Portsmouth's Naseemah Mohamed '08 has been selected as a Morehead-Cain Scholar.  

Naseemah, a native of Zimbabwe, was one of just 82 young men and women from the USA and Great Britain to be awarded the highly prestigious scholarship.  She was chosen from a group of more than 320 prospective Scholars and an initial applicant pool of over 1,500 high school students.  

The Morehead-Cain Scholars Program is a unique, life-changing educational opportunity that combines a four-year undergraduate merit scholarship to the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill with a comprehensive experiential learning and leadership development program. The Program provides four summers of global travel and customized, hands-on learning, personal mentoring by experienced staff advisors and accomplished Program Alumni, and a remarkable group of motivated Morehead-Cain peers.  Scholars are selected based on four criteria -- leadership ability, moral force of character, academic excellence, and physical vigor -- and are expected to be leaders and role models, both on the UNC campus and after they graduate.

Headmaster Dr. James De Vecchi said, "We are very proud of Naseemah's achievement of being named a Morehead-Cain Scholar.  Naseemah's leadership during her four years here at Portsmouth has impacted everyone in every area of School life.  From classroom achievement to athletic competition to promoting international human rights causes, Naseemah's presence on our School campus has constantly displayed the qualities of hard work, discipline, humility, and compassion--qualities valued by the Morehead-Cain program.  I have every confidence that Naseemah will fully embrace the Morehead-Cain challenge:  to make a personal, lifelong commitment to make a difference in the world."

"This was one of the most competitive years in recent history for Morehead-Cain candidates," said Matthew Protto, director of scholar selection for the Morehead-Cain Foundation. "Naseemah, like the others chosen for this distinguished award, has consistently used her gifts and abilities to achieve a high level of personal and academic success; she is an exemplary member of her community, motivating others to action and leading in enthusiastic and creative ways.  We are extremely excited about the opportunity to work with Naseemah over the next four years."
           
Naseemah said, "I feel honored to have been offered this amazing scholarship. While growing up in Zimbabwe, I never imagined I would come this far.  I thank my friends, family and Portsmouth Abbey School for supporting and believing in me.  In college, I intend to major in Political Science and International Relations.  My ultimate goal after college is to help bring about positive reform in Zimbabwe."

Naseemah first came to the USA in 2003 to visit her sister who was attending Harvard.  She returned in June 2004 as one of four Zimbabwean representatives for an International Debate Exchange Program held in Washington and Utah, and then arrived in Portsmouth at the Abbey for the first time just two days before school started in September 2004.  

While here, Naseemah has excelled both in and outside the classroom.  A consistent Dean's List student and an AP Scholar, she has been a key player on the Girls' Varsity Field Hockey team; participated in the School's singing group, Abbey Singers, and theatrical group, Abbey Players; been a member of the Student Council, Debate Club, and Future Problem Solvers; and has started a human rights group on campus.

Congratulations, Naseemah!