The Shelton Challenge is a six-day (July 6-11, 2025) residential leadership experience to help students expand their knowledge and skills of what it takes to be an effective leader. Offered to rising 9th-grade (transitioning from 8th to 9th grade) to graduated seniors (those heading into freshman year of college) with a 3.0+ unweighted GPA, hands-on activities focus on: personal leadership assessment and interpersonal dynamics, the role of values and ethics in leadership, leadership traits and approaches, empowering others, civic and social responsibility and goal setting. In addition to these aptitudes, students also engage in team-building activities like low- and high-ropes courses, rock climbing walls, service projects, and social activities in the evenings.

General Henry H. Shelton is originally from Speed, North Carolina, a town near Tarboro in eastern North Carolina. He graduated from North Carolina State University and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He spent the next 38 years in a variety of command and staff positions in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Vietnam. General Shelton became the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 1997, and served two two-year terms, retiring on September 30, 2001. Throughout his tenure as chairman, U.S. forces were in heavy demand and participated in numerous joint operations around the globe. For his exemplary service to his country, the 107th Congress bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal on General Shelton on September 19, 2002. General Shelton is also the Executive Director of the General Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at North Carolina State University and serves as Director of the Hugh and Carolyn Shelton Military Neurotrauma Foundation, Washington, DC. In 2009 his book,” Secrets of Success, Values-Based Leaders”, was released and his autobiography, “Without Hesitation”, was released in October 2010.

The cost to attend the Shelton Challenge six-day residential program is $500. This cost includes all curriculum materials, lodging and food, low and high ropes training, transportation during the week, and night activities. With submitting the application, please mail a $100 deposit to hold space in the program. The deposit will go toward the final payment of $500. Please make all checks or money orders payable to the Shelton Challenge at N.C. Wesleyan University. Financial aid scholarships are available to applicants. 

NC Wesleyan University will offer a scholarship in the amount of $1,000 to students who complete the Shelton Challenge and enroll as a full-time undergraduate student at North Carolina Wesleyan University. The scholarship is renewable for each academic year (fall/spring) if the student maintains an overall GPA of at least a 2.70 (and is enrolled as a full-time student) for a maximum of four academic years.

• High school juniors, regardless of citizenship, currently attending high school in the U.S., and U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents living abroad
• Earning primarily A’s in the most challenging courses offered
• Demonstrating strong writing skills and intellectual curiosity, plus resilience, integrity, and motivation to succeed
• Typically from a household earning less than $65,000 annually with minimal assets (for a household of four members)

Duke STAR Program (Rising Juniors and Seniors Only)

The Summer Training in Academic Research (STAR) ProgSTAR Fact Sheetram provides a high-quality research experience for undergraduate students, high school students, medical students, and middle and high school teachers during the summer academic break.

The six-week program will give participants interested in science and medicine real hands-on experience in research methodology and writing. Participants are placed in teams and matched with Duke faculty mentors to work on an original, hypothesis-driven project, originating as a one-page summary and culminating in a complete research paper. A goal of the program is to have every participant qualify for co-authorship on a peer-reviewed manuscript related to their team’s project.

The STAR Program is held at the Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, N.C., which has organized educational and support programs for junior faculty, fellows, residents, and medical students as well as high school and college students. Participants receive a stipend to attend, which makes the program an option even for students who plan to work over the summer break.

Wake Forest College Prep Online

Explore your interests before college

Are there subjects you’re thinking about taking in college but would like to know more about? The Online Immersion Program, designed for high school students ages 13 and up, has been created for this purpose. It offers exciting topics, covered in-depth, through online coursework led by Wake Forest University professors. The program is available year-round, and the online format allows you to study anywhere, anytime, while working at your own pace. This flexibility enables you to take multiple courses and explore a variety of academic areas of interest.

Apply Now

NCSLPH Outreach Program

On behalf of the NCDHHS North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, I wanted to connect with your school program and share some of our student outreach efforts. 

I am hoping to build relationships in which we can support teachers and students that may find the important work of a public health laboratory of interest. We also host a summer program for high school students who are interested in learning more about public health and laboratory careers. I plan to share more information about this high school summer program in 2025, closer to the student application window.  

Attached you will find a flyer that provides an overview of the NCSLPH Outreach Program

Naomi Vining, MA

Laboratory Outreach Coordinator

Division of Public Health, NC State Laboratory of Public Health

NC Department of Health and Human Services

 Office: (919) 807-8756

naomi.vining@dhhs.nc.gov

NCDHHS provides essential services to improve the health, safety and well-being of all North Carolinians. Learn more about NCDHHS initiatives and priorities.

NC State Research Opportunity for High Schoolers 2025 (Grades 10, 11, 12)

Dylan Thompson 

International Program Assistant

Office of Global Engagement

P: 9191-695-2929

https://gti.ncsu.edu/

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