At stake for each of them is a college scholarship that is not only valuable and prestigious but potentially life-changing, yet the two LCPS seniors are approaching the bell lap of their quest with a calm that recommends them as much as their grades.

“I feel confident. I feel like I did well with my first interview. I feel confident with my application. I’m just eager to find out,” Kinston High School senior Nicholas Harvey III said on Friday. Hours later he learned he is a finalist for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship to the University of North Carolina.

Kate Benson, a senior at Lenoir County Early College High School, still has a few more days to wait before finding out her status as a candidate for the Park Scholarship to N.C. State University. She’s a semi-finalist in a field that began with 2,260 applicants and is now narrowed to 500 hopefuls.

“I feel like I was able to put my best foot forward. It would be great to be able to make it to the next round, but I’m just grateful to be selected as a semi-finalist,” Kate said. About 112 finalists are expected to be named next week.

To this point, both students – both 17 year olds – have progressed on the basis of their academic records, their extracurricular activities, the response to essay questions posed by the scholarship selection committees and interviews.

“It’s a long process,” Nicholas said.

It began with more than 2,000 applicants. Of those, about 20 percent become Morehead-Cain semifinalists and the selection of finalists cuts that group to about 160. About 75 scholarships are awarded each year, a scholarship valued at about $80,000 for in-state students, that covers all expenses for four years of undergraduate study and offers summer enrichment programs. 

The selection process emphasizes students’ leadership abilities, their character, scholarship and physical vigor.

Nicholas matches up well. The top student in his class, he was an All-State selection in football as a junior – an honor that has drawn the attention of the UNC coaching staff – and navigates a crowded scheduled of extracurricular activities. 

As part of the Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy, he helped coordinate a book drive that collected books that were donated to children through the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library. He is a member of Kinston High’s chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and worked as a peer mentor with its underclassman support program. He is vice-president of the school’s National Honor Society chapter.

He was one of 10 students in North and South Carolina chosen for the Carolina Panthers Community Captain Award, which honors students who excel in sports, in the classroom and in their community. He attended North Carolina Governor’s School this past summer and was previously selected for the Disney Dreamers Academy, the NASA Summer Aeronautics Program at Elizabeth City State University and the East Carolina School of Business Summer Innovation Academy.

When he heads to Chapel Hill for final selection interviews on Feb. 12-13, he will be closing in on a long-held aspiration of attending UNC. “This has actually been my dream since I was a little boy. This has always been my goal,” Nicholas said. The son of Erin and Nicholas Harvey II of Kinston, he plans to continue to law school and become a criminal defense attorney.

Similarly, Kate Benson has had her sights set on N.C. State for a while, owing to the university’s stellar animal science programs and Kate’s interest in becoming an animal physiotherapist. The work of the N.C. State Animal Response Team, which serves as a national model for animal disaster preparedness and response, also caught the eye of a young woman with a natural bent to service.

“I love the idea of service. I love giving back to my community,” Kate said.

Currently, she volunteers with the Paws4People organization in Wilmington. “We take service puppies in training to nursing homes and assisted living homes or to public places and let them get exposed to the noise and busy-ness of places and see how they handle it.”

Service is one of the four “pillars” of the Park Scholarship process, along with character, scholarship and leadership. Kate got questions about those attributes during her online interview with a three-judge panel in December. She pointed the judges to her leadership of a group she formed. “I lead and host a weekly Bible study group at my home,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to be able to come together and hang out with a big group of friends.”

The daughter of Meredith and Dwight Benson of La Grange, she’s also a competitive dancer and competitive cheerleader, plays the violin and has modeled for dance-wear companies. At Early College, she’s co-president of the Student Government Association and is active in its Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She stands No. 2 in her class academically.

Surprisingly, she’s surprised to be a semi-finalist and thankful to have gotten through the initial interview. “It was definitely something I was nervous for, especially not expecting to be a semifinalist,” Kate said. “I tried to just put forth my best effort and show my best self to the judges.”