Mount Airy High School senior Ashton Rierson has been awarded the Morehead-Cain Scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the class of 2024.
A state officer for HOSA-Future Health Professionals, Piedmont-Triad president, and an active member of the organization, Ashton has planned, hosted, and assisted with conferences for members throughout the state. He spends time volunteering at Northern Regional Hospital, Surry Medical Ministries, while also collecting food and donations for area homeless shelters.
As part of his campaign speech for the HOSA presidency, Ashton pledged to seek more involvement from the professional healthcare community. He carried through by reaching out to Northern’s President and CEO Chris Lumsden. He arranged a meeting with the hospital’s leadership, organized an agenda with a detailed presentation, and walked away with a $5,000 donation to the NC HOSA Piedmont-Triad Region along with manpower for the 2019 Piedmont Triad Regional Leadership Conference.
This meeting started a partnership with Northern, Mount Airy City Schools, and the region’s HOSA Chapters. The 2019 conference included the first-ever Health Care Career Expo with 18 stations. Thirty-five of Northern’s employees and leaders donated their time to judge competitive events and run the expo. There were 626 students impacted by this newfound partnership established by Rierson.
Ashton is fluent in English and Spanish, a member of the Kate Barringer Chapter of the National Honor Society, a 2019 attendee to NC Governor’s School, and will graduate 1st in his class.
At UNC, he plans on majoring in biology while completing medical research. His career goal is to continue on to medical school to become an anesthesiologist.
He is the son of Lee and Nancy Rierson of Mount Airy.
“The process was surreal and extremely competitive. Each step was rigorous and a great deal of time was spent crafting essays and proof-reading. I realize this would not have been possible without the help of so many people who have taught and encouraged me in my life,” he said of his Morehead-Cain experience.
The Morehead-Cain Scholarship was the first merit scholarship program established in the United States, founded at UNC. Modeled after the Rhodes Scholarship, the Morehead-Cain provides a full four-year scholarship covering tuition, books, room and board, a laptop computer and four summer experiences known as the Morehead-Cain’s Summer Enrichment Program.
On average, just 3% of each year’s nominees are selected as Morehead-Cain Scholars. Criteria for selection are moral character, leadership, physical vigor, and scholarship. This fall, 70 new Morehead-Cain Scholars will step foot on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus with 37 scholars from high schools in North Carolina.
“We are excited that Ashton Rierson has received this impressive scholarshipm” said Superintendent of Mount Airy City Schools Dr. Kim Morrison. “We know the Morehead-Cain Scholarship program is one of the most prestigious programs in the nation. The qualities and educational background candidates must have is top-notch to be awarded this scholarship. We believe that Ashton will be successful in any career he endeavors to pursue and congratulate him on this great accomplishment.”
Mount Airy High School’s previous Morehead-Cain Scholar was Anna Ilyasova, a Mount Airy 2017 graduate and an active member of the HOSA chapter while in high school. She is a member of UNC’s Class of 2021.
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Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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