Giving Rise to Greatness

We know talented students want to study, work and learn alongside other talented students. No matter their background, they all join together to make Carolina stronger and better. And when they flourish here, they graduate to lead in the world. The Carolina Covenant and the Morehead-Cain Scholarship epitomize the many ways we empower outstanding students.

Both scholarships represent the range of accomplishment we value. These programs have grown into powerful sources of innovation and impact for our state. Many of the scholars have made and will continue to make significant impacts across North Carolina, proving that breakthroughs sometimes begin by opening a door.

For the first time in history, Carolina has two recipients of the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship in the same year: Larry Han, a Morehead-Cain Scholar, and Matthew Leming, a Covenant Scholar. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates Scholarship provides full support for graduate study at the University of Cambridge in England. Han has already made contributions in the treatment of HIV in China and one day hopes to work with hospital systems to reduce mortality rates in acute-care settings. Leming, a computer science major who was the lead developer of a mobile app about Carolina, plans to get a doctorate in psychiatry and find better ways of predicting mental illness and neurological disorders in children.

“Larry and Matt are those rare students who quietly and without fanfare change the landscape of their professions,” Chancellor Carol L. Folt said. “They are humanitarians whose strengths lie in their ability to connect on a human level. I am excited to see what they do with their bright futures.”

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