Julia Hunt Endowment scholarship rewards students who give back
Julia Hunt has spent decades showing her Bryson City community the power of giving. She often says she gets far more out of volunteering than she gives.
That philosophy drives the Julia Hunt Endowment, a scholarship that supports Swain County students. Volunteer service is the only requirement. Students must continue giving back and reapply each year they remain in college.
The scholarship began in 2004 through the Swain County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation. Hunt had long been running fundraisers for local nonprofits, often cooking for the events at her Everett Street Diner, which she owned at the time, when the affiliate foundation decided to create a fund in her name.
Through Hunt’s tireless fundraising efforts, the endowment is approaching $200,000, with more than $100,000 in scholarships awarded to students dedicated to volunteer service. Hunt has a long-term goal of growing the fund to $500,000 so it can sustain scholarships for years to come.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anybody work as hard as my mom works on this scholarship. She’s always doing fundraisers and side fundraisers,” said her daughter, Jessica Cline.
Hunt’s own life inspired the fund. She dropped out of high school, later earned her GED and college degree, and raised two children largely on her own. She has volunteered with the school system, hospice, library, and other community organizations.
“I’ve never in my entire life had money,” she said. “I’ve had to work for every penny I make, so I gave my time, and I wanted to develop that joy of giving in young people.”
“What I like about her scholarship is you do have to volunteer to get it,” Cline said. “It’s not just a one-time thing. You have to keep doing the work. That’s what makes it special.”
Scholarship recipients understand the impact. Erin Jenkins, who received the award throughout college, said, “If you talk about the embodiment of community, that’s what Julia is. She is always giving back, and the scholarship reminds us to keep giving too.”
Jenkins believes the community service aspect is important because it shows “you don’t have to give anything else but your time and a little bit of effort.”
“Many recipients go above and beyond what is expected,” Hunt said, noting students like Kierra Shook, a Swain County High School graduate who went on to earn an internship at NASA while attending NC State.
Beyond inspiring students, Hunt values the role NCCF plays in supporting the scholarship. “I love being able to tell people that it is being monitored through an organization with federal regulations, that their contribution is tax deductible, and that there is documentation of where their money comes in and where it goes out,” she said. “The level of comfort in that is priceless.”