North Lenoir senior Madeline Gilmore pursues medical dreams as Goodnight Scholarship recipient
North Lenoir High School senior Madeline Gilmore has been named a recipient of the Goodnight Scholarship, one of North Carolina’s most prestigious undergraduate scholarships, recognizing her academic excellence, leadership and passion for science.
The highly competitive program provides a full scholarship for four years at North Carolina State University for students pursuing degrees in STEM or education fields. Gilmore will join the university’s Honors College this fall, where she plans to study biochemistry as the first step toward a career in medicine.
“I’m really excited about that,” Gilmore said. “I would like to be a doctor, maybe OB-GYN or surgery.”
Her interest in medicine is rooted in family history. Gilmore’s grandfather practiced medicine in Kinston for more than four decades, and his legacy continues to shape how she sees the profession.
“My grandpa was a doctor for 41 years here in Kinston. He was an OB-GYN,” she said. “He’s been retired for a long time, and I still hear people tell stories about how he delivered their kids. It’s really heartwarming to know he had that lasting effect on everybody. I want to do something like that.”
While academics are central to her future plans, Gilmore’s high school experience has been defined by a wide range of interests and commitments. She participates in varsity cheerleading and previously ran varsity cross country, serves as a member of Student Government Association and National Honor Society and has been involved in competitive dance since she was just two years old.
Her favorite style is lyrical, which blends ballet and jazz, and she credits her longtime dance teacher with instilling a strong sense of discipline and motivation.
“She’s a very motivated person, and I definitely think having her for so long has transferred into other areas of my life,” Gilmore said. “She’s kept me really motivated in dance, and I definitely see how that translates to school and other activities.”
That mindset has pushed her to pursue challenging coursework and opportunities that might have once felt out of reach.
“I try to make sure I’m taking the most challenging classes I can, even if they are hard and take more time,” she said. “When it came to applying to colleges or scholarships, I started reaching for things that maybe I didn’t think I could get into. I wouldn’t have known I was a candidate for the Goodnight Scholarship if I hadn’t applied.”
The scholarship will help ease the financial burden of pursuing medical school, a factor Gilmore said made the opportunity especially meaningful.
“It’s a full ride for four years, which would be really beneficial,” she said. “You don’t really get scholarships for medical school, so having my undergraduate degree paid for would help a lot in the long run.”
Beyond the classroom, Gilmore has actively explored different career paths through hands-on experiences. She served as a Governor’s Page in the North Carolina House and completed a summer internship at the Yale School of Medicine studying tissue biology.
The research experience offered a new perspective on the medical field.
“That’s the research side of medicine where they develop drugs and treatments for doctors to use,” she said. “It helped me see all the possibilities and all the things you can do within the field.”
Gilmore says opportunities like these have reinforced the importance of stepping forward and advocating for yourself.
“Not everyone is going to hand things to you,” she said. “If you want to do something, you’ve got to go after it and apply for it.”
As she prepares for graduation and the transition to college, Gilmore hopes younger students remember that their path does not have to look exactly like anyone else’s.
“I didn’t get into my number one school, and I was really upset about it,” she said. “But you can’t compare your journey to everyone else’s. Your path will kind of find you. When I visited NC State, I felt really welcome, and I’ve had a lot of opportunities come along.”
Now, with the Goodnight Scholarship secured and college on the horizon, Gilmore is looking ahead with the same determination that has defined her time at North Lenoir.
“I just try to be open to opportunities,” she said. “I don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad experience. You always learn something.”
