The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) is pleased to announce TFAS Trustee and North Carolina business leader Louis DeJoy and his wife Dr. Aldona Wos have provided $100,000 in scholarship funding to enable students in North Carolina and Estonia to attend TFAS D.C. Summer Programs.
In the second of a five-year gift funded through the Louis DeJoy and Aldona Wos Family Foundation, one full scholarship is awarded to a student from Estonia and full and partial scholarships are awarded to North Carolina students, with priority given to students with financial need. Through TFAS programs, the students will intern with government agencies, media outlets, businesses and nonprofit organizations, while attending courses with academic credit provided through George Mason University.
The programs of TFAS develop well-rounded leaders who make a difference on campus, in their state capitals and at the highest levels of government.” – Louis DeJoy
Louis DeJoy is the former chairman and chief executive officer of New Breed Logistics, a major employer in the North Carolina Triad region, which he merged with XPO Logistics in 2014. He is currently the president of Greensboro-based LDJ Global Strategies. Aldona Wos served as ambassador to Estonia from 2004 to 2006, and from 2013 to 2015 she was head of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. As of May 2017, Wos serves as vice-chairwoman of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships.
This year, 10 young leaders have been selected to benefit from the scholarship, including students at North Carolina universities, those with in-state residency and one student from Estonia. This year’s scholars are: Mary Bennett Doty and Karlton Tate of UNC Chapel Hill; Cristina Garcia Ayala and Josie Tarin of Duke University; Ian Goodman of Winston-Salem, attending College of Charleston; Thomas Johnston of Lenoir-Rhyne University; Morgan Murray of East Carolina University; Jacob Trubey of NC State University; Chandler Vaughan of Elon University; and Merili Arjakas of the University of Tartu in Estonia.
Over the past 14 years, DeJoy and Wos have provided scholarship assistance to enable more than 100 North Carolinian and 48 Estonian students to participate in TFAS programs. DeJoy said he’s pleased to support these students because “preparing today’s young people to be honorable leaders is the surest way to promote American values and economic prosperity in the future. The programs of TFAS develop well-rounded leaders who make a difference on campus, in their state capitals and at the highest levels of government.”
TFAS President Roger Ream ’76 said these scholarships will change lives and help prepare the next generation of young leaders.
“We’re grateful for the generous DeJoy-Wos scholarships, which will provide a platform for talented students to gain real-world experience in our nation’s capital, while also giving them the opportunity to learn more about the key institutions of American government,” Ream said.
Karlton Tate, who will be interning with the Economic Innovation Group, said he is incredibly grateful that he was selected as a scholarship recipient.
“This scholarship provides me with the incredible opportunity to intern and take classes in the nation’s capital, an opportunity that I would have otherwise been unable to pursue,” Tate said.
In what will be her first time visiting the United States, Merili Arjakas believes the experience will help strengthen her understanding of American politics and U.S.-European relations. She is grateful for this “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
In addition to their internships and classes at George Mason University, TFAS students attend site briefings, guest lectures, professional development seminars and other networking events in Washington, D.C. Nearly 600 college students from across the U.S. and around the world will participate in TFAS programs in D.C., Hong Kong and Prague this summer.