This year’s Annual Report features coverage from the many events, trips and sessions that the Park Scholars participated in, plus program updates and a giving recap from a successful year.
In August 2022, the Class of 2026 kicked off the school year with a trip to Black Mountain. Nathan Auman ’26 wrote a reflection of the trip, saying “The bonds we formed over Freshman Retreat continue to expand and get stronger as time goes on.”
Over Labor Day weekend 2022, the Class of 2023 held their Senior Retreat, reconnecting with their classmates and preparing for the next part of their lives. Nicolas Muecke ’23 said, “Senior Retreat reminded us that our academic journey may be ending, but our personal growth continues. We will always cherish the memories we made as a class, and we look forward to what the future holds.”
The Class of 2025 visited Washington, DC, for their Learning Lab II. Their chosen topic was Immigration. The Class heard from many speakers, including Gentry Smith, NC State alumnus and Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security.
The Distinguished Speakers Committees from the Classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025 brought several notable speakers to campus to speak to Park Scholars. Molly Barker accepted the William C. Friday award and addressed the community about her work founding Girls on the Run in November. Dorothy Roberts delivered the Elkan Lecture in Science and Society, discussing ending the legacy of racism in medicine. The Class of 2025 hosted the second Elkan Lecture of the year, inviting Dr. Ruha Benjamin to speak on her work on the intersections of data and AI with societal forces such as racism and other biases.
Day of Giving was a huge success! We raised $181,177, thanks to support from hundreds of alumni, students, parents of current students and alumni, and friends.
This year, 30% of all Park Scholars, past and present, made a gift. To date, we have 10 co-named Park Scholarships committed, including three that are fully endowed.
The 28th class of Park Scholars was selected from a pool of 3,410 applications (a record high!) representing 96 North Carolina counties, 47 states/territories, and nine countries. Their Park Faculty Scholars are Mary Elting ’07 (the first Park Scholar to serve as a Park Faculty Scholar), Associate Professor, Physics, and Nathan Goldman, Associate Professor, Accounting.
Access the full Annual Report here to read the bios from the Class of 2023, alumni updates, national awards and campus honors, and more highlights from the year.