Scholarship opportunities for Leslie, Grace, and Ben

Senior Leslie Ogden has been awarded a Park Scholarship at N.C. State University. The award includes tuition and fees, board, lodging, books, a personal computer and academic and summer enrichment programs. The Park Scholarship seeks out young people with demonstrated high academic achievement and leadership, as well as those with unusual aptitudes, uncommon talents and special gifts of creativity or entrepreneurial acumen.

Leslie has co-captained the varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams, led service programs as co-president of the Cavs Club and co-founder of SPIN (Supporting People In Need), been active in her church and served on the Durham Youth Council. Senior Amadeo DeLuca-Westrate was a Park semi-finalist. Amadeo has received recognition for cross-country, track and swimming achievements; helps lead the Friday Night Film Club; earned his Eagle Scout designation; and was honored with a Magnificent Seven Award for “respecting the dignity of each individual.”

Junior Grace Wallack is a finalist for the Bronfman Youth Fellowship in Israel, and will fly to New York City in March for the interviews. Twenty-six Bronfman Fellows from the United States and Canada spend the summer before their high school senior year traveling through Israel, exploring their Jewish identity and engaging with thinkers, authors, artists, educators and political leaders (sometimes including the Prime Minister) in a fully-funded, five-week experience. Bronfman alumni include Rhodes, Marshall and Fulbright Scholars.

Grace is a nationally-recognized Durham Academy debater, former president of Durham Regional Temple Youth and one of nine mid-Atlantic regional board members for the North American Federation of Temple Youth.

Senior Ben Hattem has been selected as a semi-finalist for the Robertson Scholars Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Robertson Scholars Program allows students — generally 18 at Duke and 18 at UNC each year — to take advantage of the faculty and other resources of two of the most highly regarded universities in the nation. Robertson Scholars learn to create social change and foster collaboration both locally on the two campuses and globally during summer enrichment experiences. The UNC-Chapel Hill scholarship includes full tuition, room and board, a monthly stipend, $4,000 for a domestic summer experience, $6,000 each for international and exploration summers and a laptop computer; the total value is over $75,000 for in-state UNC-Chapel Hill students.

Ben has been active in Upper School theater productions, won the DA English Speaking Union Shakespeare Monologue competition three consecutive years, attended Governor’s School in drama, co-edits the student newspaper and is helping pioneer new individual events for the DA debate program this year. Student U. executive director and Upper School faculty member Dan Kimberg was a Robertson Scholar at Duke.