CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School graduate Jake Sheridan has been named to the prestigious Robertson Scholars Leadership Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. As a Robertson Scholar, he has won a four-year scholarship that gives him unique access to the academic and extracurricular offerings at both Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill.
His academic achievements, extracurricular activities, remarkable character and service-oriented personality recommend him as the type of scholar the Robertson program seeks. He was elected to the school’s Honor Council during his freshman year, and has served on the council each year since then. He is a successful participant on the Debate and Speech Team, and plays basketball.
He is known for selecting the most challenging courses offered at the high school, and took seven Advanced Placement classes his senior year. He has participated in Mecklenburg County Teen Court, a program of the Assistance League of Charlotte, which provides a second chance for juvenile offenders with no prior convictions when they admit guilt to a misdemeanor offense, agree to be tried by a jury of their peers, and take responsibility for their actions. Teen volunteers such as Sheridan are trained in the legal process as jurors, clerks of court, bailiffs and attorneys.
The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program was created in 2000 by the Robertson family, inspired by their sons, one of whom graduated from Duke in 1998, and the other from UNC in 2001. The Robertsons believed that each institution offered a distinct undergraduate experience, and that the combination of the two would provide a depth and breadth of resources that no other university could match.
The program provides students from each university with full four-year scholarships, access to the academic and extracurricular offerings at both universities, three summers of experiences in the U.S. and abroad, and opportunities for professional development and interaction. Approximately 36 Robertson scholarships are awarded each year to 18 incoming UNC freshmen and 18 incoming Duke freshmen.
— Carolyn Kramer Tillman