Duke, UNC Announce Winners of Robertson Scholarships

Fifty-three exemplary high school seniors have been chosen for the Robertson Scholars Class of 2012, President Richard H. Brodhead of Duke University and Chancellor James Moeser of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have announced.

The Robertson Scholars Program is an innovative merit scholarship program at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke. About half of the scholars enroll at Duke and about half at UNC-Chapel Hill. All the students take courses at both schools and spend a semester in residence at the other campus.

The Robertson Scholarship at UNC-Chapel Hill covers tuition, room, board, mandatory fees, and a stipend. Beginning this year, the Robertson Scholarship at Duke, which previously covered tuition, will now also cover housing, board, and mandatory fees for all current and future scholars.

The program selects scholars who have demonstrated the program values of heart, mind and action and exhibit the potential and desire to develop these values further, said Tony Brown, president of the Robertson Scholars Program. Throughout and beyond their four years in college, scholars are offered the resources and opportunities necessary to have a positive impact on local and international communities.

Twenty-six students have been awarded the scholarship at Duke and 24 at UNC-Chapel Hill. In addition, three students were offered the scholarship at both schools and have the option to be a Robertson Scholar at either school.

The recipients, who hail from 25 states and four foreign countries, have until May 1 to accept the scholarship. The two universities expect to enroll a total of 38 Robertson Scholars next fall.

The recipients were chosen from more than 20,000 admission applicants at UNC-Chapel Hill and more than 20,000 at Duke. After a selection process that included application review and phone interviews, committees at both universities invited 100 finalists to Durham and Chapel Hill for interviews March 29-April 1.

"The Robertson Scholars are selected from among the very best students who apply to Duke and UNC," Brodhead said. "They are chosen not just for their intelligence and creativity, but for their leadership strengths and will to use their gifts in service to the broader society. We look forward to welcoming the new Robertson Scholars and working with them as they develop as students, citizens and leaders."

Robertson Scholars come together for special seminars taught by faculty of both universities, research projects and service-learning programs. The program runs a free express bus between the two campuses and offers collaboration grants to faculty and students at each university to support joint programs. Julian and Josie Robertson of New York founded the Robertson program in June 2000 with a $24 million endowment gift.

"I am thrilled to see the outstanding array of talented students selected to be Robertson Scholars," Moeser said. "This program brings great rewards for the students, who get the educational experience of two campuses, Carolina and Duke. We benefit as well from their energy and talent, which adds to our communities in countless ways. We look forward to welcoming all of them in the fall."

In 2005, the Robertson family established a separate scholarship opportunity for students from New Zealand, where the couple resides for part of each year. Two students were chosen this year. Amir Malek of Hamilton and Oliver Wilson of Dunedin will both attend Duke this fall.

"I was inspired by the young people I met through our selection process," said Brown, the president of the program. "They are bright, passionate and eager, and will make meaningful contributions to every community they touch."

Recipients at Duke University:

Arkansas Brent Charles Sodman, Little Rock, Little Rock Central High School Cameron Tucker Zohoori, Little Rock, Little Rock Central High School

California Erica Lauren Schild, Rancho Santa Fe, Francis W. Parker High School

Colorado Hilary Elise Henry, Eagle, Eagle Valley High School

Connecticut Taylor Elizabeth Clarke, New Canaan, New Canaan High School

Florida Emma Doull Miller, Village of Palmetto Bay, Miami Palmetto Senior High School

Georgia Joshua Inman Evans, Suwanee, South Forsyth High School Kanya Manoj, Duluth, Woodward Academy

Idaho Caroline Francis Fairchild, Sun Valley, Community School

Indiana Harrison Glenn Hines, Carmel, Carmel High School

Jamaica Kimberley Lumsden Goffe, Kingston, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts

Maryland Nina Anne Woolley, Chevy Chase, National Cathedral School

Massachusetts Lina Avancini Colucci, Lexington, Lexington High School

Missouri Stella Rose Dee, Saint Louis, John Burroughs School Michael Bryan Schoenleber, Columbia, Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong

New Jersey Eric William Baum, Wayne, Wayne Hills High School

New York Jennifer Erin Zwilling, Brookville, Jericho Senior High School

New Zealand Amir Malek, Hamilton Oliver Wilson, Dunedin

North Carolina Seth Bachman Crabtree, Gastonia, Forestview High School Alison Hall Kibbe, Carrboro, Carolina Friends School

Ohio Braveen Ragunanthan, Canton, Glen Oak High School

Oregon Michael James Bernert, West Linn, West Linn High School

Texas Matthew Graham Clayton, Shavano Park, St. Mary's Hall

Virginia Erin Lee Convery, Virginia Beach, Frank W. Cox High School

Wisconsin Daniel William Ewert, Germantown, Germantown High School

Recipients at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:

Alabama Tess Maria Tidwell, Birmingham, Homewood High School

Arizona Nari Erica Ely, Scottsdale, Horizon High School

California Matthew Samuel Coe-Odess, Los Angeles, Brentwood School

Colorado Kenneth Jason Haisfield, Longmont, Niwot High School

District of Columbia Caitlin Elise Nettleton, Washington, Washington International School Eli John Pollak, Washington, Sidwell Friends School

Georgia Andrew Gregory Sugrue, Atlanta, The Westminster Schools

Kenya Paul Nambwaya Byatta, Kisumu, Deerfield Academy of Massachusetts

Louisiana Konstance Leanne Brown, Monroe, West Monroe High School

Maryland Benjamin M. Elkind, Silver Spring, Richard Montgomery High School

Michigan Jennifer Nicole Paxton, Southfield, Mercy High School

New Jersey Caitlin Rain Williams, South Orange, Columbia High School

New York Jiakun James Ding, Rego Park, Hunter College High School John Anthony Marzulli, New York, Collegiate School Ronald Rojas, New York, New York City Lab School

North Carolina Jessica Celeste Adams, North Wilkesboro, West Wilkes High School Vivek Bhattacharya, Cary, William G. Enloe High School John Everette Harris, Charlotte, McCallie School of Chattanooga, Tennessee John Spencer Kuzmier, Greensboro, Greensboro Day School Mitchell Christopher Long, Carrboro, St. David's School Austin Jude Stanion, Carrboro, East Chapel Hill High School

Ohio Angela Damia Primbas, Fairport Harbor, Hawken School

South Korea Jung-Yi Yoo, Seoul, Korean Minjok Leadership Academy

Texas Kenneth Gregory Barshop, San Antonio, St. Mary's Hall

Winners at both universities:

California Megan Keiko Morikawa, Rancho Santa Fe, High Tech High School

Ohio Margo Binder Werner, Cincinnati, Seven Hills Upper School

Tennessee Jennifer Ruth Guyton, Memphis, St. Mary's Episcopal School