North Carolina, which offers scholarships to income-eligible and in-state freshmen accepted to the ECU Department of Engineering; and Physics is Essential, which
A national grant totaling more than $500,000 will fund scholarships for 24 highachieving students demonstrating financial need to study biochemistry and science at ECU. The National Science Foundation provided $599,945, guaranteeing three years of funding for students admitted to the new BioExcellence Scholarship Program. Six freshmen will be awarded renewable scholarships at the $10,000, $7,500 or $5,000 level this year. Another nine freshmen will join BioExcellence in 2013 and nine more in 2014.
trains teachers from Wayne, Craven and Beaufort county schools how best to teach physics to grades K-8. —Kathryn Kennedy
Elbert Kennard
Scholarships bolster science majors
To qualify, students must be admitted to ECU with an intended major of biology or biochemistry, demonstrate financial need and have at least a 3.0 high school GPA. That GPA must be maintained during their time at ECU. Dr. Mary Farwell, BioExcellence administrator and director of undergraduate research, said they hope to attract students from areas with limited academic resources and students whose parents did not attend college. Required course work will be accompanied by support programs including peer tutoring, career counseling and block scheduling during their first two years, followed by undergraduate research mentoring and internship opportunities prior to graduation. Each recipient will also be required to spend two years residing in a Bio Living-Learning Community housed at Garrett Hall. The goal is for recipients to complete their bachelor’s degrees in four years, leading to a career in biosciences. “We really think this is going to be a way to say to the best students in the East that this is a good place for you to go to school and get these opportunities,” Farwell said. This grant is the latest in a series of efforts to bring students interested in STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering and math—to ECU. Other examples include Expanding Engineering in Eastern
ECU medical student Lindsey Waugh runs to get her match envelope during Match Day on Friday at the Brody School of Medicine. She’s headed to Maine Medical Center for an OB/GYN residency.
Medicine brought Vontrelle Roundtree to Greenville from the North Carolina mountains. Now that it’s keeping her here, she couldn’t be happier. Just weeks before graduating from the Brody School of Medicine, she learned that she will stay at the medical center for her residency
in family medicine. “Today feels like a miracle,” she said after opening the envelope that held her assignment. Roundtree was among 72 students taking part in Match Day 2012 to learn where their medical training will take them next. 9