Eve Carson Scholarship Carries on Her Memory

Thursday marks the anniversary of a day that many in the Chapel Hill community will never forget.

March 5, 2008, Eve Carson was shot and killed.

At a press conference, then Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran made the announcement.

“The victim has been identified as Eve Carson, age 22, a UNC Senior and current UNC Student Body President,” he said. “Eve was a resident of Chapel Hill and a highly-regarded member of the university community.”

It has been seven years now since that day, and Eve Carson’s spirit lives on at UNC.

UNC Media Relations Assistant Helen Buchanan says the Eve Carson Scholarship is awarded annually to rising Tar Heel seniors who are making a difference in our community and around the world.

“[The Eve Carson Scholarship] was to further Eve’s mission here,” she says. “[Eve] loved this university with all her heart, and she loved the students here.

“The Eve Carson Scholarship is a way to celebrate those students who exhibit that same passion and growth.”

Buchanan adds this is a very peer-driven scholarship with a selection committee made up of students.

“The values that Eve distilled from this university, it’s about empathy, and passion, and being inquisitive about the world,” she says. “What better way than to have students celebrate that with their peers?”

Buchanan adds there are several of these scholarship recipients who stand out as carrying on the legacy that Carson left behind.

“[Students are] passionate about food donations, or helping poor in Africa, there have been all sorts of things,” she says. “We had one student, who actually received one of the first [scholarships], he’s transformed his into a cancer research donation fund.”

Buchanan adds two to three scholarships are typically awarded. The scholarships cover half of the student’s tuition as well as a $5,000 stipend for their summer service project.

This spirit of helping others helps the memory of Eve Carson live on.

You can donate to the Eve Carson scholarship here.

Eve Carson Scholarship Carries on Her Memory

On Air Now: 97.9 FM