Sadness tinges high achievement

Many spent time with slain student Eve Carson during Chapel Hill visit

Published March 16, 2008

By Celeste Smith

The Charlotte Observer

Southern Mecklenburg members of the newest class of Morehead-Cain Scholars at UNC Chapel Hill -- the nation's first nonathletic merit scholarship -- say this year's honor is bittersweet.

As finalists for the scholarship, many met and talked with Eve Carson just days before the student body president and member of the prestigious scholarship program was slain near campus.

Carson, a pre-med student, majored in political science and biology, and studied and volunteered abroad. She also hosted some of the finalists at her home for a Saturday get-together during the last interview weekend, said John Danello of Myers Park High School, among the 13 Charlotte-area high school winners.

"She had made popcorn for everyone, which she was serving, and planned a fun guys-against-the-girls word game," Danello said. "I will always remember her welcoming spirit."

Winner Amber Koonce of Providence High School called Carson "the epitome of a Morehead scholar -- I could figure that out in the brief time I met her. She truly meant a lot to the organization."

Some of the six southern Mecklenburg winners said Carson's example has them thinking about how they can use their award to match the spirit behind the Morehead-Cain Scholars. Students are selected for their leadership, academic achievement, moral force of character and physical vigor. The award is worth about $80,000 for N.C. residents and covers all expenses for four years, a laptop and summer enrichment activities.

(Six recipients from the southern Mecklenburgarea are profiled in the article, including Charlotte Latin School senior Kathleen Powers, listed below.)

School work, classical voice training, varsity tennis, and involvement in a social justice group keeps Kathleen Alicia Powers' life hectic, but "I wouldn't have it any other way," she said. Just last week, she and other youth empowerment council members of the Charlotte Coalition for Social Justice addressed Charlotte-Mecklenburg School board members, urging them to pass the district's anti-bullying policy. The Charlotte Latin School student from the Belingrath neighborhood off Quail Hollow Road is still weighing options regarding the scholarship, and is taking some time to visit other schools. (Winners have until April 14 to accept the scholarship.)

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