Three local students ó two from Rowan County and one from Kannapolis ó have won Park Scholarships to N.C. State University.The Rowan County winners are Caitlin Leigh Cox, of West Rowan High School, and Savannah Hope Larimore, of North Rowan High School.
Robert Betrad Brummel, a senior at A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis, is the only 2008 Park Scholar from Cabarrus County.
The Park Scholarships program is among the nation’s most prestigious undergraduate merit scholarship programs. The scholarships pay expenses for four years of study at N.C. State and include a computer stipend and funds for academic enrichment activities.
The awards are valued at about $59,000 for North Carolina residents and $107,000 for out-of-state students. The scholarship winners were selected from a pool of more than 1,000 qualified applicants.
Cox is the daughter of Randy and Mary Cox of Salisbury. At West Rowan, she serves as president of the National Honor Society, editor of the yearbook and executive vice president of the Student Government Association.
She has been active in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and lettered in tennis, basketball and soccer. She was named an Advanced Placement Scholar and plans to major in social services or public relations.
Larimore is the daughter of Karen Wilkinson and Terry Larimore of Spencer. At North Rowan, she is co-executive president of Student Government and a member of the National Honor Society.
She also was designated an Advanced Placement Scholar and attended North Carolina’s Governor’s School. She plans to major in mathematics education.
Brummel is the son of Shane and Deborah Johns of Kannapolis. At A.L. Brown, he serves as president of the National Technical Honor Society, treasurer of the Anchor Club and is a Link Crew leader.
He won the Harvard Book Prize Award and is a Junior Rotarian. He plans to major in chemical engineering.
This year’s Park Scholarship winners include 25 class valedictorians, a Siemens AP Award winner, a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search and the first-prize winner of the National Film Technology Contest. Award recipients have also distinguished themselves as engaged citizens in their communities by regularly volunteering in parks, hospitals, animal shelters and Habitat for Humanity chapters.
One recipient is a published author whose work generated money for charity, and another won the prestigious William T. Hornaday Award for his outstanding service in conservation.
“These young adults have demonstrated remarkable public service in their communities and have achieved at the highest scholastic level,” said Laura Gail Lunsford, director of the Park Scholarships program.
“The selection of this diverse class of scholars is a testament to the outstanding job the public schools are doing in educating our most talented students. The in-state students reflect the diversity of North Carolina’s students across rural and urban areas, gender, race, and social class. We are pleased to have worked with the state superintendent, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the NCSU Society of Black Alumni, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and other groups to encourage all talented students to consider the Park Scholarships.”
Selection criteria for the Park Scholarships include academic achievement; personal qualities such as character, integrity and motivation; exceptional leadership potential; and commitment to the betterment of one’s community. The scholarships are renewable each year, based on a student’s academic achievement and personal conduct.
The Park Foundation of Ithaca, N.Y., established the scholarships at N.C. State in 1996 with an initial gift to support 25 Park Scholars. The scholarships are named in honor of the late Roy H. Park, who passed away in 1993. Park was a distinguished alumnus of N.C. State and president of Park Communications Inc., a conglomerate of newspapers, television and radio stations that, at one point, reached one-third of all American homes. Made possible by wife Dorothy Park’s personal gift of $5 million to the university, the Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center, housing the Park Scholarships’ Centennial Campus office, opened last fall.