SANFORD - Central Carolina Community College student Linda Pereira, of Chapel Hill, has been named as a recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society as a 2014 Coca-Cola Leader of Promise Scholar.

The Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholarship Program provides new Phi Theta Kappa members with financial resources to help defray educational expenses while enrolled in associate degree programs. Scholars are also encouraged to assume leadership roles by participating in Society programs.

"Linda is a great example to other students because she takes ownership of her education and the means to acquire it," says Mark Hall, a Phi Theta Kappa advisor at CCCC. "She is active in Phi Theta Kappa and is in the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program (C-STEP), while earning a high GPA and working.

"She recognized this scholarship opportunity and actively pursued it. The award of this scholarship is the result of her diligence and tenacity."

Pereira said she was honored and excited to be chosen from so many other deserving students. "It is also very inspiring to know that this organization has decided to sponsor my education," she said. "Keeping this in mind reminds me of how many people other than just myself want me to succeed, which is definitely motivating to me."

Pereira, the daughter of Richard Pereira and Donna Barton, both of Chapel Hill, attended Northwood High School and Phoenix Academy High School. Upon graduation from CCCC, she plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Pereira said she graduated from high school a year early and found CCCC to be an appealing option for continuing her education at a low cost and to be able to take online classes.

"So far, this being my second year at CCCC, my experience here has been awesome, with a lot of support and encouragement all around. I am definitely happy and grateful that I chose to attend CCCC," said Pereira. "Due to the opportunities presented to me here at CCCC, I am able to continue my education at the university of my dreams -- UNC-Chapel Hill -- and pursue a prestigious degree in a subject I am passionate about."

Pereira plans to achieve a doctorate in quantum physics. "Then I plan to perform research as well as write publications regarding quantum physics and my discoveries within the field, and just see what opportunities my degree and the knowledge it implies, as well as my passions, will open up for me," she said.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Miss., is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,285 chapters on college campuses in all 50 of the United States, plus Canada, Germany, the Republic of Palau, Peru, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions.

For more information about Phi Theta Kappa at CCCC, visit the college's Web site, www.cccc.edu, click on "A-Z Index," then "P" for "Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society."