The Lord Botetourt Medal
William Carlos Noel II ’23 - 2023 Award Recipient
The Lord Botetourt Medal is presented each year to the undergraduate student who has most distinguished him or herself in scholarship during their time at William & Mary. In 2023, this singular honor is awarded to William Carlos Noel II.
Carlos is recognized for his scholarship as well as his humility, character, empathy and commitment to inclusion. In the words of an advisor, “Carlos is a rare gem who the academy or the world only has the chance to engage with once in a lifetime.”
Carlos graduates with a Bachelor of Science in a self-designed Social Justice in Medicine major and Biochemistry minor. Carlos diligently pursued research at William & Mary, earning recognition by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national undergraduate scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. Carlos gave a poster presentation at the American Society of Biochemistry 2023 Annual Meeting and is the first to investigate N2a neuronal cells in the lab of Professor Shantá Hinton, enhancing her research programs as well as contributing to understanding neurological disorders such as dementia.
In addition to a perfect GPA, Carlos has received a plethora of scholarships. Carlos is a Murray 1693 Scholar, Monroe Scholar and WMSURE Scholar. As part of the REACH Undergraduate Research Program, Carlos worked with Dr. Vanessa B. Shepard at VCU Medical School on research focusing on hypertension in Black breast cancer survivors. Carlos is also a Hulon Willis Memorial Scholar, Virginia Space Grant Consortium STEM Bridge Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa inductee. Recently, he was named the Albert and Phyllis Cornell Pre-Medical Awardee. This award, established in honor of the late Dr. Albert Cornell ’30 is made annually to two graduating senior premedical students who show great promise to become outstanding physicians.
Carlos co-founded the W&M chapter of MindVersity, an organization focused on mental health, and has advocated for policies that relieve academic stress. Carlos is a music director for the Gentlemen of the College and a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Carlos was accepted into many prestigious medical schools, including a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University Medical School, and a 90% (the highest provided) scholarship to Harvard University Medical School — a rare honor. William & Mary looks forward with great anticipation to his future in medicine.
