The Park Scholarships program at North Carolina State University has named 40 students to its Class of 2027 – the 28th class of Park Scholars.
The Park Scholarships program brings exceptional students to NC State University based on outstanding accomplishments and potential in scholarship, leadership, service and character. The program develops and supports Park Scholars in these areas, preparing them for lifelong contributions to the campus, state, nation and world. The Park Scholarships program provides a four-year scholarship valued at approximately $117,000 for in-state students and approximately $215,000 for out-of-state students.
Biographies of each new Park Scholar are available: Park Class of 2027
“Despite a singularly challenging high school journey, the Class of 2027 demonstrated remarkable resolve and resiliency to lead, serve and excel in their schools and communities over the past four years,” said Eva Feucht, director of the Park Scholarships program. “We are excited to welcome the newest class of scholars, selected from a pool of over 3,400 applicants, the most applications we’ve ever received. The Class of 2027 will join a vibrant network of 160 students on campus and almost 1,100 Park alumni around the world.”
A Selection Committee comprising nearly 400 dedicated and accomplished NC State alumni, faculty and friends conducted application review, interviews and outreach.
The Class of 2027 represents 13 U.S. states and Italy, and 14 North Carolina counties. Its members include dancers, artists, athletes, musicians, mentors, tutors, researchers, volunteers and fundraisers. They are Girl Scouts and Eagle Scouts, class presidents and student government legislators, Beta Club representatives, and club officers. They are Model UN delegates, science Olympiad winners and robotics team leaders, and include award and scholarship winners, honor society members and presidential volunteer service award winners. They completed thousands of hours of service, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for nonprofits, knitted and crocheted items for homeless shelters and hospitals, and served as interpreters for refugees. They coded apps, led environmental efforts and improvement initiatives for local public transit systems, volunteered in the firefighter/EMT departments and led blood drives. They wrote for their school newspapers, started tutoring programs, fostered animals and volunteered at their churches.
The Park Scholarships program is named for the late Roy H. Park ’31, an NC State alumnus who created the charitable Park Foundation which is dedicated to education, media, and the environment. The Park Foundation has committed nearly $150 million to support the scholarship since launching it with an initial grant in 1996. This support includes their 2013 commitment of $50 million to begin a Park Scholarships endowment at NC State and a $10.8 million grant in 2018.
Now, thousands of alumni, students, staff, faculty, parents, family members and friends are joining the Park Foundation in funding the Park Scholarships program. These donors recognize that gifts to the Park Scholarships program are an investment in remarkable students committed to scholarship, leadership, service and character, who repay that investment many times over throughout their lifetime.
Park Scholars have recently received several distinguished national scholarships, including Churchill Scholarships (Ana Sofia Uzsoy ’21 and Nikhil Milind ’21), Goldwater Scholarships (Daniel Haller ’22, Nikhil Milind ’21, Ana Sofia Uzsoy ’21, and Noah Wolfe ’22), Knight-Hennessy Scholarships (Nikhil Milind ‘21, Ziad Ali ’19, Madison Maloney ’19, and Karli Moore ’16), the Marshall Scholarship (Kobi Felton ’18), National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (Daniel Haller ’22, Noah Wolfe ’22, Nikhil Milind ’21, Ana Sofia Uzsoy ’21, Ziad Ali ’19, Charlotte DeVol ’19, and Madison Maloney ’19), Payne Fellowship (Naila Segule ’20), and the Truman Scholarship (Ashley Lawson ’18). They attend prestigious graduate and professional schools and pursue fulfilling careers in corporate, nonprofit, and public service sectors. Many have also launched their own businesses, several of which were started by Park Scholars while they were undergraduates. They lead major service initiatives such as the Krispy Kreme Challenge, which has donated more than $2 million to the North Carolina Children’s Hospital, and Service Raleigh, a partnership with the Goodnight Scholars that leads volunteers in an annual citywide day of service.