BY MARY KATE MURPHY, Insider Reporter
After interviewing earlier this year as a finalist for the Park Scholarship at N.C. State University, Nathan Auman came back home to West End sure of one thing: he’d found where he belonged.
The six weeks since have been less certain.
“When I left that night at the end of all the activities, it’s a feeling I can’t explain,” he said. “I just felt like these are my kind of people. I’ve never felt so strongly that this is where I should be.”
At that point, the Union Pines senior was already in a tight race for N.C. State’s premier four-year scholarship. From the original applicant pool of more than 2,200, the program narrowed it down to 112 finalists from 15 states and 32 North Carolina counties.
When Nathan went to Raleigh to participate in the final round of selection activities, he knew that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an all-inclusive college education. But what that meant truly sank in over the next day or so.
“I knew the specific details about what the scholarship was but until I got to the final selection weekend I didn’t know all the benefits and the things you can’t really put into words,” said Nathan.
The Park scholarship is valued at $116,000 for in-state students. It covers tuition, housing, all expenses, as well as grants for travel, research and volunteerism. Each year’s cohort selects a statewide issue, like affordable housing or foster care, and examines public and private initiatives to address those challenges.
Park scholars build connections both among themselves and through those real-world experiences. When the scholarship finalists convened for a weekend of interviews, panels and group activities, Nathan sat next to the keynote speaker at dinner: a Park alumnus who is now an executive at a sustainable energy company founded by Bill Gates.
“Sitting there listening to him talk about everything he was exposed to through the Park scholarship program really opened up my eyes to how big the networking aspect of the Park scholarship community is,” Nathan said.
“Some Park scholars have been astronauts, some have started their own companies. Seeing how far people have been able to go and being part of that community is something I’m really excited about.
“Sophomore year, you have to do a big service project, so there’s that focus on community service and giving back, and so many opportunities to get out in the world and see things from a new perspective and get exposure to new perspectives so many people don’t get exposure to.”
But for the next few weeks, Nathan could only hope that the scholarship committee was as excited about him. Competition to be among the 40 students selected each year is fierce, but he’d given them reason to be.
The Park program emphasizes service and leadership, in addition to academic merit. Nathan is an Eagle Scout who aspires to serve in the military as a pilot. At Union Pines, he balances roles as yearbook editor and commanding officer of the Navy JROTC program, and independently founded a peer support group for Union Pines students dealing with personal crises.
Within a week he learned that he would have to wait to find out whether he would earn a coveted scholarship, though. The program placed him on a short list of alternates who would be offered a slot in the event any of the original winners declined.
Nathan had heard that the alternate list is short and that the program turns to it every year. So all he could do was hope that his name was at the top.
“As time went on, it had been about a month and so the more time passed and the closer we got to the deadline I was like, maybe it’s the end,” he said. “Maybe people have dropped the scholarship and I’m the last one on the list.”
A phone call earlier this month turned that question mark into a four-year plan. With that offer, Nathan became the second Moore County Schools student to earn a place in the Park Scholars Class of 2026. North Moore’s Molly Smith was the first.
Nathan has also been offered his choice of Navy and Air Force ROTC scholarships. He’s planning to major in aerospace or electrical engineering. The Park program selects students with varied academic interests, but one of the traits emphasized throughout the selection process — ability to learn from mistakes and adapt — is critical for engineers.
“They definitely stressed being able to believe in yourself and being able to put out to the panel or whoever you’re interacting with what your focus is, being able to highlight your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses, because nobody’s perfect and you’re always going to make mistakes,” Nathan said.
“It’s easy to get hung up on those failures sometimes, but being able to collect yourself, think, and move on so that you can improve in more than just that one area was something I felt was important that weekend.”
Since he was accepted into the Park program, word has gotten around, from the dentist’s office to his favorite fast food stop, faster than he could share it. When he gets to N.C. State, he will carry that community spirit with him.
“Driving home from a lacrosse game. I was doing the concession stand last Thursday, and I was just thinking about how blessed I was to get the ROTC scholarship and also the Park scholarship. Everybody in my life that’s been there to support me, it’s just crazy to see how big the community is,” Nathan said.
“A lot of times people look for the negatives, and look for something to point out with what’s wrong with society, or the school system, or whatever, but I’ve been really excited about being able to showcase how many great things can come out of a community.”
Contact Mary Kate Murphy at (910) 693-2479 or mkmurphy@thepilot.com.
