North Carolina State University’s Goodnight Scholars Program revealed the 50 students selected for its Class of 2020. The students, selected from a pool of 96 finalists, come from nearly 700 North Carolina applicants.

One of the finalists is Rebecca Gunderson of Polk County High School. She founded Serendipity, an anonymous kindness club that writes encouraging letters to community members. She is a group leader for the Special Olympics, a volunteer for the Humane Society, and a part-time employee at the Tryon Estates retirement community in Columbus.  She plans to major in biological sciences.

“We are excited to announce our eighth class of Goodnight Scholars,” said Allison Medlin, director of the Goodnight Scholars Program. “They are a truly exceptional group, representing 29 North Carolina counties and 21 different STEM and education majors. Their academic and personal accomplishments while in high school were remarkable, and we can’t wait to see what they do at NC State.”

The 96 finalists were selected from a pool of 695 candidates from across North Carolina. Finalists were interviewed by current and former N.C. State faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as industry representatives from SAS Institute and the Kenan Fellows Program.

Finalists demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in their high school careers, including stellar academic and extracurricular achievement, community engagement, and inspiring goals for success in the STEM and/or STEM education fields.

The Goodnight Scholars Program was established in 2008 out of the philanthropic generosity of North Carolina natives and N.C. 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 N.C. State Board of Trustees.

The Goodnight Scholars Program is targeted at North Carolina residents who aspire to study in a science, technology, education, mathematics (STEM) or STEM-related education discipline at NC State.

-Submitted by N.C. State News Service