Three Chapel Hill High School seniors have been honored with the prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship: Elise Chang, Tanvi Gaur and Emmaline Phillips.
The Morehead-Cain Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship that provides full tuition for four years and fully funded summer activities with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). The scholarship is given to students who demonstrate leadership, character, scholarship and physical vigor.
Guidance counselor Ryan McGraw said that the scholarship is highly selective and evaluates students holistically. “Students who apply for the scholarship tend to excel in each of these categories,” he said.
The three seniors applied to Morehead-Cain for a variety of reasons. Chang said she applied for the Morehead-Cain scholarship “because it’s an amazing opportunity” that offered a fully funded college experience along with fully funded summer activities at UNC.
As for Phillips, she said she applied to the scholarship “as a hail Mary.”
“I grew up knowing about [the scholarship] and hearing about people who got it,” Phillips said, “but I never [thought] of it as a possibility for me.”
Gaur said she applied for the scholarship because of the four values that really resonated with her. She also was amazed by the community and group of students she met during the application process.
“I really felt like I fit in,” Gaur said. “There were a lot of really outgoing people and a lot of people who reminded me of me. All of [the applicants] had different perspectives and are really passionate about what they do.”
The first step in the application process is the nomination process. McGraw said that students can either be nominated by their high school or can choose to self nominate. “UNC considers all applicants,” he said. “Both avenues (school nomination and self nomination) can result in the receipt of a Morehead-Cain Scholarship.”
Gaur received a school nomination while Phillips and Chang both self-nominated.
Morehead-Cain candidates must then submit three personal essays, a letter of recommendation and standardized testing scores. There are also optional materials that can be submitted such as an arts supplement and a video essay.
Spanish teacher Thomas Soth said he wrote Phillips’s letter of recommendation because of her “ability to motivate other students to do better in Spanish [and] … bring out the best in others by giving them [a] voice.”
Math teacher Blake Norris expressed a similarly high opionion of Chang and her Morehead-Cain achievement.
“[Chang], in my opinion, checks every box for a Morehead-Cain recipient,” he said. “I have no doubt she will represent our school—and UNC—very well.”
In mid December, the three students received a status notification and learned that they were semifinalists.
Phillips described how thrilled she was when she learned she was a semifinalist. “I had just gotten home from an Ethics Bowl meeting and was about to collapse into my bed when I got the notification, and I think I screamed!” she said.
Chang said she was also shocked at being named a semifinalist and was thrilled to move onto the next round. “I just felt really excited and, obviously, pretty nervous for what was to come in the finalist stage and those interviews,” she said.
After another round of events and activities for the applicants to complete, all three recipients were notified on January 11, 2024 that they were finalists for the scholarship. The final round consisted of more interviews and group activities for applicants.
On February 9 at 5 p.m., applicants were told to check their portals for a decision, and Chang, Gaur and Phillips were each greeted with the good news.
Chang was with her parents when she received the notification. “It just felt surreal to open it up because it was something I had been wanting for so long and so badly too, so I just felt super grateful,” she said.
Phillips opened the letter with her mother, and, after she learned she received the scholarship, celebrated with her family and best friend at dinner. “I would just describe my emotions as pure joy,” she said.
Gaur experienced similar feelings as Phillips when receiving her decision letter. “I just felt really happy. . . . I cried tears of joy,” she said.
Principal Dr. Steven Sullivan said this acknowledgment was a “huge honor” and a testament to “the hard work that these students put into their academics, as well as the dedication of their teachers, and the high academic expectations of the school.”
On February 22, 2024, Chang accepted her Morehead-Cain scholarship; she plans to major in public policy and possibly double major in either international relations or French. “I can’t wait for fall and to start my classes,” she said.
As for Gaur, she hasn’t made a decision yet, but the scholarship from UNC makes it “really difficult to turn down.”
Similarly, Phillips has not made a decision regarding her Morehead-Cain acceptance but is confident that she will attend UNC.
“I’m waiting to see how a couple of other decisions go, but there’s basically nothing that I would take over this incredible opportunity,” she said.
