June 22, 2023
The Golden LEAF Foundation announced 215 students from 51 rural North Carolina counties were selected to receive a Golden LEAF Scholarship worth up to $14,000.
High school seniors entering college as first year students are eligible for a $3,500 scholarship each year for up to four years of undergraduate study at a participating four-year North Carolina college or university. Community college transfer students are eligible for $3,500 a year for up to three years of undergraduate study.
Recipients from rural or economically distressed North Carolina counties are selected based on need, future career goals, and an expressed intent to contribute to the state’s rural communities upon graduation from college.
The Golden LEAF Foundation established the Golden LEAF Scholarship Program to broaden educational opportunities and provide support to students from rural counties with the goal that after graduation recipients will return and contribute back to rural communities. The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) administers the program and selects students for awards.
“We are proud to award scholarships to hardworking and bright students with deep roots in their rural communities,” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF Foundation President, Chief Executive Officer. “These students were selected out of a pool of more than 1,700 applicants. We look forward to the future success of these scholarship recipients as they follow their education pursuits and develop into North Carolina’s next generation of rural leaders.”
Golden LEAF has provided 6,251 scholarships totaling more than $42 million to students from rural communities attending North Carolina’s colleges and universities.
Watch the video below to meet some of the 2023-2024 scholarship recipients, whose career and academic interests range from human services to veterinary care to mechanical engineering: