GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

More Golden LEAF Scholars choose ECU than any other school in NC

Taj Nasser has been interested in medicine since he was in high school in Wilson, so when it came time to attend college and medical school, he chose an institution with the same sense of community as his hometown: East Carolina University.

This commitment to community is also part of what earned Nasser four years’ worth of undergraduate scholarships from Golden LEAF, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the economies of rural or tobacco-dependent communities like Wilson. LEAF stands for Long-term Economic Advancement Foundation.

Each spring, Golden LEAF awards scholarships to high school seniors and community college transfer students heading to any of North Carolina’s public or private four-year colleges or universities. Recipients are selected based on multiple factors including grade point average, financial need, length of residence in qualifying rural counties and the ability to communicate a commitment to returning to a rural county that is economically distressed. Administered through the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), Golden LEAF Scholarships are good at any four-year institution in the state, but most of them are awarded to students at ECU.

Nasser, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from ECU in 2014, is now a second-year medical student at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine. Once Nasser starts clinical rotations next year, he’ll have a better idea of what specific area of medicine he will pursue during his residency. Afterward, he knows he wants to come back to practice in eastern North Carolina.

“I plan to continue my journey of serving my community as a physician who will strive to provide much-needed care for the sick,” Nasser said. “Eastern North Carolina is where I have spent most of my life so I envision staying here.”

Nasser exemplifies the kind of student that Golden LEAF wants to help through its scholarship program.

“We’re trying to reach young people who have deep roots in eastern North Carolina and who are likely to return here and help them go to college,” said Golden LEAF President Dan Gerlach.

The Golden LEAF Scholarship program has been in existence since 1999, but underwent a change about six years ago. Instead of giving a certain number of scholarships to various schools to distribute, Golden LEAF now gives their scholarships directly to students through a grant to the NCSEAA. Then students choose which school they will attend.

“More Golden LEAF Scholars have chosen ECU than any other school in the state by a wide margin,” Gerlach said. “This is because our mission aligns so closely with ECU’s mission of serving the public and transforming the region.”

Of the total 832 Golden LEAF Scholars across the state, 123 are at ECU, according to Gerlach. This figure is cumulative over the four-year cohort from 2011-2012 to 2014-2015. In addition, 30 more started the program as freshmen at ECU for the 2015-2016 academic year. The school with the next most Golden LEAF Scholars has 89.

“In general, ECU educates approximately 10 percent of the undergraduate population in the state, but around 15 percent or one in seven of our Golden LEAF Scholars choose ECU,” Gerlach said.

Golden LEAF receives applications from around 1,600 students per year and gives scholarships to 215. Scholarships are $3,000 a year for up to four years for a maximum of $12,000 per student.

“If we invest time and money in these students, they will in turn invest in their communities,” Gerlach said.

Golden LEAF Scholar Caitlin Trexel has interned at a dental clinic in her hometown over the past couple summers as part of the Golden LEAF Scholars Leadership Program. (Contributed photo)

Golden LEAF Scholar Caitlin Trexel of Sneads Ferry, a biology pre-dental major, recognizes the value of this investment.

“Considering I want to be a small town dentist in rural North Carolina, this scholarship has set me apart from others by investing in me and providing me the opportunity to go beyond the dental aspect of my career, and to dive deeper into the qualities of rural NC, and how to implement change in those underserved communities,” she said.

Some scholarship recipients, like Trexel and Nasser, are part of the Golden LEAF Scholars Leadership Program. Participants attend leadership conferences and complete paid summer internships with funds from Golden LEAF.

“Support from an external entity helps students get internships at places that may not be able to afford to pay interns,” Gerlach said. “This way students gain professional experience early in their educational career that may not have gotten otherwise.”

Trexel, who completed internships at a dental clinic in her hometown over the past couple summers, said the leadership program was life-changing. “Considering this is what my whole future is going to be geared towards, I can confidently say no program could have suited me better.”

Nasser said, “The leadership program helped me align my core values and discover my vision in life. In essence, it gave me an even stronger drive and purpose to become a physician.”

The most common majors among Golden LEAF Scholars are health care and education, according to Gerlach. “If students are interested in these areas, that’s often why they go to ECU. ECU is especially attractive to young people interested in remaining in North Carolina because of its commitment to serving the region, especially in the areas of health care and education.”

Taylor Bradley is a senior education major from Washington in Beaufort County. She is conducting her student teaching at Wintergreen Primary this semester. She has received the Golden LEAF Scholarship for four years and was also a member of the leadership program. She chose ECU because she grew up a Pirate; her parents are both alumni.

“It made sense to attend a school that was close to home as well as one that began as a teaching college,” Bradley said. “Projects through this scholarship have opened my eyes to the support that is given when living and working within a rural community. I hope to teach in a rural environment where there is a connection within the community to create a connection with my students. I plan to stay in eastern NC to pursue a career as a classroom teacher.”

Thanks to the Golden LEAF Scholarship, Bradley will graduate debt-free from ECU this May.

“This scholarship has been the main support through my time at ECU,” she said. “It has helped me learn leadership skills, gain internship experience, and allowed the opportunity to make connections within my field while connecting with other scholars from across the state. This scholarship has given the opportunity to create relationships with other college students that are within the same mindset that we are here to become leaders within our fields and communities.”

Freshman Robinyque Willis-Brown volunteered at Ronald McDonald House in Greenville as part of the Golden LEAF Scholarship. (Contributed photo)

Without the Golden LEAF Scholarship, some students would not be able to afford college at all.

“Golden LEAF is my saving grace,” said freshman Robynique Willis-Brown of Greenville, an intended social work major. “I am an independent student paying my tuition out of pocket. Without the support of the Golden LEAF Scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to afford school this year.”

The benefits are more than just financial, she said.

“Receiving this scholarship has not only benefitted me financially but has also encouraged me to further enhance my leadership skills throughout my campus and community,” she said. “Golden LEAF has also allowed me to network with significant leaders in my community also striving to enhance the community.”

Willis-Brown initially planned to go to UNC-Greensboro, but her conscience compelled her to stay close to home. Receiving the Golden LEAF Scholarship sealed the deal for her to go to ECU.

“After some thought it became evident to me that I was meant to give back to a community that has believed in my success, even in times when my family didn’t,” she said. “Enrolling at East Carolina was late notice but I applied just in time to get started in fall 2015. At this point I am living my life in hopes to do great works to influence others whomever I may come in contact with and Golden LEAF has inspired this motivation within me.”

Caitlin Trexel of Sneads Ferry, a biology pre-dental major, is a Golden LEAF Scholar who plans to attend dental school at ECU and practice dentistry in rural eastern North Carolina.