Two seniors win Rhodes Scholarships

There was no shortage of surprise and congratulations for two UNC students who were awarded Rhodes Scholarships on Saturday.

Paul Shorkey said he doesn’t remember much of the announcement in Washington D.C.

“At first you couldn’t really form words,” he said. “I was just kind of shaking and in complete shock.”

When Laurence Deschamps-Laporte landed in Atlanta on Sunday, her phone vibrated with congratulatory e-mails for a full 30 minutes.

“I’m really happy,” she said. “I’ll have to read them all.”

Deschamps-Laporte and Shorkey, both seniors, are the latest of the University’s recipients of what is considered the most prestigious graduate scholarship in the world.

It funds study for two or three years at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

The University has now had 47 students chosen for the scholarship since its inception.

Shorkey, a Charlotte native and member of the Chi Psi fraternity majoring in psychology and business administration, said he plans to use the scholarship to aid his plans to become a clinical psychologist.

Deschamps-Laporte, of Repentigny, Quebec, said she hopes to continue studying international development while abroad. She said she is particularly interested in reproductive health.

James Scotton, a member of Chi Psi, said Shorkey’s work ethic was evident to the entire fraternity.

“He was always gone doing great things,” Scotton said.

Shorkey and Deschamps-Laporte are both Morehead-Cain Scholars.

Shorkey said the undergraduate scholarship puts students in a good position to achieve further honors. Of the 32 Rhodes Scholars from UNC since 1957, 29 have been Morehead, now Morehead-Cain Scholars.

“The biggest thing that the Morehead-Cain Scholarship does for you is it gives you the opportunity to travel widely at a young age,” he said. “That makes you a more competitive and more attractive candidate for these scholarships.”

Two Morehead-Cain Scholars who were dating won last year, but Deschamps-Laporte was quick to point out that she and Shorkey are not romantically involved.

“No, absolutely not,” she said.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.