Allison Flowers

Before she arrives at East Carolina University, Allison Flowers will see Europe in a big way – eight countries in 16 days. Flowers was chosen with other North and South Carolina musicians to perform eight concerts in eight countries; she will play clarinet in the wind ensemble and sing in the chorus.

“I am excited for the concert tour because I love music and feel that through this medium a number of people will be exposed to the benefits of arts in society,” she said. “In present times, exposure to the arts is crucial if we wish to keep them alive from both local and global standpoints.”

At ECU, Flowers plans to double major in music education and music performance unless her love of science wins out. Flowers, 18, of Wilmington will be one of 19 students entering ECU in August as EC Scholars – the most prestigious academic scholarship program the university offers.

“Music is something that gives me great joy and I am truly passionate about, and I would love to have the opportunity to share this form of living art with the world,” she said. “However, I am also extremely interested in science and the world of medical research.”

If she decides to pursue a career in neurology, Flowers said she would like to work toward possible cures for diseases that are pervasive across the globe, such as Alzheimer’s disease, which has affected her grandmother and other members of her family.

She is following in the footsteps of her mother and other members of her family in attending East Carolina. Flowers has participated in summer music camps at ECU and likes Greenville and its pride in the university, but the deciding factor in her college choice was the Honors College and EC Scholars faculty.

“For the short weekend that I spent interviewing for the EC Scholars Award and touring the Honors College, I could tell that the professors involved in each of these programs were truly interested in me as both a student and a person,” she said.

She sees being selected as an EC Scholar as an honor and responsibility. “The opportunities that will be provided to reach out to communities in need and to grow as a person are two experiences that I will be able to take part of as a scholar,” she said.

Even though her major isn’t decided yet, her goal to make the world a better place is definite.

“I have a desire to help others in any way that I can,” she said. “In a world where innumerable people live and die every day, I wish to be able to make a lasting difference that will benefit humanity as a whole. I simply wish to leave the world in a better state than it was when I found it.”

She is the daughter of Jeff and Brenda Flowers.