Community Service Scholarships

My participation in the MacDonald Community Service Scholars program exposed me to a wide array of public service opportunities I never knew existed, and pushed me to continuously involve myself in surrounding communities and try new things. I cannot imagine any other opportunity that would have allowed me to grow in the manner I did throughout my three years in this program.

– Hanan Alazzam ’19

CCPS offers Community Service Scholarships to a select group of service-oriented UNC-Chapel Hill students. These scholarships provide financial aid for your remaining time at Carolina and enable you to increase your commitment, knowledge and skills related to community service. Through the scholarship, you’ll receive training, mentorship and support in pursuing your particular public service interests.

Program components:

• You’ll receive a $5,000 annual scholarship (renewable for up to three years).
• You’ll participate in the Buckley Public Service Scholars program, which provides you with opportunities and structure to build a service portfolio and develop skills related to community service.
• You’ll engage in an average of 250 hours of service per year during your time in the program, which can include summer service internships.
• In the first or second year of the program, you’ll participate in a four-day leadership development course through the North Carolina Outward Bound School over fall break.
• You’ll meet with CCPS staff throughout the experience for support, program structure and additional opportunities for service.
• During your third or fourth year, you’ll matriculate into the MacDonald Community Fellowship. Through this program, you’ll work with a community partner to identify a signature public service project to be completed by the time you graduate. This project is a capstone experience of your scholarship. You’ll participate in specialized training to develop plans for this capstone project and receive funds to implement the project.

Eligibility:

CCPS has designed Community Service Scholarships for undergraduate students who demonstrate a clear commitment to service in your time at Carolina. This commitment to service is typically documented through the Buckley Public Service Scholars portfolio. If you’re not yet a Buckley Public Service Scholar, you may document your service in other ways.

The availability of new Community Service Scholarships changes each year based on funding. Each Community Service Scholarship may have slightly different priorities or eligibility requirements. In collaboration with the UNC Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, CCPS advertises the specifics of each opportunity during the application period, in the spring semester before the year that the scholarship would start.

The UNC Office of Scholarships and Student Aid distributes the scholarship’s monetary award as part of your student financial aid package. To be eligible, you must have filled out a FAFSA application and qualify for need-based financial aid. The Office of Scholarships and Student Aid may use the Community Service Scholars funding to replace loans, work-study funds and/or other grants and scholarships. The scholarship cannot be used for summer school expenses. If a student is unsure whether they are eligible as a recipient of need-based aid, they can send a message to aidinfo@unc.edu to get confirmation.

Bonner Leaders applying for Community Service Scholarships should be aware that receiving the scholarship could impact their work-study award. If a Bonner Leader receives a Community Service Scholarship that causes them to lose their work-study award, they may remain in the Bonner Leaders program, but the Campus Y might not be able to replace the lost work-study award. Students in this situation should contact Yalitza Ramos at the Campus Y to discuss their individual situation.

Applications:

Applications for the Community Service Scholarship in 2023 have closed. The next application for the Community Service Scholarship will open from February 7 through April 22, 2024 for students finishing their first year at Carolina at that time. Apply online though the CCPS Application and Nomination Portal.

Program history:

In 2015, Scott MacDonald ’72 M.R.P. endowed the Scott D. MacDonald Community Service Scholarships. Since MacDonald’s initial support, other donors have established similar scholarship funds. In 2017, Donald Ubell ’67 added the Ubell Community Service Scholarship to the Community Service Scholars program. In 2018, Bret Leas and Audrey Fisher ’14 created the Fisher Family Community Service Scholarship. In 2019, Marjorie Buckley ’62 and her husband Walter Buckley created five new Blanchard Scholarships in honor of longtime CCPS director Lynn White Blanchard. In 2023, Lee and Sandra Niegelsky created the Niegelsky Family Community Service Scholarship.

Current and previous scholars:

• Class of 2026:
  • Henry Jackson Faenza of Colfax, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Sierra Flynn Nesbeth of Morrisville, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Ariel Halperin of Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Carolina Center for Public Service Scholar
  • Valeria Rico of Draper, Utah – Blanchard Scholar
  • Haya Thamer of High Point, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
• Class of 2025:
  • Klodia Badal of Mocksville, North Carolina – Blanchard Scholar
  • Malachi Jowers of Winston-Salem, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Caroline Maxon of Hendersonville, North Carolina – Niegelsky Scholar
  • Hannah Oh of Greensboro, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Brianna Patterson of Mebane, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Lilia Su of Chapel Hill, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Adriana Torres Ortiz of Clinton, North Carolina – Fisher Scholar
• Class of 2024:
  • Alexander Acosta of Hendersonville, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Andrew Gary of New Orleans, Louisiana – Blanchard Scholar
  • Nya Patton of Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Blanchard Scholar
  • Angela Seo of Greensboro, North Carolina – Blanchard Scholar
  • Stephanie Pierson of Macon, Georgia – Blanchard Scholar
  • Kathlyn Mauck of Mount Airy, North Carolina – Blanchard Scholar
• Class of 2023:
  • Suzy Brito Lagunas of Sanford, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Ana Hoppert of Gibsonville, North Carolina – Carolina Center for Public Service Scholar
  • Mariah McCann of Durham, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Cameron Milne of Wilson, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Isabella Pettit of Clayton, North Carolina – Ubell Scholar
  • David Snider of Mills River, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
• Class of 2022:
  • Alyssa Cooper of Cary, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Summer Hyland of Winston-Salem, North Carolina – Fisher Scholar
  • Madeleine Mizelle of Chapel Hill, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Rianna Saslow of Brookhaven, Georgia – MacDonald Scholar
• Class of 2021:
  • Dillon Rubalcava of Jamestown, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Tori Dunlap of Mount Holly, North Carolina – Ubell Scholar
  • Ariel Bryant of Burgaw, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Eseosa Evbuomwan of Sanford, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Natalie Rose-Ying Gauger of Greensboro, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Harrison Jacobs of Bethesda, Maryland – MacDonald Scholar
• Class of 2020:
  • Nicholas Guariglia of West Palm Beach, Florida – MacDonald Scholar
  • Jessica Thompson of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
• Class of 2019:
  • Anish Bhatia of New Hyde Park, New York – MacDonald Scholar
  • Maximiliano Flores-Palacios of Gastonia, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Finn Loendorf of Stanley, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • John Roberson of Durham, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Hanan Alazzam of Asheboro, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar
  • Emma Hughson of Colerain, North Carolina – MacDonald Scholar

View a digital version of the program brochure.

For programmatic questions regarding the scholarship or fellowship, contact CCPS.

To learn more about funding a Community Service Scholarship, contact Tricia Daisley or call 919-843-7568.