Identifying potential: Looking beyond the application to find future leaders
Through expanded partnerships, thoughtful evaluation methods, and meaningful personal connections, Morehead-Cain is strengthening how to recognize and invest in the next generation of principled leaders.
This story is part of the 2026 Morehead-Cain Day of Giving series, celebrating a decade of alumni generosity and the opportunities, experiences, and connections our community has helped make possible.
Finalists at the 2026 Morehead-Cain Final Selection Experience on February 27, 2026 (photo by Leon Godwin)
In 2026, Morehead-Cain semifinalists recognized 503 educators who made a meaningful difference in their lives.
The recognition reminded us of something fundamental to the Morehead-Cain mission: Leadership potential is shaped through experiences, relationships, and opportunities that an application may not fully capture.
As artificial intelligence changes the college admissions landscape, the human work of understanding candidates, including their character, judgment, aspirations, and potential growth, remains essential.
With the generosity and engagement of alumni, Morehead-Cain has continued to strengthen its selection process through expanded recruitment partnerships, thoughtful evaluation methods, and more opportunities to engage with candidates in person.
Together, these investments help us recognize promising young leaders across more communities and better understand the qualities they will continue developing throughout their lives.
Finding promise in more places
Leadership potential isn’t limited by geography, school size, or access to opportunity.
Yet identifying promising young leaders requires more than waiting for them to discover Morehead-Cain. It means building relationships with schools, educators, and organizations that know students well and can recognize qualities that may not always be reflected in traditional measures of achievement.
Over the past five years, the Foundation’s affiliate partner network has grown from twenty-one to fifty-eight organizations, while the number of nominating schools has increased by 192.
These relationships help Morehead-Cain reach students across a broader range of communities, including rural areas and school districts with fewer resources.
Partners such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America and North Carolina Future Farmers of America offer connections to young people whose leadership potential may be expressed through service, initiative, perseverance, or commitment to their communities.
Over the past five years, the Foundation’s affiliate partner network has grown from 21 to 58 organizations, while the number of nominating schools has increased by 192
Alongside school and affiliate nominations, candidates may enter the process through referrals from UNC Undergraduate Admissions, while North Carolina high school seniors have a self-nomination pathway.
Alumni generosity has helped expand the Foundation’s recruitment capacity, allowing staff to strengthen relationships with more schools and organizations and engage with prospective candidates across a wider range of communities.
Explore Morehead-Cain’s expanding list of nominating partners.
Looking beyond the written application
Morehead-Cain’s selection criteria remain rooted in four pillars: leadership, character, scholarship, and physical vigor.
These qualities are not merely measures of what a young person has already accomplished. They also help us recognize a candidate’s capacity for growth and willingness to embrace the challenges that leadership demands.
How does a candidate approach an unfamiliar situation? What motivates them to take initiative? How do they work with others, respond to setbacks, or contribute to their communities?
No single application or interview can answer all these questions.
That’s why Morehead-Cain’s selection process draws on multiple perspectives, beginning with written applications, recommendations, and school reports and extending to semifinalist video interviews reviewed independently by alumni.
Alumni reviews consider these interviews without reference to written applications, using comparative judgment to bring another perspective to the evaluation.
The process also recognizes the people who help young leaders develop. Through the Impact Educator initiative, semifinalists have an opportunity to honor teachers and mentors who challenged their thinking, encouraged their curiosity, and helped them recognize their capacity to lead.
In 2026, 503 Impact Educators received this recognition, reflecting the many relationships that shape a young person’s development long before they encounter Morehead-Cain.
Their stories reinforce an important belief: Leadership develops through encouragement, meaningful challenge, and a commitment to others.
Meet the 2026 Morehead-Cain Impact Educators.
John Ramos, a 2025 and 2026 Morehead-Cain Impact Educator, of Forestview High School in Gaston County (photo courtesy of Ramos)
The value of human connection
In an increasingly digital world, creating opportunities for candidates to connect with others, exchange ideas, and show how they approach challenges alongside their peers is invaluable.
Morehead-Cain has made significant investments in the Final Selection Experience, bringing more candidates to Chapel Hill for a comprehensive, in-person experience.
Since 2016, the number of finalists has grown from 130 to 192 in 2026—nearly 50 percent.
Before arriving in Chapel Hill, finalists connect with alumni through the Finalist Alumni Connection Experience (FACE). These conversations introduce candidates to Morehead-Cain Alumni and offer a glimpse into the relationships and experiences that define the Program.
The Final Selection Experience itself includes a written exercise, a group exercise, two Selection Committee interviews, and reference checks.
Together, these activities offer different perspectives on how candidates think, collaborate, engage with unfamiliar challenges, and demonstrate their potential for growth.
Since 2016, the number of finalists has grown from 130 to 192 in 2026—nearly 50 percent
For finalists, the experience is also an opportunity to better understand the community they may one day join.
The goal is not to identify candidates who have already mastered every dimension of leadership. It is to recognize young people with the character, intellectual promise, initiative, and capacity to continue growing.
James Barnes ’77 and Sriya Amineni ’28 meeting during FACE in 2025 (photo courtesy of James Barnes ’77)
A community invested in the next generation
Behind the evolution of Morehead-Cain’s selection process is another defining strength: the commitment of alumni who continue to invest in the generations that follow them.
In the 2026 selection cycle, 543 alumni contributed their time, experience, and perspectives to the process.
Their involvement brings the knowledge and experience of an intergenerational community into the work of identifying future leaders.
Alumni understand firsthand that the Morehead-Cain experience extends far beyond academic achievement. They recognize the importance of curiosity, character, meaningful challenge, and a commitment to others because those qualities have helped shape their own journeys.
In the 2026 selection cycle, 543 alumni contributed their time, experience, and perspectives to the process
Their participation reflects the community’s enduring responsibility to those who come next.
The newest members of the Morehead-Cain Class of 2030 represent the promise behind these investments. Each scholar brings distinct experiences, perspectives, and aspirations to Carolina, along with the opportunity to continue developing as a leader.
Through a leadership-development model grounded in high expectations, stretch experiences, and sustained engagement, scholars are challenged to develop their character, pursue meaningful goals, and apply their talents in service of others.
The selection process begins that journey by recognizing not only achievement, but also the potential for growth.
Newest Morehead-Cain Scholars announced on May 4, 2026 (photos by Ira Wilder ’24)
Look what you’ve made possible
More thoughtful evaluation methods. Deeper relationships with schools and community organizations. More opportunities to connect with finalists in person. Hundreds of alumni contributing their time and expertise to identifying the next generation.
For generations, alumni have helped sustain and strengthen the Foundation’s ability to identify, invest in, and empower young leaders. Their philanthropy supports the people and resources behind this work, while their engagement brings invaluable perspective, judgment, and personal connection to the selection experience.
As part of the 2026 Morehead-Cain Day of Giving, we’re celebrating a decade of collective generosity and the lasting impact of a community that continues to show up for the next generation.
That impact begins long before a scholar arrives at Carolina. It continues through the experiences, relationships, and opportunities that turn that promise into a lifetime of principled leadership.
To the alumni who make this work possible: Thank you for helping us recognize promise, invest in potential, and shape the future of Morehead-Cain.