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Stephen Cone
E. A. Laney High School
If you’re already accepted to the University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar during your senior year of high
school, it may be hard to focus on classwork. Yet, Stephen Cone,
student body president at Laney High School has it under control.
Cone credits the school’s atmosphere and teachers with making
it easy to focus and learn.
“There are so many distractions in high school, but I feel like we
have teachers that can really get you motivated to do the work and
make it enjoyable,” Cone says.
The environment at school and home go hand in hand. Like his
teachers, Cone’s parents instill the same hard-work ethic.
“My parents were polar opposites while I was growing up,” he
says. “My mom made sure I got my work done and really made me
who I am in the classroom, while my dad made sure I still had a
normal, balanced, fun life. Honestly, I got the best of both worlds.”
With study habits that include wearing headphones without
music to tune out background noise, Cone notes AP biology as
the subject he studies for the most, although U.S. history is his
favorite. For his senior project, he conducted research at UNCW’s
aquaculture facility and developed a documentary film about the
aquaculture process, creating an aid to protect the environment by
whiz
reducing commercial fishing impacts on wild fish.
Looking to study economics or marine science in college, Cone
is motivated by goal setting.
“You really have to picture yourself achieving your goal, and that
will definitely help you get there,” he says.
In addition to schoolwork, Cone enjoys many extracurricular
activities. He’s the assistant director of the Wilmington Junior Golf
Academy, an organization that teaches golf and life skills to underprivileged
youth, and is also a soccer player. Although he is in love
with soccer, Cone’s latest passion is fishing. He’s even interested in
starting a fishing club on UNC’s campus after he touches down in
the fall.
Arianna Nasser
Isaac Bear Early College
I like building things, designing things, manipulating things, but
I also really like people.”
Parks Scholar and future engineer at North Carolina State
University, Arianna Nasser works hard to bundle everything she
loves.
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