Introducing the Class of 2026

The Morehead-Cain Foundation is proud to announce its class of 2026.

This fall, 75 new Morehead-Cain Scholars from throughout North Carolina, the United States, and the world will begin their undergraduate careers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill). The class of 2026 includes:

41 scholars from North Carolina
34 scholars from other U.S. states and territories
10 international scholars from Canada, India, South Sudan, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam

Morehead-Cain brings together a thriving cohort of thinkers, leaders, dreamers, creators, and adventurers, and provides them the tools to set their potential free. In addition to fully-funded studies at one of America’s foremost public research universities, scholars gain access to a network of peers and mentors, challenging internships and summer experiences, and an opportunity to travel the world.

“Morehead-Cain identifies, accelerates, and connects the most promising young leaders of all backgrounds,” said Chris Bradford, president of the Morehead-Cain Foundation. “We are proud to welcome another class of young leaders that embodies a rare combination of potential, principle, and purpose.”

Morehead-Cain Scholars regularly win distinguished national and international scholarships for graduate study, including the Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and Gates Cambridge Scholarship at the University of Cambridge in England; the Luce, Marshall, and Truman Scholarships for overseas and domestic study; the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship at Stanford University; and the McCall MacBain Scholarship at McGill University in Canada. In 2021, for the first time in UNC-Chapel Hill’s history, three students—all Morehead-Cain Scholars—won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in the same year.

The Class of 2026 joins a community of more than 3,300 Morehead-Cain Alumni across the world, including:

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper ’79;
Karen Stevenson ’79, a U.S. Magistrate Judge and the first Black woman from the United States to win the Rhodes Scholarship;
Jerry Blackwell ’84, Minnesota Special Assistant Attorney General and prosecutor in the Derek Chauvin murder trial;
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Taylor Branch ’68;
Best-selling novelist Shilpi Somaya Gowda ’92;
David Baron ’12, CEO and co-founder of Nugget
Sallie Krawcheck ’86, CEO and founder of Ellevate Network;
North Carolina Representative Ricky Hurtado ’11, the first Latino Democrat elected to the North Carolina State Legislature and a Forbes 30 Under 30 for Education honoree;
Danae Ringelmann ’00, co-founder of the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo; and
Francis Collins ’77, former director of the National Institutes of Health (retired, 2021).

Since its founding in 1945, the Morehead-Cain Program has been a model for countless merit scholarships throughout the United States. These include the University of Virginia’s Jefferson Scholars Program, Duke University’s Benjamin N. Duke Scholars Program, and Emory University’s Woodruff Scholars Program.

Images of scholarship recipients can be downloaded here. A biography of each scholar is below.

Class of 2026

New Morehead-Cain Scholars are listed below alphabetically by North Carolina county, state, and country. Students noted with an asterisk (*) are listed in more than one location.

North Carolina | Out-of-State | International

North Carolina

Avery County

*Brook Cecilia Cheuvront (Brook) will graduate this spring from Avery County High School in Newland, North Carolina, where she serves as president and founder of the environmental club, captain of the Science Olympiad team, and captain of the cross-country team, as well as a member of the marching band and the varsity soccer and distance track teams. Brook will also graduate from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics online program this spring. She volunteers weekly at the Mayland Community College Bare Dark Sky Observatory, where she operates a 14-inch Meade telescope and promotes astronomical education within her community. In her spare time, Brook enjoys trail running with her dogs, playing violin, and participating in wilderness backpacking expeditions. At Carolina, she is interested in studying astrophysics, environmental justice, and creative writing. Brook is the daughter of April and Steve Cheuvront of Newland.

Buncombe County

Abigail Grace Beebe (Abbey) will graduate this spring from North Buncombe High School in Weaverville, North Carolina, where she served as student body vice president. Within student government, Abbey was chair of the service committee and helped oversee the second annual “Give Together,” a district-wide food drive dedicated to providing food for low-income families. She also co-founded the encouragement committee, a group committed to improving campus morale. Abbey is a member of Beta Club and part of the mock trial team. Outside of school, Abbey is an active member at Swannanoa Christian Church and serves as a childcare volunteer. She recently completed her first half-marathon and hopes to continue running at Chapel Hill. Abbey is also a member of the North Carolina Governor’s School class of 2021, where she attended for social science. At Carolina, Abbey hopes to major in English and comparative literature with a minor in creative writing, history, or Spanish. Abigail is the daughter of Monica Beebe and the late David Beebe of Weaverville.

*Ty Adell Besses (Ty) will graduate this spring from Christ School in Arden, North Carolina, where he serves as the first president of the Black Student Union. Ty is also the president and founder of the Voter Registration Initiative, the day student prefect, a career pathway ambassador, and a member of the finance club. In sports, Ty served as captain of the varsity basketball team (2021–2022), and he will compete in the 400-meter dash as well as the long jump and triple jump this spring on the track team. Outside of school, Ty has worked on his cousin’s farm since summer 2020, discovering a deep love for growing vegetables and the discipline of manual labor. At Carolina, he is interested in studying biomedical engineering and political science. Ty is the son of Lisa Besses of Asheville and Patricia Adell of Fletcher, North Carolina.

*Colin Morris O’Hagerty (Colin) graduated in January 2022 from Orange High School in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where he served as student body vice president, vice president of the Orange High School Peace Club, starter on the varsity tennis team, drum major for the school’s marching band, and principal trombonist with the school’s wind ensemble and jazz band. Colin is also involved in music outside of school as a member of the Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra and as a previous performer in various auditioned programs including the North Carolina Youth Wind Ensemble and the North Carolina Ambassadors of Music. He is very passionate about racial justice initiatives and is a founding member of the Triangle Students for Social Justice and a leader on the OHS Equity Team. Colin is a member of the North Carolina Governor’s School East class of 2021 and is currently spending a gap semester in Asheville to focus on community organizing. At Carolina, he is interested in studying music and statistics. Colin is the son of Shannon Morris and Michael O’Hagerty of Hillsborough.

Mary Martha Plaehn (Martha) will graduate this spring from Asheville School in Asheville, North Carolina, where she serves as the student body president and a senior prefect. She is captain of the varsity volleyball team as well as a player on the varsity soccer team. Martha loves the opportunity to learn in and outside of the classroom, with particular passions for the humanities and calculus. Outside of school, Martha has played ten years of club volleyball and works as a camp counselor during the summer. At Carolina, she is interested in studying American studies and mathematics. She also hopes to play club sports and join organizations focused on expanding voting rights and addressing climate change. Martha is the daughter of Helen and Tim Plaehn of Asheville, both of whom teach American studies at Asheville School.

Cleveland County

Hattie Eliza Hensley (Hattie) will graduate this spring from Shelby High School in Shelby, North Carolina, where she serves as the student body vice president, president of the school’s chapter of Beta club, a math tutor to middle school students, and captain of the women’s soccer and cross-country teams. Hattie created and organized “The Light Ball Dash,” a one-mile race that features holiday lights and raises awareness and donations for Feeding Kids Cleveland County. The event has raised over $15,000 for the organization. In her free time, Hattie enjoys running and is currently training for her third half-marathon. At Carolina, she is interested in studying biomedical engineering. Hattie is the daughter of Suzanne and Mitch Hensley of Shelby.

Durham County

*Chandler Ann Beals (Chandler) will graduate this spring from Elkin High School in Elkin, North Carolina, where she serves as student body president, Interact Club president, and co-captain of the women’s varsity soccer team. She co-founded and leads the speech and debate club and competed in varsity tennis, cross-country, basketball, and soccer. Chandler is dual-enrolled with the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and spent the summer before her senior year studying Arabic through a scholarship with the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y). Outside of school, Chandler serves as an outreach coordinator for the ESL Opportunity Project, which pairs high school students learning English around the world with language partners in the United States, and is an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Elkin. In her free time, Chandler enjoys playing the guitar, reading, and long-distance running. At Carolina, she is interested in pursuing global studies. Chandler is the daughter of Lisa and Frank Beals of Elkin.

*Sashank Ganapathiraju will graduate this spring from Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina. At Green Hope, he serves as senior class president, National Honor Society president, first-chair violist in the school orchestra, co-captain of the Science Bowl and Ethics Bowl teams, and is a member of the varsity lacrosse team. Sashank has coached the Davis Drive Middle School Science Bowl teams for the past four years, volunteered as a youth attorney and mentor at the Wake County Capital Area Teen Court for the past six years, and loves to volunteer at local Indian and Hindu events at temples. In 2020, he co-founded a nonprofit tutoring organization, the Vidhya Rights Foundation, and has worked to raise money through tutoring to fund the education of underprivileged students in India. Sashank is an avid athlete, playing basketball, soccer, football, and ultimate frisbee in his spare time, while also playing the mridangam, piano, viola, and drums. At Carolina, he is interested in studying biology (specifically neurology) and computer science. Sashank is the son of Kowsalya and Kumar Ganapathiraju of Cary.

*Riley Jo Holland (Riley Jo) will graduate this spring from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina, where she serves as a student ambassador, a mock trial team captain, and a student sponsor of Agape, a Christian faith-based club. She spends her free time swimming, painting, and volunteering at Grace Community Wellness Outreach, where she was able to help feed more than 1,000 families in her hometown of Marion, North Carolina. She is passionate about political policy and equity of access to education. At Carolina, she is interested in studying humanities and social sciences to later pursue a law degree. She is the daughter of Heather and Shane Holland of Marion, North Carolina.

*Sarina Jarrahi Horner (Sarina) will graduate this spring from Forsyth Country Day School in Lewisville, North Carolina, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics online in Durham. At FCDS, Sarina served as the vice president of service, president of the Forsyth Backpack Program Club, and president of the Girls’ Service Club. She also serves on the judicial board and as an ambassador for FCDS. Sarina is the captain of the varsity girls’ golf team and a captain of the varsity track and field team. She co-founded the Youth Engagement Coalition with Wake Forest University and HandsOn NWNC, where she serves on the board, to increase youth engagement and volunteerism. Sarina co-founded Forsyth County Young Leaders Program which provides mentorship and education to historically underrepresented high school leaders, enabling them to increase the impact of their community initiatives. Over the past six years, Sarina has raised enough to provide more than 15,600 meals to food-insecure school-aged children, and was recently named one of the 20 under 20 most influential Iranians in North Carolina. Sarina successfully lobbied to lift the two-grocery-bag limit on public transportation in Forsyth County and is currently working with state representatives and senators to repeal the North Carolina tax on feminine hygiene products. Sarina is a member of the first class of female Eagle Scouts and the first female Eagle Scout to receive the National Certificate of Merit. Sarina is an outdoor enthusiast, enjoying skateboarding, surfing, snow skiing, camping, and running whenever she can. At Carolina, she plans to study economics. Sarina is the daughter of Shaida and Vance Horner II of Lewisville.

Samuel Henry Johnson (Sam) will graduate this spring from Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina, where he serves as captain of the tennis team, a member of the robotics club, and the fundraising coordinator for the Science Olympiad club. Sam is also the president of the Red Cross Club, a club dedicated to organizing school-wide blood drives twice a year. He also teaches tennis lessons twice a week to young children at his local tennis club. Outside of the classroom, Sam enjoys practicing piano and playing sports. At Carolina, he is interested in studying chemistry and physics, with the hope of attending medical school. Sam is the son of Valerie Alston Johnson and Samuel Johnson Jr. of Durham.

*Isabella Ann Larson (Ella) will graduate this spring from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina, where she serves as co-founder and co-president of the Middle Eastern Cultures Club, a humanities teaching assistant, and founder and teacher of Roma Studies Forum. In the academic environment, she’s very involved in linguistics, studying Chinese, Spanish, and Latin. She spends much of her time outside of the classroom empowering young adults as the head of the Cultural Advisory Council at her local library, creating programs to educate and engage local youth and young adults. As an alumna, ambassador, and conversation guide for NewGen Peacebuilders, she also promotes tolerance, understanding, and peacebuilding skills in her local community. Another of Ella’s passions is local sustainability, which she pursues by organizing projects for her school’s Student Environmental Education Coalition, initiating a mask recycling program on her school campus, renovating her school’s native plant garden, contacting politicians about pressing climate change issues, and even rescuing a grounded baby bat. At Carolina, she is interested in studying environmental sciences and linguistics on the pre-med track, in hopes of becoming an integrative medicine practitioner. Ella is the daughter of Christy and Kenneth Larson of Mooresville, North Carolina.

*Charles Alan McCain (Charles) will graduate this spring from Durham Academy Upper School in Durham, North Carolina, where he serves as vice president of his class and a member of the Student Organization and Leadership Development committee. He is a peer educator and is one of four seniors who teach a Self and Community class to the freshmen. Additionally, he is a leader of his school’s RAISE (Raising Awareness for Inclusion and Social Equity) club, where he creates diversity programming for pre-K through 12th graders, leads cultural competency workshops, and proposes and institutes curricular reform for more inclusive and diverse learning. He has a blog and an 11-episode podcast called Manage Your Money! in which he educates his viewers and readers on the basics of financial literacy. He is captain of the men’s varsity soccer team at his school and enjoys playing sports with his friends. At Carolina, he is interested in studying business at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. Charles is the son of Lori and Wendell McCain of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

*Jacob Andrew Rose (Jake) will graduate this spring from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina, where he serves as a residential life assistant on his 37-student hall and as president of the NCSSM Outdoors Club. As an Eagle Scout, Jake developed a 3D-printable sensory fidget resource for children with special needs and continued this by founding the nonprofit 3D Sensory Tools. He has been an entrepreneur since age nine, donating profits from his business, Surfside Shack, to Surfers Healing, a surf camp for children with autism, as well as being an active volunteer with the organization. He is a captain of a four-year, internationally-qualifying SeaPerch Underwater Robotics team which placed first in the Engineering Design Presentation at the 2021 International SeaPerch competition. Jake was selected to represent North Carolina in the Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition and was chosen for publication in the Broad Street Scientific Research Journal with his yearlong independent research project developing a biodegradable, bioactive, and variable-density 3D printer filament for use in patient-specific bone implants. At Carolina, he is interested in studying biomedical engineering on the pre-med track. Jake is the son of Bonnie and Todd Rose of Wilmington, North Carolina.

*Vish Ravichandran (Vish) will graduate this spring from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina, where he serves as co-director of State Relations, math teacher assistant, and co-editor-in-chief of the Broad Street Scientific. Vish co-founded and serves as the CEO of MISO, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to ensuring equitable education. He has also served as a volunteer counselor for NCSSM’s Summer Accelerator. In his free time, Vish enjoys watching Netflix, cooking, and weightlifting. At Carolina, he is interested in studying statistics and computer science. Vish is the son of Arthy Ravichandran and Ravi Subramaniam of Raleigh.

Elijah Sa’Quan Sellers (Elijah) will graduate this spring from Tarboro High School in Tarboro, North Carolina, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina, where he serves as president of the Legacy Club and residential life assistant. Outside of school, Elijah is a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He is also the co-host of the Resilience Zone Podcast. At Carolina, he plans to study social justice and political science. Elijah is the son of Sheila Cook of Durham.

Forsyth County

*Sarina Jarrahi Horner (Sarina) will graduate this spring from Forsyth Country Day School in Lewisville, North Carolina, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics online in Durham. At FCDS, Sarina served as the vice president of service, president of the Forsyth Backpack Program Club, and president of the Girls’ Service Club. She also serves on the judicial board and as an ambassador for FCDS. Sarina is the captain of the varsity girls golf team and a captain of the varsity track and field team. She co-founded the Youth Engagement Coalition with Wake Forest University and HandsOn NWNC, where she serves on the board, to increase youth engagement and volunteerism. Sarina co-founded Forsyth County Young Leaders Program which provides mentorship and education to historically underrepresented high school leaders, enabling them to increase the impact of their community initiatives. Over the past six years, Sarina has raised enough to provide more than 15,600 meals to food insecure school-aged children and was recently named one of the 20 under 20 most influential Iranians in North Carolina. Sarina successfully lobbied to lift the two grocery bag limit on public transportation in Forsyth County and is currently working with state representatives and senators to repeal the North Carolina tax on feminine hygiene products. Sarina is a member of the first class of female eagle scouts and the first female eagle scout to receive the National Certificate of Merit. Sarina is an outdoor enthusiast, enjoying skateboarding, surfing, snow skiing, camping, and running whenever she can. At Carolina, she plans to study economics. Sarina is the daughter of Shaida and Vance Horner II of Lewisville.

Jackson Eric Miller (Jackson) will graduate this spring from Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he serves as senior class president, lead anchor of the WMTH News, and a STAND Club leader. He has played on his high school’s soccer and tennis teams for the past four years. Jackson served as a junior marshal and attended North Carolina Governor’s School in the area of natural science. Outside of school, Jackson enjoys fishing, kayaking, and attending Young Life. At Carolina, he is interested in studying biology and/or biomedical engineering. Jackson is the son of Julie and Lance Miller of Winston-Salem.