The Inaugural Year of the Selby and Richard McRae Scholarship

The Impact of Giving

By UNC Asheville

December 11^th, 2020

In the spring of 2020, high school seniors made the exciting decision of where to pursue their college education. For five students across the southeast, that decision was made a little easier when they were notified they would be inaugural recipients of The Selby and Richard McRae Scholarship. This scholarship of $50,000 over the course of their four-year journey at UNC Asheville would not only relieve the pressure of student loan debt, but offer an additional stipend to support enhanced learning opportunities like study abroad and research.

Ariona “Ona” Wind from Asheville, NC reminisced on the day she received her scholarship, “after finding out that I received the scholarship I remember running to tell my mom and me and her crying together because it was just what our family needed.” She remembers being nervous to stay in her hometown for college. Now, she knows she can work hard at UNC Asheville and go to any grad school she wants, “receiving this scholarship has allowed me to push past the boundaries of the physical campus of UNCA and see that the world is open for me to explore.”

“You have changed my life and I will always be grateful.”

As Ona and the other McRae scholars embark on the first-year college experience at UNC Asheville, they are wielding a new sense of confidence. McRae Scholar Addison Wright says, “this generous scholarship has definitely raised my expectations for myself and makes me want to push myself even more, dig deeper in everything I learn.” McRae Scholar Gillian Gavenus from Burnsville, NC remarks, “receiving the McRae Scholarship has inspired me to find the path that is uniquely my own.”

For these five incoming first-year students, their outlook on the college experience has changed – they can aim higher and dream bigger, “the experiences that I will now be able to pursue are limitless,” says Ona, “I can now dream of all the things I’ll be able to do, like studying abroad in India as I’ve always wanted to do, or maybe getting an internship in a big city.”

Meet the First Five Selby and Richard McRae Scholars at UNC Asheville

Eric Dunbar from Lilburn, Georgia is home-schooled and dual enrolled at Georgia State University, where he has been named to the Dean’s List and President’s List. Dunbar was the lead programmer and webmaster for Toaster Teach FRC #5332 robotics team, and the team won the Region and Spirit & Innovation Awards in recent competition. He plans to study computer science at UNC Asheville and has undergraduate experience as an intern at a Georgia State University analytical chemistry lab where he has compiled data and presented findings of his research on the concentration of caffeine in soda with Dr. John Brock, associate professor of analytical chemistry and toxicology at UNC Asheville. He is a volunteer with Great Pyrenees Rescue Atlanta and has worked with the Yellowstone Youth Conservation Corps where he assisted park rangers patrolling and maintaining the park, conducting scientific research, and guiding park visitors. He is also a six-time overall champion in American Ninja Warrior XOL and is an American Ninja Warrior Coach, professionally training individuals for competition.

The Inaugural Year of the Selby and Richard McRae Scholarship

Ariona “Ona” Elkins from Asheville, North Carolina is a senior at A.C. Reynolds High School and is an AP Scholar with Honors. She earned the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Scholar-Athlete Individual Award, has been named an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Academic All-American, and was featured as an Asheville Citizen-Times Athlete of the Week. She has led the varsity volleyball team as captain since the 10th grade. She also is captain of the Xcel Volleyball performance team and has committed to playing NCAA Division I volleyball at UNC Asheville. In addition, Elkins is an AC Reynolds Junior Marshal, student body treasurer, a member of the National Honor Society, and alto section leader for the AC Reynolds Advanced Chorale. She serves as vice president for Girl Up, an organization that empowers women by promoting awareness of issues that disproportionately affect girls and by providing methods of transportation to school. She plans to major in political science at UNC Asheville.

Gillian Gavenus from Burnsville, North Carolina, is a senior at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, who also was accepted into the school’s Senior Research Mentorship Program and worked with Dr. Stuart Pimm at Duke University assisting in his lab with research on how to prevent present-day extinctions. She plans to continue her undergraduate education and research at UNC Asheville as an environmental studies major with a minor in biology working with Assistant Professor of Biology Graham Reynolds on National Geographic Society-funded projects. She aspires to be an environmental scientist, biologist or conservationist. In addition to her academic accomplishments, which include a bronze medal for the National French Exam, acceptance into the US Naval Academy Summer STEM Program, membership in the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta International Mathematics Honor Society, for which she has served as president, she has served in many leadership roles. As a senior, she served as a resident life assistant on her dorm hall building a community on hall through active hall programming, acting as peer mediator, and serving as a resource for residents with academic or community related issues.

As club leader for NCSSM Habitat for Humanity she coordinated builds, student recruitment and arranging transportation. She sings soprano in the Chamber Ensemble, is co-host of the popular Koffeehouse, a monthly student talent show, and also serves as a leader for Yoga Club. While a student at Mountain Heritage High School she served as president of both the Math and Astronomy Clubs, activities coordinator for the Eco Club, and has worked with Blue Ridge Resource Conservation & Development taking water samples, organism samples, and supervising children’s camp activities and hikes. She has coached youth league soccer, played Varsity soccer and was a Varsity swimmer for NCSSM swim team. In 2019, Gavenus received the NC Governor’s Volunteer Service Award for Yancey County.

Ethan Hawley from Grimeland, North Carolina, is a senior at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, where he focuses on robotics and engineering with a goal of becoming a roller coaster engineer. He has served as the First Robotics chairman and marketing team lead for Team 2682, and the team was a World Champion Finalist. He also is a member of the NCSSM High Power Rocketry Team, which designed and built a supersonic rocket. He works as a teaching assistant at the NCSSM Fabrication Lab where he instructs students on tools and assists in making items for the school, and he is an Eagle Scout and webmaster for Boy Scouts of America ECC Troop 46. He plans to major in mechatronics at UNC Asheville, through a joint program with NC State, and he’s already advanced his goal of becoming an engineer by going behind the scenes with engineers at Dollywood and Busch Gardens, as well as teaching himself Fusion360 3D modeling and roller coaster modeling software NoLimits 2 which creates realistic and comprehensive simulations of rides through a spline-based model.

Addison Wright from Nashville, Tennessee, is a senior at the Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School. She has received two Coaches Awards for swimming and is a swimmer on the Varsity swim team at Ensworth Aquatics & Hume-Fogg Swim Team. She has committed to swim at the NCAA Division I level at UNC Asheville and plans to study English with a certificate in Food Systems and Culture. She has served as senior editor for the Hume-Fogg yearbook, leads a small group at her local youth group, and volunteers for Book’Em Literacy nonprofit where she writes content for the blog and newsletter, and sorts books for underserved students. She is vice president for the Hume-Fogg National Honor Society. Wright also serves as a swim instructor for children ages 2-10 at Ensworth swim school. She enjoys photography, piano, and writing.

High school seniors interested in becoming McRae Scholars in the Class of 2025 can be nominated by their school counselors or leaders from a student’s community by Jan. 1. Nominations can be submitted online at:

https://avlbound.unca.edu/register/universityscholars2021.

To be considered for the University Scholars Program, nominees must have completed their application for admission to UNC Asheville no later than Jan. 1, 2021.

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