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The Eve Carson Scholarship welcomed five new scholars last semester: Kathryn Chao, Colin Chen, Tyler Coffee, Samantha Greene and Jakob Williams.
Eve Carson was a UNC student body president who was kidnapped and murdered in 2008. Since then, her legacy has been honored through the scholarship.
The scholarship accepts new scholars every year, designed for juniors to apply. Each recipient receives $15,000 to go toward their senior year tuition and up to $5,000 to fund a summer experience of their choice.
“This scholarship is really for students and achievers who want to do something special with their time at Carolina,” Isabelle Murphy, a UNC sophomore and the executive director of the Eve Carson Scholarship, said.
Devon Henderson, director of external development and alumni engagement for the scholarship, said it’s important that the scholarship is only offered to juniors.
“We want individuals to know that it doesn’t really matter how late in your academic career you are — there’s still opportunities out there,” Henderson said.
He said recipients are chosen out of around 150 applications.
Murphy said each scholar embodies the scholarship’s four pillars of leadership, character, service and transformative growth. She said the scholarship team is proud of how each chosen student embodies the pillars in different, and sometimes, unconventional ways.
The Daily Tar Heel spoke to three of the class of 2026 scholars:
Coffee is studying business administration with a minor in data science. He’s involved with multiple campus groups, including UNC’s Union of Black Men, the University’s junior varsity basketball team and UNCUT Chapel Hill, a storytelling platform for collegiate athletes.
Coffee said he first learned of the scholarship about a year and a half ago when some of his upperclassmen friends told him he might be a good candidate for it. He said students interested in applying should focus on being authentic to themselves.
He said his favorite part of being a recipient is how involved the scholarships’ staff — made up of UNC students — is.
“It’s a unique perspective in which the scholar staff is actually fellow students as well,” he said. “So not only are they your peers, but they can come to you, they can speak your language.”
Williams said he first learned about the scholarship’s mission while serving as executive manager to former Student Body President Christopher Everett.
A double-major in political science and dramatic arts with a minor in advertising and public relations, Williams plans to pursue a career in law. Along with his experience in student government, he serves as the co-founder and president of The Law Society at Carolina.
He said he’s looking forward to using the program’s summer experience funding to give back to the community.
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“In the office of the student body president, there’s actually a bookshelf that’s dedicated to Eve, and so every time I walk in there, I see that. I’m just like, ‘Oh my gosh. I am a living legacy of her,’” he said.
Chen is a neuroscience major with minors in entrepreneurship and chemistry. He plans to attend medical school after graduation.
Chen said he first learned about Carson’s legacy when he ran the Eve Carson Memorial 5k for Education. He later received an email about the scholarship that inspired him to apply.
Although the program hasn’t held many events yet, Chen said he has already begun connecting with recipients.
“I think that my favorite part is probably just meeting the other scholars and seeing how incredible the people that they chose [are],” he said. “The caliber of students that they chose for this is really impressive.”
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