April 28. Seventy-five new Morehead-Cain Scholars from the United States and the world will begin their undergraduate careers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this fall.

Avery Renee Elder, the daughter of Cornelius residents Dawn-Marie and Robert Elder, is one of them. She has landed a four-year, opportunity-laden scholarship to attend Chapel Hill.

“Morehead-Cain identifies, accelerates, and connects the most promising young leaders of all backgrounds,” said Chris Bradford, president of the Morehead-Cain Foundation.

Avery Elder

Achievements at Hough

Avery serves as Women In Stem officer of outreach, president of Love For Our Elders, and team captain of Hough women’s varsity golf. Working with Women in Cloud, Microsoft, and WiSTEM, she loves advocating for young women in technology. Volunteering with the First Tee, Music for Friends with Friends, and Love For Our Elders, she inspires others through golf, music, and making cards.

She also sings and plays the guitar and piano, and has been a choir member of the Howling Huskies. At Carolina, she is interested in studying business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship and technology.

The Elder family lives in The Peninsula.

Noteworthy Morehead-Cain alumni

—North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper ’79

—Karen Stevenson ’79, a US Magistrate Judge and first Black woman from the US 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

—NC Rep. Ricky Hurtado ’11, the first Latino Democrat elected to the NC Legislature

—Danae Ringelmann ’00, co-founder of the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo

—Francis Collins ’77, former director of the National Institutes of Health