A prestigious, full-ride Morehead Cain scholarship was awarded to SV senior Layah Clinton on Friday, March 5. The scholarship is worth approximately $80,000 all told.

     “I got the email that my status had updated, and I knew that would tell me whether I had been accepted or not. I was very overwhelmed, a little bit scared and I knew I didn’t want to open it alone, so I went and got my mom,” Clinton said. “I opened it and I saw ‘Dear Layah,’ but I kept scrolling and I saw ‘congratulations’ and I turned to my mom and I was like ‘I got in!’ I remember being very excited and my cheeks were hurting because I couldn’t stop smiling.”

     The Morehead Cain Scholarship Foundation chooses a select group of diverse students, less than three percent of all who apply, that exemplify academic excellence, strength of character, and strong leadership skills to go to UNC-Chapel Hill.

     “[Layah] gets everything done on time. She puts school over anything, and she designates time to each class to actually do the work,” senior Allison Stoller said. “Like last year in AP Seminar she made sure everything got done, and she would help other people too.”

     Beginning in October, the scholarship is run through the Morehead Cain foundation, rather than UNC-Chapel Hill, though that is the school that the award pertains to. Students eligible to apply can be nominated by their counselors and are notified over the summer prior to the application opening. SV is able to nominate up to three students as per Morehead Cain guidelines The scholarship process officially starts with an application and essay in the first round. 

     “In the first stages, which is where we apply on the Morehead Cain applicant website, I was just excited to apply, and then I got nominated from the school. I mean I knew there was still a lot of other people, like thousands of other kids applying, but I was still pretty happy and I was like ‘I’m going to give this my best shot and see where it goes,” Clinton said. “When I got the notification in December that I made it to semifinals, I was like ‘Woah. Wait a minute. I have a good chance. This is getting good.’”

     Interviews are held in the second round of the scholarship where interviewers ask questions that expand upon the chosen topics from the essay round. The interviews were held virtually this year, but Clinton’s chosen topics were her dedication to Student Council, her Beta Club work, and her long-term commitment to competitive dance.

      “I think for her [the most difficult part] was not knowing the questions that were going to be asked and having to just prepare from a wide variety of topics from her volunteer work, to her academics, to her extracurricular activities, and having well-versed answers to respond with,” her father Lee Clinton said.

     As the stages progress, cuts are made based on interview skills, financial need, and extracurricular involvement. However, opportunities are presented to those still in the running. For example, finalists are given the chance to meet the other potential honorees and to discuss the possibilities of their future with the scholarship program with alumni of the program.

     “Throughout the finals weekend, they give you a network and you can log in and connect with different people and do friend requests to talk to people you’re interested in learning more about,” Clinton said. “I was able to connect to a few people like this girl from Turkey. We ended up being in a breakout room and we thought we could be friends, so then we started talking outside just the Zoom calls. It makes you feel more comfortable so when you come in[to the program], you come in knowing some people.”

     The program is an opportunity for students around the world and has a large global network. According to their website “Morehead-Cain is an equal opportunity organization. It is the policy of the Morehead-Cain Foundation not to discriminate against any nominee or applicant.” Diversity within the program was a great selling point for Clinton as well as her parents, being people of color themselves. 

     “I think it opens eyes to everyone in this community, in this county, in regards to a person of color – that they can do those things, can achieve those levels of excellence because that’s what this award is, an award in excellence, and that’s a great honor,” Clinton’s father said.

     Another opportunity presented to those who are accepted into the program is a chance to do summer adventures paid for by their scholarship. Honorees get the chance to do an outdoor leadership course, a long term community service project which could be based anywhere around the globe, a summer abroad program, and a professional internship all paid for and hosted by Morehead Cain.

     Looking back on the journey, Clinton’s mother implores families, especially those of color, to reach out to their guidance counselors and try to build stronger relationships with them so they don’t miss opportunities such as this one.

     It was an emotional process from start to finish for the whole Clinton family, but it paid off in the end, literally.

     “For me, personally, it made me sad and happy. I say sad because my little girl is moving on, but at the same time happy because she’s growing into a woman and she has to take her own path and do her own thing,” Clinton’s father said.

     Pride abounds throughout the school and the community for Clinton at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Her parents, friends and teachers have expressed how much they think she is a fitting recipient.

     “I definitely think she [deserved to win] because she works hard in all her classes and she makes time for everything. She’s very friendly and outgoing. She really helps people, like I have anxiety and she helps with that,” Stoller said.

     Morehead Cain scholarships are not binding and all recipients are given the opportunity to explore other college options before making a final decision. Clinton is still undecided on what college she will attend as she waits for her regular decision schools to return acceptances or denials, but she has expressed extreme gratitude for her scholarship.

     “It allows me to go to college debt-free because it covers tuition, housing, books, summer abroad and different things and trips I may want to go on so it’ll definitely help my family to be able to go to college debt-free,” Clinton said. “I definitely have one eye on Chapel Hill now that I’ve gotten a full ride and because it’s such a prestigious university.”