By East L. Dockery
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has announced its third cohort of February One Scholars. These 15 academically talented first-year undergraduates are following the path of leadership and service the A&T Four began as Aggie freshmen.
Six scholars are from North Carolina, one is from Pennsylvania and one is from Kentucky.
Eligibility requirements include a minimum weighted 3.75 cumulative GPA and demonstrated exceptional characteristics of leadership and service.
âWe are thrilled to have the class of 2027 Feb. One Scholars join our campus,â said Margaret I. Kanipes, Ph.D., N.C. A&T Honors College dean. âThis cohort, through their incredible accomplishments, honors the A&T Fourâs legacy, showing that education, determination, and activism continue to drive progress.â
The scholarship program is named for the day in 1960 when A&T freshmen Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond energized a national sit-in movement by refusing to leave a segregated lunch counter in downtown Greensboro without being served. The A&T Four are celebrated annually at the universityâs Feb. 1 celebration and honored in numerous ways across the university.
The scholarship is a fully funded four-year award that covers the costs of tuition, related fees, housing, meals, and participation in University Honors Program activities and enrichment annually for five freshman each from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Education and the John R. and Kathy R. Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences. The three colleges partnered to establish the program using a portion of philanthropist MacKenzie Scottâs historic $45 million contribution to the university.