A Wayne Community College graduate has been named a Goodnight Scholar at North Carolina State University.
Estefani Cota is one of 20 students selected to join the Goodnight Scholars Program’s Transfer Class of 2022 for the 2019-2020 academic year. The program is designed to develop scholars into leaders within the STEM and/or education fields.
She was selected from over 200 candidates from across North Carolina who represented 41 North Carolina community colleges. All had demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in their community college careers including stellar academic achievement, community involvement, and inspiring goals for success in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) or STEM education fields.
The pool was narrowed to 32 finalists who participated in an extensive application and interview process which included evaluation by current and former NC State faculty and staff, SAS Institute Emerging Leaders, Kenan Fellows, and Goodnight Scholars alumni. Those candidates attended a Transfer Finalist Interview Day after which around half were chosen for the program.
Cota recently graduated from WCC with an associate in science degree. She plans to continue her education, majoring in biological sciences then attending medical school.
At WCC, she was a member of the Upsilon Chi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Ambassador, and WCC Engage volunteer. This school year, Cota was presented a Community Impact Award by North Carolina Campus Compact and an Academic Excellence Award by the North Carolina Community College System. She has been admitted into the 2019 cohort of the Science Enrichment Preparation Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the summer.
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Cota is the only student chosen this year from Wayne County and the second Wayne Community College student in two years to be selected for the program. The first was Alex Ambriz-Huerta.
The Goodnight Scholars Program, funded by a gift from Dr. Jim and Ann Goodnight, began in 2008. The program provides a scholarship and comprehensive developmental programming to low and middle-income students from North Carolina. It is limited to students studying in the STEM disciplines or affiliated education majors.
With the addition of the Transfer Program in 2018, the Goodnight Scholars Program became one of the first programs catering to transfer students attending a four-year public university.
The value of the scholarship is $20,500, renewable for up to three 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.