Meredith College Announces Top Academic Scholarship Recipients

Three students have been selected to receive Meredith College’s top academic awards.

Ally Cefalu, of Wake Forest, N.C., has been awarded The Meredith Legacy Scholarship. Cefalu is a Wake Forest High School senior. She plans to major in biology at Meredith College. In high school, she was a member of the National Honor Society, co-founder and co-president of the English Honor Society, and a member of honor societies for math, science, music, and French. Cefalu played on and served as captain of the school’s volleyball team for four years. She also played on the Raleigh Volleyball Club team, and served as head coach of a recreational Town of Wake Forest volleyball team for girls age 9-11. Her community service included serving in Caring Casseroles Ministries, which prepares and delivers food to those in need.

The recipient of The Meredith Legacy Scholarship, a full, four-year scholarship, is selected based on merit, including superior standardized test scores, academic achievement, high school and community leadership ability, and strong communication skills. Established and funded by Meredith College alumnae, the Meredith Legacy Scholarship is the highest honor available to entering freshmen at Meredith. Additional benefits of the Meredith Legacy Scholarship include international study, leadership training, enrichment programs and mentoring.

Madison Sholar, of Beulaville, N.C., and Olivia Slack, of Holly Springs, N.C., are recipients of the Meredith College Presidential Scholarship.

Sholar is a senior at East Duplin High School. At Meredith she plans to major in English or political science. Her leadership activities in high school include serving as Student Body President, as a class officer, National Beta Club leader, and on the school’s tennis and basketball teams. Community service include hurricane relief drives, and volunteering through her church and as a volunteer in pre-school and nursing home settings.

Slack is a homeschooled student who has been dual-enrolled in college courses at Wake Technical Community College. She is interested in majoring in political science or environmental sustainability at Meredith. Her involvement has included being a delegate and Youth Advisory Board member for the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment at George Mason University. She was chosen to be one of four interns for the 2017 summit. She is a member of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Teen Newsroom, and is a junior curator in the museum’s herpetology lab at Prairie Ridge Ecostation.

Presidential Scholars, like Meredith Legacy Scholars, represent the top tier of honors students at Meredith College. The selection of Meredith College Presidential Scholarship recipients is based on merit, including superior academic achievement, intellectual promise and leadership ability.

The selection process included an interview during Meredith’s Scholars Weekend.

These scholars and their classmates will experience StrongPoints™, an innovative advising and personal coaching model that will be a defining element of the Meredith educational experience. Through this comprehensive initiative, students will identify their strengths, and examine over the course of their four years at Meredith how those strengths can help them shape their academic options, experiential involvement outside the classroom, financial goals and the means for achieving those goals, and career options.

For more information about Meredith College, visit meredith.edu/admissions.