Currie Named Goodnight Scholar
May 18, 2017Currie Named Goodnight Scholar at NC State University
RCC graduate, Amanda Currie of Summerfield was honored as one of 10 who will participate in the Goodnight Scholars Program at NC State University.
Recipients were selected from a pool of 20 finalists who participated in an extensive application and interview process which included evaluation from NC State faculty, staff, and Goodnight Scholars Program alumni.
“Interviewing the transfer finalists was an inspiring and humbling experience,” said Allison Medlin, director of the Goodnight Scholars Program. “The ten students selected are distinguished by both their talent and tenacity. With the education they receive at NC State, they are dedicated to benefitting not only their own lives, but the lives of their families and communities. We are thrilled to welcome them to the Goodnight Scholars community this fall.”
On January 18, 2017, NC State announced that the Goodnight Scholars Program would extend to high-achieving students with financial need from North Carolina community colleges. The extension came at the request of the Program’s founders, Ann and Jim Goodnight, who wished to have “a profound impact on the lives of transfer students for whom a bachelor’s degree may be out of reach.”
With the addition of transfer students, which will increase the total number of undergraduate Goodnight Scholars to 210 in fall 2017, the Goodnight Scholars Program is one of the first scholarship programs in the U.S. to offer a generous scholarship and comprehensive developmental programming catered towards transfer students attending a four-year public university.
The Goodnight Scholars Program was established in 2008 out of the philanthropic generosity of North Carolina natives and NC State alumni Dr. Jim Goodnight, co-founder of global business analytic software leader, SAS Institute, and Mrs. Ann Goodnight, director of community relations at SAS Institute and secretary for the NC State Board of Trustees.
The Goodnight Scholars Program is targeted at North Carolina residents from low- and middle-income families who aspire to study in a science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) or STEM education discipline at NC State. The value of the scholarship is $19,500 and is renewable for up to four years for first-year students and two years for transfer students. In addition to the scholarship, Goodnight Scholars have access to an assortment of developmental programming focused on their professional and personal growth.
Currie is a May 2017 graduate of Rockingham Community College where she earned her associate in arts and associate in science. Currie received numerous academic awards during her time at RCC including Outstanding Associate in Science Graduate, Dean’s List, and President’s List honors. Outside of her academics, she volunteers with the Backpack Ministry and the Society for Creative Anachronism. She plans to major in chemical engineering.
