Published May 15, 2009
By David Perlmutt
The Charlotte Observer
Five Charlotte area high school students are among 12 Carolinas seniors awarded a prestigious and lucrative Benjamin N. Duke Memorial Scholarship to attend Duke University the next four years, the university announced Thursday.
And recently, N.C. State announced that eight Charlotte region seniors were named Park Scholars, an equally prestigious scholarship that pays for four years at the Raleigh school.
The Duke scholarship, created with funds from The Duke Endowment, covers full tuition, room, board and mandatory fees for eight semesters – totaling more than $200,000 over four years. The award is given to seniors from the two Carolinas who have demonstrated a potential for leadership and community service along with high academic achievement.
The scholarship includes leadership development and two summer programs, one in the Carolinas and one abroad. The winners we selected from 30 finalists, each attending the scholarship finalist weekend at Duke last month.
The scholarship honors Benjamin “Mr. Ben” Duke, a founder of the university and James B. Duke's brother.
The winners from Charlotte-area high schools are:
Hubert Tolison Humphrey of Charlotte, a senior at Myers Park High School and son of Dee and Hubert Humphrey.
Rebecca Callaway Jeffries of Charlotte, a senior at Myers Park High and daughter of Dawn and Ross Jeffries.
Sasha Amina McEwan of Charlotte, a senior at Providence High and daughter of Romana and Robert McEwan.
Jacqueline Tillar Stedman of Charlotte, a senior at Charlotte Latin School and daughter of Julie and John Stedman.
Xiaoyang Zhuang of Matthews, a senior at Providence High and son of Qing Yang and Yiping Zhuang.