North Lenoir High School senior Adamary Gaona is a winner of the prestigious Park Scholarship to N.C. State University, one of 35 students chosen from thousands of applicants to receive the full-ride merit scholarship valued at $120,000.

At a family dinner not long ago, Adamary Gaona and her parents sat at the table with her two older siblings and their spouses – those four relatively recent college graduates wearing shirts that represented their alma mater. It was a clothing choice odd enough to prompt her parents to tease Adamary, a senior at North Lenoir High School, about getting a college shirt of her own.

It turns out, Adamary already had one. When she removed her jacket to reveal a red T-shirt, she revealed to her parents what her brother and sister already knew – that Adamary had won the prestigious Park Scholarship to North Carolina State University, a full-ride merit scholarship valued at $120,000 for in-state students.

Of course, tears of joy ensued, the emotion not stunted a bit by the fact that Adamary’s parents, Paula Llamas and Gregorio Gaona of La Grange, had been here before. The son, Angel (North Lenoir Class of 2017), had won the coveted Morehead-Cain Scholarship to the University of North Carolina. The oldest daughter, Adriana (North Lenoir Class of 2019), had punched her own all-expense-paid ticket to UNC as a Chancellor’s Science Scholar.

“I had a lot to live up to,” Adamary said this week, when she admitted to still being in a “pinch me” state about the scholarship but able to concede at long last that the crucial email from the Park people – the one she dreaded opening because she expected bad news – had actually begun with the word “Congratulations!”

Included among the top 20 percent of applicants as a Park semi-finalist in late December, she was named a finalist in late January and went to the Raleigh campus for Final Selection weekend in mid-February. By then, the number of hopefuls had shrunk from thousands to 112 and was about to shrink further, to the 35 winners. The closer it got, the harder it got.

“It was a very long process,” she said. “I’m glad it was long because that means I got to the end, but it was very nerve-racking. As soon as I stepped up a level, I felt like I had a slimmer chance of getting it. There was pressure, pressure, pressure. Then when I got the news, I was like a deflated balloon. I finally got to breath and finally got to enjoy the rest of my senior year.”

At North Lenoir, Adamary is the top student in her class, a position she has held since the ninth grade. She is president of North Lenoir’s DECA chapter and a multiple winner in DECA regional competitions in marketing and entrepreneurship. She is a member of the SGA, College Ambassadors, National Honor Society, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and Junior Leadership Lenoir. She is captain of the school’s soccer and volleyball teams.

She plans to major in business at NC State and expects to enter not only with a scholarship but also with an associate degree from Lenoir Community College.

Like her brother and sister, Adamary came to North Lenoir from La Grange Elementary and EB Frink Middle School.

“No one has worked any harder in school than Adamary has,” North Lenoir principal Rhonda Greene said. “All of our staff and students at North Lenoir are so proud of her! She certainly is deserving of this prestigious scholarship.”

Rachel Hewett, a school counselor at North Lenoir, calls Adamary a “role model,” known for her “sweet spirit” and hard work.

When she went to Raleigh as a finalist, the interviewers told Adamary they already knew of her accomplishments as a student and now wanted to know more about her as a person.

“They asked me the one thing I wanted them to remember about me,” Adamary recalled. “I said my biggest goal in life is to help the people around me, to help the underserved and be able to give to those who are struggling in their own life. I want to give back to others.”

School counselor Treva Romig wasn’t surprised. “What stands out about Adamary is her genuine care for others and their successes,” she said this week. “While she is excited for this opportunity, she is also excited to see others succeed with their goals. She is looking forward to returning to Lenoir County to give back because she wants the best for everyone.”