NEWS RELEASE
PUBLIC INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
PO Box 567, Buies Creek, NC 27506
Tel: (910) 893-1224 w Fax: (910) 893-1922
Full Scholarship Winner is Already an Activist
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Meredith Jernigan |
Barely 18 and not yet out of high school, Meredith
Jernigan, of Benson, NC, is already an experienced activist. When
her best friend was diagnosed with Type I diabetes, Jernigan wasn’t
content to sit by and do nothing. The 2004 recipient of Campbell
University’s J. Hunter and Mabel C. Strickland Scholarship began
learning everything she could about the disease.
Jernigan, a senior at South Johnston High School,
accompanied her friend to doctor’s appointments and learned how to
administer insulin injections. She became her friend’s diabetic
caretaker at school and participated in the Juvenile Diabetes
Walk-a-Thon.
“I soon discovered that diabetics like my friend were
facing hardships in school along with everything else they already
endured,” Jernigan said. “Young children were having their insulin shots
and pumps taken away. These actions were not only heartless, they could
have resulted in a fatality.”
Jernigan joined the Diabetes Research Federation in an
effort to pass a Senate bill that would improve the situation for
diabetic students. Personally lobbying North Carolina legislators Oscar
Harris of the Senate and Don Davis of the House, she helped get Senate
Bill 911 enacted into law on September 5, 2002. The bill requires the
state board of education to adopt guidelines for the development and
implementation of individual diabetes care plans that would allow
students the treatment they need while in school. It also requires local
boards of education to implement these guidelines. As part of her senior
project, Jernigan also developed a web page that helps raise awareness
about diabetes and provides information on Senate Bill 911.
“It is a wonderful feeling to know that my efforts can
make a difference in a child’s life,” Jernigan said. “I have experienced
what it feels like to be a part of a great democratic society that
allows its citizens to improve conditions for less fortunate
individuals.”
Her experience as an activist also led Jernigan to
discover what she really wanted to do with her life. “I realized I
wanted to go into the medical field and that pharmacy was right for me,”
she said. “I knew I wanted to do something that would allow me to give
back to the community.”
Based on merit, students competing for the Strickland
Scholarship must score a minimum of 1,200 on the Scholastic Aptitude
Test (SAT), and have an overall grade point average of 3.5 or better on
a 4.0 scale. The students must rank in the upper 10 percent of their
class, as well as demonstrate church and community involvement.
As a high school student, Jernigan attended Tarheel
Girl’s State in Tarboro, NC, and was selected to participate in Summer
Ventures, a science and math program sponsored by the North Carolina
School for Science and Mathematics. She was a cheerleader her freshman,
sophomore, and junior years at South Johnston, and is a member of the
International Studies Club and the National Honor Society.
She is the daughter of Tony and Elizabeth Jernigan. Her
sister, Jennifer, is a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
Founded in 1887, Campbell University is North Carolina’s
second largest private institution of higher education and the second
largest Baptist university in the world. Located in Buies Creek, NC,
just east of the center of the state, Campbell combines academic
excellence and Christian commitment.
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