May 25, 2010 — The Jefferson Scholars Foundation has announced its 27-member Jefferson Scholars Class of 2014. The students – from 13 states, England, Scotland and South Korea – will enter the University of Virginia in August.

The merit-based Jefferson Scholars program provides stipends to cover the complete cost of attending the University, including tuition, room and board, books and other University-related expenses. It also includes leadership training and foreign travel/study.

The sole criteria for selection are demonstrated excellence and exceptional potential in the areas of leadership, scholarship and citizenship. The newest Jefferson Scholars were selected after a rigorous process that began with a record 1,226 nominees from across the country and the globe. The list was pared to 101 finalists, who participated in the 30th annual Jefferson Scholars Selection Weekend in March, from which the recipients emerged.

The incoming class of Jefferson Scholars includes:
 
•    A winner in the Tomorrow25 International Leadership Competition (sponsored by TIME magazine and Bentley University);
•    The nationwide Prudential Spirit of Community Award winner for his work founding a charity walk that has raised over $160,000 for celiac disease research in three years;
•    The co-founder of the independent nonprofit, "100 Pounds of Hope," which provides relief to impoverished Cambodians;
•    A Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award winner;
•    Two individuals who served as class presidents for all four years at their high schools;
•    A captain of the Scotland International Under-16 field hockey team;
•    An All-Ireland Irish dancing champion;
•    A former governor of Girls State;
•    The author of a Girls State bill that was subsequently introduced into the state legislature;
•    A first-place classification winner in the individual World Open Chess Championships;
•    A student entrepreneur;
•    A state champion swimmer; and
•    The National Capital Area "Cappie" recipient for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

"This year the quality of the nominees was again truly exceptional, for which we offer our gratitude to the hundreds of school counselors who nominate these outstanding young people," said James H. Wright, president of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. "Those selected are all devoted to the pursuit of excellence both inside and outside the classroom, and have the potential to benefit the University in a most substantial way.

"We also offer thanks to the nearly 700 alumni volunteers across the country who helped select the candidates. Time and again we hear from nominees that the passion for the University of Virginia shown by these volunteers makes a very positive impression about the University, regardless of the final results of the competition," Wright added.

Since the beginning of the Jefferson Scholars program in 1980, more than 5,750 Jefferson Scholarship nominees have elected to attend the University without having won the Jefferson Scholarship. Over the last five years, Jefferson Scholarship nominees have made up approximately 9 percent of each incoming class.

Financed entirely with private funds, Jefferson Scholarships are designed to help the University attract the most promising student leaders in the country. Students cannot apply to become Jefferson Scholars, but rather must either be nominated by their schools or identified through the admissions process. More than 3,500 schools are eligible to nominate scholarship candidates, including every secondary school in Virginia.

"I chose to accept the Jefferson Scholarship for a variety of reasons: the sheer breadth of opportunity that the scholarship provides … the possibility of a long-term relationship between myself and the foundation, the strong network of alumni, the opportunity of a first-rate education in America … and the strength of the relationships that I witnessed amongst the current scholars," said Colette Martin, one of the new Jefferson Scholars.

The new Jefferson Scholars, with their schools and hometowns, are:

•    Evan Barrett Behrle, Gilman School, Oxford, Pa.
•    Blake Edward Blaze, Barnstable High School, Osterville, Mass.
•    Bethany Ann Branson, Madison Central High School, Madison, Miss.
•    Caroline Mary Casavant, New Canaan High School, New Canaan, Conn.
•    Ellen Jean Chapin, George CV. Marshall High School, Vienna, Va.
•    Daniel Bohannon Clark, University School of Milwaukee, Milwaukee
•    Leah Jade Coates, Washington and Lee High School, Colonial Beach, Va.
•    Mallory Gui-Li Combemale, North London Collegiate School, St. Albans, England
•    Emma Katherine DiNapoli, Harrisonburg High School, Harrisonburg, Va.
•    Carl David Conrad Goette-Luciak, Blacksburg High School, Blacksburg, Va.
•    Alex Marshall Hutcheson, C. Milton Wright High School, Bel Air, Md.
•    Jewon Jung, Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, Seoul, South Korea
•    Dru Harrington Knox, Patrick Henry High School, Roanoke, Va.
•    Karoline Olateliwa Kofoworola Olabikola Komolafe, Waterford-KaMhlaba United World College of Southern Africa, Edinburgh, Scotland
•    Andrew Michael Kouri, Noble and Greenough School, Westwood, Mass.
•    Colin Leslie, Rye High School, Rye, N.Y.
•    Cameron Michael Louttit, Franklin Regional Senior High School, Murrysville, Pa.
•    Emily Tallant Marshall, Douglas Freeman High School, Richmond, Va.
•    Colette Elizabeth Martin, Marlborough College, Hamilton, Scotland
•    Kelsey Jean Petrie, St. Mary Academy Bay View, Seekonk, Mass.
•    Jeffrey Landon Roberson, Atlee High School, Mechanicsville, Va.
•    Michael Conor Sheehey, Loyola Blakefield High School, Timonium, Md.
•    Kyle David Teegarden, Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, Ore.
•    Annie Ryan Ungrady, The Bolles School, Jacksonville, Fla.
•    Audrey Snow Waldrop, Mountain Brook High School, Birmingham, Ala.
•    Kelvin Maxwell Wey, Northview High School, Alpharetta, Ga.
•    Joseph Michael Woodlief, Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, N.C.