GREENSBORO – UNC Chapel Hill has its Morehead-Cain merit scholarships. N.C. State has its Park Scholars. And now N.C. A&T State and N.C. Central Universities have Cheatham-White Scholars.1
To be considered, high-school students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 4.0, a minimum SAT score of 1280 or a score of 28 on the ACT. They must show character and leadership and demonstrate a strong commitment to service.
Recipients receive a four-year scholarship, laptop computer and enrichment activities that may include travel or study abroad.2
“The state of North Carolina sponsors the scholarships, and we have to match what they offer us,” A&T Provost Beryl McEwen says in the accompanying video. “This allows us to bring in exceptionally talented students.”
We have our first class of 20 – they will be here with us for the fall semester. We are talking about some of the brightest and best students around us,” McEwen says.
“These students have very high SAT scores – nearly 1400 as the average. We are talking about grade-point averages upward of 4.5, and also ACT scores of 30. So we have an exceptional group of students.
The NC General Assembly named the scholarships for Henry Cheatham and George Henry White, the first two African-Americans to represent North Carolina in Congress during the 1890s.3
Cheatham was an educator who established an orphanage for black children; White was an attorney who studied at Howard University. Though they were brothers-in-law, they actually ran against each other for the seat twice.
“We expect that these students are going to graduate and take their places in our local community and also across the nation, and continue to represent our brand in the best way,” McEwen says.
“So we are tremendously excited about this group of kids. I met some of them when they came for orientation – they are exceptional.”
1 https://www.ncat.edu/admissions/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/cheatham-white-scholarship.html.
2 https://www.northcarolina.edu/Scholarships/Cheatham-White-Merit-Scholarship.
3 Ibid.
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