Watauga Students Vie for Prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship

“The Goal of the Morehead-Cain is to develop the leaders of the future,” said Beth Miller, former Morehead-Cain scholar. Morehead-Cain logo photo credits: The Morehead-Cain network

Ian Biles, Feature Desk Lead for the Powderhorn 

Leadership, integrity, character, and physical vigor. For the University of North Carolina, these four traits qualify students for one of the college’s most prestigious scholarships, the Morehead-Cain. Each year, students across the country compete for the chance at a full ride to UNC, as well as access to career and personal opportunities. As initial submissions for the scholarship begin, Watauga students prepare for the many application stages ahead.

Andrew Larsen, a senior at Watauga and Morehead-Cain hopeful, was one of Watauga High School’s five nominees for the scholarship. For the Morehead-Cain, students who meet the qualifications can nominate themselves or apply to be nominated by the school. Once nominated, students begin the long application process.

“The application is a lot. Several essays, one for each of the four pillars of the scholarship: leadership, integrity, character, and physical vigor,” said Larsen. “You have to get two recommendations as well, one teacher recommendation and one from someone who can attest to your leadership and character. Also, you have to complete two surprise video essays where you get a prompt, you have 90 seconds to think about it, and then 90 seconds to respond. You only get one take on it, and that's it.”

Interview-style questions, a distinct aspect of the Morehead-Cain selection process, appear throughout many of the application rounds. In the later stages of the process, students are invited to Chapel Hill for in-person interviews and observation by UNC’s school admin, professors, and former Morehead-Cain scholars. Beth Miller, a UNC alumna and class of 1977 Morehead-Cain scholar, has been involved in the Morehead-Cain process since graduating. Miller, along with many other former Morehead-Cain scholars, makes up the scholarship’s alumni network, a group that assists both UNC and students applying for the scholarship. 

“Morehead-Cain really works hard to create an alumni network for the scholars,” said Miller. “One of the ways they do that is when students are being nominated and have reached the final stages of the interview process. They try to pair them with alumni in the student’s area.”

Miller and her husband, another former Morehead-Cain scholar, are often paired with applicants from the Watauga area. With the students, Miller discusses what to expect in the interviews, as well as the scholarship’s summer opportunities.

“The summer experiences are built to help you grow in your leadership capabilities,” said Miller. "They help you grow in your confidence that you have those abilities, and also with collaborative work.”

Morehead-Cain Scholars are given four fully-funded summer opportunities through UNC. Beginning the summer before the freshman year, programs range from multi-week outdoor adventures to professional internships through the alumni network. Aside from helping students to develop as leaders, these summer programs, and the scholarship as a whole, are designed to aid students in their lives after college.  

Brain Newmark, a senior at the high school and Morehead-Cain applicant, hopes to use the summer programs as an opportunity for real-world experience. 

“If I go to UNC Chapel Hill, I want to do biomedical engineering,” said Newmark. “I'd like to specifically go into either cardiology or coral reefs and do work with the ecosystem there. If I get the Morehead-Cain, my goal would be to go abroad and work on coral reefs using one of the summer programs, so I know what a potential career could look like.”

For alumni such as Miller, the experience of being a Morehead-Cain scholar was an impactful part of their lives. Beyond the free tuition and summer programs, the scholarship provides much more for students and alumni. 

“Throughout the time students spend at UNC, and especially after they graduate, the network of other Morehead-Cain scholars is a family,” said Miller. “The scholarship is such a great opportunity that has lifelong benefits in areas you wouldn’t expect.  I gain more appreciation for my experience with the scholarship the older I get. It's a really great opportunity.”