, graduate of Pinecrest High School, daughter of Maria and Timothy Brock.
New Hanover
Danielle Marie Bringard of Wilmington, graduate of E.A. Laney High School, daughter of Sally and Robert Bringard.
Benjamin Ruiz Rosado of Wilmington, graduate of New Hanover High School, son of Sandra and Edward Rosado.
Orange
Michelle May Mulky of Chapel Hill, graduate of Cedar Ridge High School, daughter of Lucille Bradley and Rick Mulky.
Pamlico
Albert Samuel Hainsworth of Bayboro, graduate of Pamlico County High School, son of Margie and Alton Hainsworth.
Rockingham
Stephanie LeAnna Bullins of Eden, graduate of John Motley Morehead High School, daughter of Diana and Charles Bullins.
Robeson
Stephanie Gwynn Mercer of Lumber Bridge, graduate of St. Pauls High School, daughter of Nellie and Stephen Mercer.
Rowan
William Spence Newsome of Rockwell, graduate of Carson High School, son of Gay and Herbert Newsome.
Rutherford
Virginia Ann Boone of Rutherfordton, graduate of Rutherford Early College High, daughter of Elizabeth and Robert Boone.
Sampson
Shawn Alexander Boykin of Clinton, graduate of Clinton High School, son of Lizette Rouson and Charles Boykin.
Union
Isabel Cristina Castro of Stallings, graduate of Sun Valley High School, daughter of Arlibia and Ramon Castro.
Abbey MacKenzie Herrmann of Monroe, graduate of Sun Valley High School, daughter of Becky and Bruce Herrmann.
Wake
Jeecho Kim of Raleigh, graduate of Jesse O. Sanderson High School, son of Choon-He Kang and Young-Bon Kim.
Matthew Alexander Viva of Wake Forest, graduate of Wakefield High School, son of Jeanne and Alejandro Viva.
Elizabeth Marie Wormald of Apex, graduate of Apex High School, daughter of Ruth and David Wormald.
Out-of-state FRESHMAN JOHNSTON Scholars
Georgia
Christopher Anderson York Jr. of Atlanta, graduate of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, son of Janet and Chris York.
Maryland
David Phillip Artin of Camp Springs, graduate of Bishop McNamara High School, son of Woderyelesh Belachew and Philip Artin.
Brittany Hackett of Montgomery, graduate of Gaithersburg High School, daughter of Michelle and Dennis Hackett.
Nebraska
Chloe Lyn Greguska of Omaha, graduate of Central High School, daughter of Mary and Dave Greguska.
New York
Andrius Valiunas of Stony Brook, graduate of Ward Melville High School, son of Laima Valiuniene and Virginijus Valiunas.
Chao Hui Yang of Oakland Gardens, graduate of Francis Lewis High School, daughter of Xia Yu and Qin Guang Yang.
Pennsylvania
Meghan Day Cannon of Glenn Mills, graduate of Garnet Valley High School, daughter of Laurie and Edgar Cannon.
UNDERGRADUATE JOHNSTON NURSING SCHOLARS
Tiffany Rechelle Boller of Statesville, graduate of West Iredell High School, daughter of Michelle and Scott Boller.
Stephanie Shea Turner of Charlotte, graduate of E.E. Waddell High School, daughter of Sherri Wolfe.
Alisa Smajlagic of Chapel Hill, graduate of Cary High School, daughter of Mirsada Smajlagic.
GRADUATE JOHNSTON NURSING SCHOLARS
Tiffany Lee Allen of Archdale, graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College.
Martha Clare Bausch of Durham, graduate of Loyola University.
Wendy Lenore Burd of Durham, graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill.
Sasha Celeste Dunbar of Chapel Hill, graduate of UNC-Greensboro.
Colleen Elizabeth Hamilton of Chapel Hill, graduate of the University of Florida.
Yin Li of Chapel Hill, graduate of TianJin Medical University in China.
Tanya Elizabeth Moore of Durham, graduate of the University of Virginia.
Courtney Rawls of Chapel Hill, graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill.
Jennifer Gay Taylor of Durham, graduate of UNC-Greensboro.
Shawn Dawn Warnecke of Durham, graduate of the Watts School of Nursing.
Chauntelle Renee Wolfe of Wilson, graduate of Nash Community College.
Melody Mai-Wah Wong of Durham, graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill.
Office of Scholarships and Student Aid contact: Meredith Horne, (919) 962-9494
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589