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Chapel Hill Carrboro Peacemaking Scholarship
Since 2009, 38 scholarships, each valued at $1,000, have been awarded to local high school seniors who aspire to a career in peacemaking. Applicants demonstrate their involvement in peacemaking by describing how their activities, studies, and career goals relate to one or more of these six peace-related focus topics:
- Non-Violent Conflict Resolution (for example, by making lethal force truly a means of last resort, stopping the arms race and arms trading, converting to peace-time economy).
- Global Community (for example, by sharing global resources, respecting cultural diversity).
- Social Justice (for example, by promoting human rights, ending discrimination and prejudice, fostering equal access to economic opportunity).
- Ecology (making the connection between the environment and peacemaking- for example, by living more simply, improving air and water quality, working for conservation of resources, respecting wilderness and wildlife, seeking environmentally desirable waste management).
- Population (for example, by respecting human life and diversity while finding ways to manage growth so the human population reaches a sustainable level).
- Depolarization (for example, by building bridges across political divides, calming partisan rhetoric, better understanding and appreciating our similarities and our differences, embracing things that bring us together rather than keep us apart).
The scholarship selection committee looks for applicants who show the most promise to have careers that involve being active peacemakers.
Eligibility: Any high school senior who intends to go to college, and who lives in, or goes to school in, or is active in a faith community in Chapel Hill or Carrboro is eligible to apply for a Peacemaking Scholarship. Biographical sketches of previous recipients are below.
Criteria: The scholarship committee will judge applicants on the basis of 1) their written discussions of how each of three areas of peace-keeping involvement (activities, studies, and career goals) relates to one or more of the six peace-related focus topics (described above); and 2) a letter of recommendation.
Deadline: Submit a completed 2024 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Peacemaking Scholarship Application Form, signed by the applicant and a parent or guardian, by February 28, 2024. Send completed form and associated documents by email attachment to Skip Polson, Chairperson, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Peacemaking Scholarship Committee, at skippolson@gmail.com. Shortly thereafter, all applicants will be notified of the results.
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2023 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
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2022 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
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2021 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
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2020 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
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2019 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
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2018 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
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2017 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
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2016 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
2016 Peacemaking Scholarship Recipients
Jocelyn Buckley:
I am thrilled and honored to accept the Carrboro Peacemaking Scholarship. We live in a community that is cemented together by the common values of peace and justice. I appreciate the impact that this community has had on my life and outlook on the world outside of our community. I moved to Carrboro from a small town in Ohio, and spent my first year of high school there. Although I have always had a yearning for justice and balance, the Carrboro community enable me to pursue these values in a way that my Ohio community couldn’t. My teachers and peers encouraged me to develop my opinions and understand diversity in a way that allowed me to flourish as a peacemaker.
I was able to work with the Sustainability Coordinator for our school district to perform an energy audit of our school building, and ultimately find funding for solar panels to be installed outside of the front entrance. This meaningful work and understanding the importance of clean energy inspired me to apply for an internship at the Environmental Protection Agency, where I worked primarily in the communications department, writing blogs and podcasts, for the Air, Climate, and Energy unit. This experience has given me the ability to see how complicated bureaucracy can be from the inside, and how important it is to communicate with the public.
My senior year, a friend and I began the Women’s Rights Advocacy club. After a couple of meetings of great discussions, we knew that our first project would be to eliminate the subjectivity woven within the dress code. We worked with the administration to get rid of the dress code for next year’s students.
Additionally, my roles as writer, then Arts and Entertainment editor, and finally, Editor in chief for our school newspaper have allowed me to connect with the Carrboro High School student body and understand the complex ideas and frustrations within it. Our opinion section has featured student writers’ articles on what they hope to see change within our community and the world.
I look forward to using what I’ve learned from my time in Carrboro for my future endeavors. I will be attending George Washington University in Washington, DC this Fall and I will study International Relations with a concentration in International Politics. I am not sure what it is that I will do to pursue peacemaking in the future, but this scholarship enables me to explore my education further and find out. Thank you so much for this.
Kate Wood:
I am one of two seniors to receive your Peacemaking Scholarship this year. I am incredibly grateful to have received this honor.
Throughout high school, I have been involved with a variety of non-profit organizations, but have worked most extensively with an organization called Mission 1:27. Mission 1:27 works to serve the Slobodskoy Orphanage in Russia, which is a rural orphanage for special needs children. I have traveled to Slobodskoy 6 times to volunteer with Mission 1:27 and serve on the Board of Directors of the organization. One of the principles of our work is establishing a mutual relationship with the kids and staff. Our focus is spreading love and making all of the kids feel welcome, included, and wanted. We do this not only the two times a year that Mission 1:27 sponsors trips over to Russia, but throughout the year through pen pals, Skyping, and even Facebook.
I founded my own non-profit to further the goals pursued by Mission 1:27. It’s called Clipboards for Russia, and we make assorted jewelry and office supplies and sell them at local stores and craft shows–including the Alternative Gift Market right here at the United Church of Chapel Hill. We have raised over $30,000 to fund additional orphanage programs, including sports teams, art classes, and life skills lessons.
My involvement with those in the Slobodskoy Orphanage has completely changed my life. The kids and staff there taught me what it means to live a life of God’s great mercy and love. I will spend the rest of my life searching to further these feelings and empower others to feel them as well.
Next year, your scholarship will help me attend Dartmouth College, where I plan to study sociology, religion, and Spanish. After college, I am currently planning on either going into ministry or non-profit business work. Your scholarship will further my capability to do so, and will remind me to stay dedicated to the central values of peacemaking. Thank you for your time and your generosity! I am so grateful for all that the United Church of Chapel Hill has done for me and the community.