Wayne County student earns NCSU Park Scholarship
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 9, 2010 1:46 PM
A Wayne County senior attending N.C. School of Science and Math has been named a Park Scholar, receiving a full ride to attend N.C. State University in the fall.
Joshua Chappell previously attended Southern Wayne High School before being accepted at NCSSM his junior year.
The Park Scholarship, valued at $80,000 for in-state students, pays for all expenses for four years of undergraduate study, summer enrichment programs and a computer and offers the availability of research grants.
This year, 53 students from North Carolina and 12 states were awarded the scholarship out of 1,300 candidates across the nation.
Chappell, son of Jeannie Stevens, of Goldsboro, plans to major in biology and Spanish.
Throughout high school, he has been involved in Student Government, including serving as freshman representative and sophomore class president while at Southern Wayne.
He has also held leadership positions in Future Business Leaders of America, helped found a program with graduate students at Duke University Fuqua School of Business to offer entrepreneurship seminars at NCSSM and served on his school's honor council.
He has participated in intramural soccer, serving as captain of his dormitory's team last season, and been involved with varsity swimming.
In the summer of 2009, he worked with the Goldsboro YMCA, offering professional swimming instruction to underprivileged children for free. He was able to teach 25 students the basics of swimming and safety, and hopes to expand the program this summer.
He has also been a volunteer tutor, working with students at Carver Elementary School during the summer in such subjects as arithmetic, writing and reading, and at NCSSM works with underclassmen as a peer mentor.
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, a distinguished alumnus of N.C. State and president of the media company Park Communications Inc., a conglomerate of newspapers, television and radio stations.
Selection criteria for the merit-based scholarships includes academic achievement; personal characteristics 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 academic achievement and personal conduct.