Quaid Lawler

Quaid Lawler is headed to East Carolina University with a smile on his face.

And if all goes according to plan, he’ll be putting smiles on a lot more faces in a few years.

That’s because Lawler, an EC Scholar at ECU, plans to become a dentist and practice in an historically underserved community.

Lawler, 18, is a graduate of Highland School of Technology in Gastonia. He’s the son of Joey Lawler and Jennifer Lawler-Mecca of Gastonia.

“Of all the schools I looked at, ECU’s mission statement, ‘To Serve,’ seemed to resonate with me the most,” Lawler said. “I was also really impressed with ECU’s Honors College program, the students and its administration. Both my mom and dad also graduated from ECU. That is where they met, so I guess it held a special place in their hearts. When we took a tour, I felt kind of a sense of familiarity, even though I had never been there before. It just seemed like this is where I belonged.”

EC Scholars is the most prestigious undergraduate award program offered at ECU. The four-year merit scholarship recognizes outstanding academic performance, commitment to community engagement and strong leadership skills. Recipients receive an Honors College scholarship for four years along with a stipend for study abroad for a total value of nearly $63,000.

Lawler said being an EC Scholar means having access to opportunities he never thought he would have. “It also means living up to the standard that scholars who came before me have set and being an ambassador for ECU in everything I do,” he added.

Before he starts at ECU in August, he’ll be continuing his internship with Dr. Will Current, a Gastonia dentist. And like many teenagers, he’ll also be helping his grandparents with some projects as well as spending time with friends and family.

Once he settles in at ECU, he wants to get involved in dentistry-related volunteer and service work.

He’s not sure where he might study abroad, but he’d like it to be somewhere that would allow him to compare that country’s health care system with the one in the U.S.

“When we took a tour, I felt kind of a sense of familiarity, even though I had never been there before. It just seemed like this is where I belonged.”

High school: Highland School of Technology

Intended major: Public health studies

Hometown: Gastonia