N.J. teen selected for prestigious honor

Blair Academy senior torn between Ivy League and University of North Carolina offer.

By SARA K. SATULLO

The Express-Times

WASHINGTON TWP., N.J. | A township teenager is one of 85 students worldwide selected for a prestigious scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Blair Academy senior Todd Lewis must decide by April 14 if he will join the ranks of Morehead-Cain Scholars or follow his dream of an Ivy League education.

"If I don't take the Morehead, I will never get it again. It's gone," said Lewis, who also has been accepted at Columbia and Brown universities. "It's hard to let the dream go but the Ivy Leagues aren't going anywhere."

Lewis was selected from a pool of 1,500 students who were nominated or applied to the program. He's leaning toward accepting the scholarship, telling himself the Ivy League will be there for graduate school.

The Morehead-Cain Scholars is a merit-based scholarship and 85 to 90 percent of students selected into the program accept it, foundation spokeswoman Jennifer Bahus said.

The scholarship, valued at $140,000, also provides a stipend and funds four summer study programs each student creates. Each year focuses on a different subject: an outdoor adventure, public service, international research and economic enterprise.

Lewis, who thinks he wants to double major in theater and international relations, said the summer options are swaying him.

"I spent my whole life working to give myself options and with the Morehead the reality is you can do almost anything you can imagine," he said. "Who wouldn't want to take their summer and go work in a hospital in Rwanda or go work with a businessman in Hong Kong rather than get a summer job?"

For the first summer, Lewis is considering a schooner trip at Hurricane Island in Maine or a month-long backpack trip in Alaska.

The second summer, Lewis hopes to continue his work with Discover World. He founded a local chapter of the student-run humanitarian relief group for Rwanda.

Lewis was Blair Academy's sole nominee this year. He is the second academy student to win in six years.

"My college counselor called and said, 'I have this opportunity that is going to change your life but if you win it you will have the world at your fingertips,'" Lewis recalled. "I didn't think I would get it."

Lewis' proud parents, Donna and Pete, said the decision is up to their son.

"We've always told him if he earned an Ivy League admission, we'd make sure he'd be able to go," his mother said.

Lewis said his parents support his acting even though it's not the most pragmatic career and that motivates him to do well.

"They deserve to see me succeed and all the things they have given me to come to fruition," Lewis said.

Reporter Sara K. Satullo can be reached at 908-475-2174 or by e-mail at ssatullo@express-times.com.

© 2008  The Express Times