NC State Names Class of 2021 Goodnight Scholars

North Carolina State University’s Goodnight Scholars Program revealed the 50 students selected for its Class of 2021. The students were selected from a pool of 100 finalists.

Biographies of the students are available here.

“As the tenth cohort of Goodnight Scholars, the Class of 2021 represents an important milestone for our program,” said Allison Medlin, director of the Goodnight Scholars Program. “We are excited to welcome these outstanding students to campus, and can’t wait to see what they accomplish while at NC State. They are a very impressive group who represent 28 North Carolina counties, and we’re glad they will be joining the Goodnight Scholars community.”

Finalists were interviewed by current and former NC State faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as, industry representatives from SAS Institute and the Kenan Fellows Program. They demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in their respective high school careers including stellar academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, community engagement, and inspiring goals for success in the STEM and/or STEM education fields.

The Goodnight Scholars Program was established in 2008 out of the philanthropic generosity of North Carolina natives and NC State alumni Jim Goodnight, co-founder of global business analytic software leader, SAS Institute, and Ann Goodnight, director of community relations at SAS Institute and secretary for the NC State Board of Trustees.

The Goodnight Scholars Program is targeted at North Carolina residents from low- and middle-income families who aspire to study in a science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) or STEM education discipline at NC State. The value of the scholarship is $19,500 and is renewable for up to four years for first-year students and two years for transfer students. In addition to the scholarship, Goodnight Scholars have access to an assortment of developmental programming focused on their professional and personal growth.

The Goodnight Scholars Program has evolved into a comprehensive student development program focused on cultivating professional and personal skills for 210 current Goodnight Scholars through a series of programming initiatives. Scholars receive guidance from local and national STEM industry leaders and entrepreneurs; participate in professional development workshops; and engage in local, national, and international outreach efforts. These efforts include STEM education outreach to Triangle elementary schools, as well as service trips to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Each programming initiative strives to “develop critical skills and habits necessary for academic achievement; expose and educate students to current trends and advancement in the STEM and education industries; and establish strong personal and/or professional relationships with fellow Goodnight Scholars, NC State faculty/staff, NC State alumni, and STEM/education professionals.”

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