A charitable organization formed to honor the legacy of two-term state Senator Emily Couric formally awarded nearly a dozen scholarships on Monday to high school seniors.
“Today we are honoring 11 young women who truly embody my sister Emily’s belief that leadership is about the courage to show up and do the right thing, And to lift others as you climb,” said Katie Couric, a former NBC News host and now independent journalist.
Emily Couric died in 2001 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Since then, the Emily Couric Leadership Forum has awarded over $2.2 million to 206 young women. They do so at an annual luncheon in Downtown Charlottesville to recognize the scholarships and to hand out a Women’s Leadership Award.
This year that went to Gretchen Walsh, a UVA graduate and Olympian swimmer who holds world records in many categories including the 100 meter butterfly, the 4×100 medley relay, mixed gender 4×100 medley relay, and many more.
“It’s been amazing getting to know these young ladies and their own accomplishments in their own right,” Walsh said. “And I just feel really proud to be a part of this community of people that have really bright futures.”
Couric interviewed Walsh about her career as a swimmer, one that dates back to the age of 4. Walsh said she began to take the sport really seriously seven years later.
“What made you kind of buckle down?” Couric asked. “What kicked in when you were about 11 and made you say, I’m gonna go for this?”
“I think it was more in particular, when I was 13 years old, I qualified for the Olympic trials for the first time, 2016,” Walsh said. “From that point on, I knew that I wanted to be professional. I wanted to do everything in my power to make the Olympic team next time around, to win medals, to break world records.”
Walsh graduated from the McIntire School of Commerce at UVA as a finance major and math minor with a 3.85 grade point average. She said the rigors of training to swim while also in school taught her how to manage her time wisely. Walsh’s first year coincided with the introduction of new rules that allowed college athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
“My first ever NIL deal was with Swim Outlet, which is basically the Amazon of swimming,” Walsh said. “And we, me and my sister made a swimsuit line with them. And getting to see the sales, the revenue and being introduced to that in a way that was authentic, really sparked my interest to go and apply to McIntire in the first place.”
Walsh is currently in training for additional competitions including the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Toward the end of the conversation, Couric asked Walsh what advice she had for the eleven women being honored.
“I would say that my best piece of advice is to never shut any door and always say yes. At some point you might have to start saying no,” Walsh said. “I did. And I wish I never had to get to that point because genuinely any experience is a good one.”
One of the eleven recipients received a $50,000 scholarship and this time around that is Eleanor “Nori” Carter of St. Anne’s-Belfield School. Carter has been recognized for work to create a school club for students who have experienced loss, authoring a children’s book called Amigos del Océano, and public policy work.
“The only difference between any one of us in this room and a young girl fighting every day for basic needs, rights and education is opportunity,” Carter said. “The same opportunities that I have been lucky enough to have access to.”
In her speech, Carter identified Malala Yousafzai, Amanda Nguyen, and Governor Abigail Spanberger as three women who have inspired her journey. She also cited Mr. Rogers.
“He said, when I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, look for the helpers,” Carter said. “You will always find people who are helping. It helped teach me that hate and bigotry are learned traits and that nobody enters this earth hating another person. It also made me decide that I want to be one of the helpers.”
Elizabeth Cook of Monticello High School was awarded the Joshua J. Scott Merit Scholarship of $35,000.
The other nine scholarship winners, each receiving $18,000, are:
● Ava Ellis, Western Albemarle High School
● Carli Esterhuyse, Renaissance School
● Charlotte Feist, Covenant School
● Naomi Ryan, Miller School of Albemarle
● Aarushi Shah, Albemarle High School
● Cameron Smith, Regents School of Charlottesville
● Sofia Smith, Tandem Friends School
● Luciana “Luci” Stiteler-Rosario, Community Lab School
● Jayla Turner, Charlottesville High School
For more on the Emily Couric Leadership Forum, visit their website.
Before you go: The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what is happening at the local, regional, state, and federal government levels. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things. Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the April 29, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution.
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