Seventh class of Levine Scholars named
Twenty young leaders from high schools across the United States comprise the seventh class of UNC Charlotte’s Levine Scholars Program. They will join the University starting with the fall 2016 semester.
The University’s most prestigious merit scholarship is valued at approximately $105,000 for in-state students and $155,000 for out-of-state students. It covers full tuition, fees, housing, meals, books and summer experiences. Additional funding is provided to support community service work and professional development during the scholars’ academic years.
The 13 Levine Scholars from North Carolina are:
Christian Chavis, North Carolina School of Science and Math, Pembroke, son of Don and Angel Chavis; Maria Ysabelle Cruzat, Early College at Forsyth County, Winston-Salem, daughter of German and Cristina Cruzat; Benjamin Fasel, Forsyth Country Day School, Lewisville, son of Michael and Carol Fasel; Reginald Harper Jr., Clayton High School, Clayton, son of Reginald Sr. and Carolyn Harper; Riley Jones, North Lincoln High School, Denver, son of William and Rebecca Jones; Elizabeth Kay, Athens Drive High School, Cary, daughter of Michael Kay and Nancy Joyner; Melissa Martin, Franklin Academy, Wake Forest, daughter of Frank and Vicki Martin; Elissa Miller, Forestview High School, Gastonia, daughter of Donald Miller and Sandra Tarantino; Noah Shaver, Mount Pleasant High School, Mount Pleasant, son of Thomas and Brandy Shaver; Kevin Smith, Johnston County Early College Academy, Clayton, son of Charles and Kelly Smith; Yesika Sorto Andino, David W. Butler High School, Charlotte, daughter of Santos Argueta Sorto and Abel Marquez Andino; Lauren Tooley, Brevard Senior High School, Brevard, daughter of Mark and Ameran Tooley; Seth Whitley, Forest Hills High School, Marshville, son of Chadwick and Jennifer Whitley.
The seven out-of-state recipients are:
Kyle Ali, Windsor High School, Windsor, Conn., son of Roger and Yvette Ali; Alexander Caviness, Dobyns Bennett High School, Johnson City, Tenn., son of John Caviness and Sabrina Yu; Kaylyn Groth, Seneca High School, Seneca, Ill., daughter of Steven and Jennifer Groth; Daiana James, Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, District of Columbia, daughter of David and Benetta James; Samantha Lee, Col. Zadok Magruder High School, Derwood, Md., daughter of Sean Lee and Sandy Myers; Sarah Mullen, Northside College Preparatory High School, Chicago, Ill., daughter of John and Catherine Mullen; Julia Nelson, Purcell Marian High School, Cincinnati, Ohio, daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Nelson.
This year’s recipients were selected following a lengthy nomination and interview process. Nearly 2,700 high school seniors from 33 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, were nominated by their schools.
From those nominees, selection committees chose 68 finalists, including 40 from North Carolina. The out-of-state finalists were from as far away as Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“The response of top students from North Carolina and around the country continues to be outstanding,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “As with the first six classes, the students who will join us this coming fall as Levine Scholars are among the very best that can be found. We are very pleased that they have chosen UNC Charlotte.”
Diane Zablotsky, faculty director of the Levine Scholars Program, echoed those sentiments: “We are excited and energized by the achievements and potential of the high school seniors we recruit for the Levine Scholars Program. The Class of 2020 is as fine a group of students as we have ever enrolled in the program. They will be studying in various majors across campus with a wide diversity of interests and talents, and we are looking forward to welcoming this year’s incoming freshmen into the program.”
The seventh group of Levine Scholars will take their place among their peers on campus in the fall 2016 semester. To support their service work in the community, recipients will have access to an $8,000 grant funded by the Leon Levine Foundation.
The scholarships were made possible by philanthropists Leon and Sandra Levine, who committed $22.3 million to UNC Charlotte for the merit scholarship program to develop community service leaders. This includes an additional $13 million gift, awarded in 2014, that increased the scholarship program from 15 recipients to 20 each year beginning with the incoming class of 2016. Leon Levine is the founder and chairman emeritus of Matthews, N.C.-based Family Dollar Stores Inc. The Levines are involved in a number of civic and charitable causes in the Charlotte region through the Leon Levine Foundation.
“We continue to be impressed by the outstanding potential of the new students joining the Levine Scholars Program,” said Leon Levine. “We look forward to watching them grow through their University experience and see their ongoing impact on our community.”