The Betsy Gamble Feinour Scholar
Charlotte, North Carolina

“I accepted the nomination for the Jefferson Scholarship when my college counselor told me I wasn’t committing to anything and I was “highly unlikely to receive the scholarship”.  I had nothing to lose.  Little did I know what opportunity I would gain from standing up to this challenge.

“I left the first round of interviews astounded. Had the competition ended for me then, I would have already grown from this program.  In that thirty-minute session, I had been asked to think critically and analytically.  I had been challenged to articulate difficult ideas and to evaluate complex world situations.  I had been asked about my character and identity.  Never had I been so challenged, yet never had I performed so well.  That interview asked so much of me, and in doing so it gave me a great opportunity to excel.  If the next four years were going to be anything like those first thirty minutes, this would be a remarkable experience.

“As I further investigated the program, I was amazed by the opportunities a scholarship provided.  I would receive full financial support, fully funded travel abroad and a rich internship program.  Having been a scholar for a year now, I recognize that these more tangible opportunities are only the tip of the Jefferson Scholarship iceberg.  More frequently in this program, opportunity is cloaked as challenge that enables excellence.  In my first year, I found a community that challenged me in diverse ways.  It held me accountable to high standards in areas of academics, community engagement, and leadership.  It urged me to better the University, not to settle for what it offered me.  It provided me with a group of peers that embody remarkable drive and passion for their pursuits and challenge me by their example.  These challenges, just like my rigorous interview in the selection process, are the true opportunities of this program.”