I am writing in regard to the 17th annual Centennial
Scholarship competition for your top graduating students who may be
interested in NC State University. More specifically, the program should be
directed towards students interested in career fields such
as engineering, business management, chemistry, polymer chemistry, forensics,
medical fields, international studies, design, apparel, sourcing, fashion,
merchandising or retail management...as these are some of the career areas
graduates from our internationally known College of Textiles here at NC State
enter upon graduation. A degree in Textiles at NC State is not
required to apply for the Centennial Scholarship, but will be required for
students to receive the Centennial Scholarship or any College of Textiles’
scholarship.
Our program was created in 1999, with the first selection
process beginning with the fall of 2000 freshman class. The Centennial
Scholars program is named as such in recognition of the College of
Textiles’ 100 year anniversary at NC State University. Due in large part to the
North Carolina Textile Foundation, a private foundation originally comprised of
textile companies based in North Carolina, approximately thirty scholarships
will be awarded to freshmen entering the College of Textiles each year.
Of these thirty scholarships, those with the greatest value will be our Centennial
Scholarships. We will award up to ten Centennial Scholarships per
year.
Up to eight of our Centennial Scholarships are valued at
$60,000 ($15,000/year for four years). These scholarships will cover
approximately 70% of the basic in-state costs of attending NC State University
and approximately 40% of the basic out-of-state costs of attending NC State
University. One component that makes this scholarship program unique is
that each Centennial Scholar will also have access to a $7,500
enrichment fund. The enrichment fund is designed to provide funding for
our Scholars to participate in a variety of leadership,
language immersion, career exploration and international Textile-related
programs that will complement their study of Textiles.
Beginning in 2014, we introduced a new category of
Centennial Scholarship known as the Distinguished Centennial Scholarship.
Currently, we will award two of these new scholarships each year…the ITT/Roger
Milliken Centennial Scholarship that is valued at $22,000/year and
the W. Duke Kimbrell Centennial Scholarship which is valued at
$20,000/year, making these new scholarships full scholarships for in-state
students and 70% full scholarships for out-of-state students!
Like other programs of this caliber, we are not looking for a large number
students per school, but rather two nominees from each charter
school, high school and home school. We trust that for this level of
support, you, plus other faculty and administrators, will help identify your
very best, well-rounded students for consideration. Once again, your
nominee(s) should have an interest in and a willingness to enter one of our
top-rated Textile degree programs at NC State (https://textiles.ncsu.edu/). Please
note that any of your graduating students who attended our summer programs
(STEP or Polymer Camp) this past summer are automatically nominated for the
Centennial Scholarship. As a small measure to conserve paper, save
money, speed up the nomination process and to avoid errors due to handwritten
and distorted faxes, the official nomination form and instructions are on-line
at: go.ncsu.edu/centennial-nomination.
Please get input from those in the school who know the graduating seniors best;
decide on the top two candidates but submit only one on-line
nomination form per school. If multiple nominations are
received, we will use the first form submitted on-line prior
to the deadline. It is up to you as to how your nominee(s) is/are
selected. However, your nomination must reach us no later than November
1, 2016 at 11:59 pm in order for your candidate(s) to be considered.
If there are more than two candidates whom you feel are qualified, there is
also a self-nomination process. Students may e-mail kent_hester@ncsu.edu to
request access to our on-line application as a self-nominee.
Self-nominees will go through one additional screening process before being
added to the pool of nominated applicants.
Once you submit a nomination, you will receive an e-mail confirmation that your
nomination has been received, and your nominated student(s) will receive an
e-mail letting them know they have been selected as your school's
nominee(s). New this year...your nominee(s) will also receive instant
access to the on-line application, instead of having to wait until
November. We also encourage your nominees to add kent_hester@ncsu.edu to
their e-mail address books so that my e-mail with application access does not
get blocked.
IMPORTANT: Nominees
are strongly encouraged to apply for admissions by the October 15th deadline,
and are even more strongly encouraged to select Early Action on the
application.
As in past years, we will be asking students to scan their latest transcripts
and upload them into their applications. An application will not be
complete and cannot be submitted without a transcript being uploaded with the
application.
When our forty (40) Finalists are named in mid to late December, we WILL
request an official transcript and a picture from each Finalist. If you
are optimistic about your candidate becoming a Finalist and wish to go ahead
and send in an official transcript, feel free to do so. Otherwise, your
students who become Finalists should be requesting transcripts from you in mid
to late December.
An
official transcript (separate from academic information you provide to NC State
for admissions) will be required in order for a Finalist to advance to the
interview stage of the selection process. The officially sealed
transcript should be mailed directly to me at College of Textiles, Box 8301,
1020 Main Campus Drive, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8301, and must
reach me by 5:00 pm EST on Friday, January 6, 2017 (earlier
is always better).
I hope you will take advantage of this unique scholarship program for your
qualified and interested students. The Centennial Scholars program
has already proven to be a launching point for success for all students who
have completed the program. Should you have questions, please feel free
to contact me at kent_hester@ncsu.edu or 919.515.6530. I look forward
to receiving your nomination form on-line by the November 1st deadline.
Sincerely,
Kent Hester
Director of Student & Career Services
College of Textiles
NC State University
kent_hester@ncsu.edu
919-515-6530 tel.
Director of Student & Career Services
College of Textiles
NC State University
kent_hester@ncsu.edu
919-515-6530 tel.
