As the 50 semi-finalists prepare for the Caldwell Programs interviews Feb. 17, 25 of whom will become fellows, historically, some of the semi-finalists have already been accepted as University Scholars or University Honors students, according to Janice Odom, the director of the Caldwell Programs.
This year’s applicants had to earn a Grade Point Average in the fall semester of a 3.25, a GPA requirement that was a 3.0 in previous years, Odom said.
“The Caldwell Programs was created to honor the legacy of Chancellor Emeritus John Tyler Caldwell and carry on the spirit and ideals that made him such a memorable part of N.C. State,” the Caldwell Programs’ Web site stated.
The new GPA requirement is in place, according to Odom, to be “in concert with the programs [students are] already in,” she said.
Since its establishment in 1998, Caldwell fellows had to maintain a 3.0 GPA to remain in the program.
The USP set the requirement for its scholars to maintain a minimum of 3.25 GPA in 1992 in compliance with the University’s guidelines, according to Alex Miller, director of the USP.
“The University sets a requirement of 3.25 as the minimum GPA to graduate with any kind of academic honors,” Miller said.
Mark Clapp, a senior in textile engineering, a Caldwell fellow and a scholar, said “the common ideals of the program are scholarship, service and leadership.”
In addition to tuition support, the Caldwell Programs scholarship offers a $2000 stipend for students to participate in self-developing programs or activities, such as study abroad or internships.
According to Allison Medlin, assistant director of USP, 60 percent of the last year’s new Caldwell fellows were in the USP program at the time of their application process.
Medlin said the USP and Caldwell Programs have “close ties” because of the two programs’ similar goals.
“The Caldwell Program really wants to see these students as active contributors to N.C. State and the community now and once they graduate,” Medlin said.
Sara Yasin, a Caldwell fellow and a Scholar, said she felt raising the GPA requirement for new students is reasonable.
“Programs [like the Caldwell scholarship] are supposed to be a complement to your education,” Yasin said. “You’re supposed to do both and not let one replace the other.”
Lauren Deans, a freshman in human nutrition, a semi-finalist for the Caldwell and a Scholar, said she felt academics are an important and relevant part of the selection for the Caldwell Programs.
“[The Caldwell Programs] wants somebody who is going to work hard and make the best of their program,” Dean said. “The people with a higher GPA will work hard to make the program the best that it can be.”
Deans said she heard about the Caldwell Programs from a USP newsletter.
Paul Florence, a freshman in First Year College and a semi-finalist for the Caldwell Programs, said he feels the higher GPA requirement is not “too far-fetched.”
Florence said he did not feel very stressed about the pressure of higher academics for the Caldwell scholarship.
“They don’t look only at grades,” Florence said. “They look at your personality more than other scholarships.”
Yasin said she felt the Caldwell scholarship was unique because the program “builds off” formal education in the classroom setting.
“You also have an extracurricular experience that expands your horizon,” Yasin said.
She said she is studying abroad in England in the fall semester with her Caldwell stipend, along with going to Mexico over spring break.
For current Caldwell fellows, the program is more than financial support.
“[The Caldwell Programs] offers a community that fosters intellectual development, personal expression, and a common servant-leadership philosophy,” Clapp said.
Clapp said he has traveled to the Dominican Republic on a medical mission trip, to England as an intern at a hospital, and studied abroad in Peru since becoming a Caldwell fellow.
Despite these experiences, Clapp said he felt he would not have “been any less motivated to participate in organizations or extracurricular experience, like study abroad.”
“The Caldwell Programs has provided me with a sense of family that many programs and organizations offer on campus,” Clapp said. “If I weren’t in the Caldwell Programs, I would be a part of a different family.”
Some of the students who are interviewing to become part of “the Caldwell family” said they already have plans for the stipend if they are selected.
Sal Della Villa, a freshman in philosophy of law, a Scholar and a semi-finalist, said he wants to study abroad in England for a semester or a year “to soak up the culture.”
After returning back to the United States, Della Villa said he would “tour around to local high schools and provide a presentation about what I saw.”
“I would try to challenge [the high schoolers] to do the same thing I did, which is to exert themselves,” Della Villa said.
Della Villa said he feels his work has paid off after hearing his status as a semi-finalist in the Caldwell Program, but he said he also feels there are students who are not getting the recognition they deserve.
“There are a lot of students who should have made it and who have the potential to make it,” Della Villa said. “Not being selected doesn’t make them less of a person compared to people who were.”
Odom said the program tries to emphasize to students who are selected as Caldwell fellows that they are “not special,” but instead are “fortunate.”
“It’s important to me that we don’t act elitist in attitude,” Odom said.
She said NCSU students are “amazing people.” The number of candidates chosen for the Caldwell Programs is “less about the quality of students, but more about the resources.” Odom said the Caldwell Programs has to be selective due to the amount of money it has available to distribute among all the Caldwell fellows.
According to Odom, 222 students applied to become Caldwell fellows.
“The Caldwell is a fantastic program,” Medlin said. “It attracts the best students at the University.”