Eve Carson Scholarship to welcome 15th class

Applications for the Eve Carson Scholarship are now open, commemorating the program's 15th class of scholars.

The award was designed to celebrate students in their junior year who have “exhibited passion and transformative growth” since their arrival at UNC, according to the scholarship’s website. This year's class will accept five to six applicants.

The scholarship was established in 2008 to pay tribute to then UNC Student Body President Eve Marie Carson, who was kidnapped and killed around two months before her graduation. In her election platform, Carson said she envisioned a scholarship that awarded UNC juniors for their leadership and service during their time at UNC.

The Eve Carson Scholarship and the Eve Marie Carson Carolina Way Scholarship were created in her honor, along with the annual Eve Carson Memorial 5K for Education and the Eve Carson Memorial Garden. The Eve Carson Scholarship funds a summer experience and $15,000 of the recipient’s senior year tuition.

In an excerpt from her election platform, Carson said many students must choose between getting involved at the University and working to pay off college expenses. 

2022-23 executive director of the Eve Carson Scholarship, Fleet Wilson, said he had heard the story of Carson’s death because his cousin was attending the University in 2008.

“When you're a student, you know what is really causing an impact on campus, whereas if you're in a scholarship office, it might be something that might sound good on paper,” Wilson said.

The scholarship’s executive board is entirely student-run, so students oversee the application process to pick recipients.

UNC senior Emily Smither is the current executive director for the scholarship and said her role is to listen and reflect on the history of the aid program and how to move forward.

“It is the 15th anniversary of Eve’s passing, but more importantly, it's the 15th year of celebrating Eve’s legacy on campus, and it's also the start of 15 years moving forward,” she said.

Class of 2022-23 Eve Carson scholar Wid Alsadoon said the scholarship was helpful because, since most students receive major scholarships early on, students who make significant progress during their time at UNC often do not receive opportunities for financial assistance during their college experience.

Alsadoon said that, as a Syrian refugee who attended a majority-minority high school, she saw firsthand how lack of funding led to a significant decrease in opportunities. She said she wanted her own project to bring her passion for technology and humanitarian aid together.

The scholarship provided Alsadoon with the funds to travel to Istanbul during summer 2022. There, she said she worked with a nonprofit called Pink STREAM to share technology with a Syrian refugee community — providing a resource that they would not necessarily have funding or education to learn about otherwise.

Alsadoon said she definitely recommends that juniors who are mindful of their community and hope to give back to North Carolina or the UNC community apply for the scholarship.

Juniors who do not already have full merit-based scholarships, maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA and have taken at least 48 credit hours are eligible to apply, according to the scholarship's website.

Outside the Campus Y is a blue butterfly bench inscribed with the words, “In Memory of Eve Carson.” Smither said that Carson is UNC’s embodiment of the butterfly effect. 

Carson’s vision has spread across the University — a vision that, Smither said, will resonate across every corner and with every person on campus forever. 

“As we think about where we are right now, 15 years later, our butterfly is just getting started with spreading her wings,” she said.

@dailytarheel

university@dailytarheel.com