Meet the Cumberland County JROTC students considered among the top in the nation

Local high school and college students will have some of their college tuition paid with the help of military-affiliated scholarships.  

At South View High School in Hope Mills, Cadet Maj. Trinity Ashworth and Cadet Pfc. Bakari Walker, both seniors in the junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, recently learned they were among the top cadets in the nation to earn a four-year ROTC scholarship.  

Their instructor, retired Command Sgt. Maj. Ruby Murray, said that out of more than 9,000 applicants, Ashworth’s and Walker were among 10% of students selected nationwide.  

“They both make me proud,” Murray said. “The scholarship is more than just their grades. It’s about service-learning, selfless service, hard work, dedication, integrity, being something bigger than themselves and teamwork.”  

Ashworth is South View High School’s junior ROTC battalion commander and helps lead 120 cadets as part of the program.  

She's been in JROTC since her freshman year and said she joined because her mother was in JROTC,  and she thought it would help prepare her to join the military.  

“I just got drawn in, loved it, got involved in the community and really started to care for the cadets who I lead,” Ashworth said.  

More:Cumberland County group presents more than $11K in ROTC scholarships

More:Fort Bragg spouses receive scholarships

During her time with the program, she’s participated in the annual Sandhills Purple Heart Dinner, with a saber presentation to honor the wounded Purple Heart veterans, and has helped feed homeless people in the surrounding communities during Thanksgiving.  

Ashworth said the JROTC program is an elective course that teaches about military science, drill movements and uniform maintenance, but she’s also gained time management and leadership skills in the program.  

During high school, she balanced the program with her other classes, drill and track team, work and community service.  

 “What I’ve taken away from the program is having a voice for myself,” Ashworth said. “When I first joined the program, I was very shut-in. I didn’t like to say much. I didn’t like to speak in front of people. Public speaking is also something that we focus on very heavily in the program.”  

Murray said Ashworth was one of the students she could count on when peer-on-peer contact was started this past year to allow cadets to tutor fellow cadets struggling in other high school classes. 

Walker joined the JROTC program this school year because both his parents were in the military and he considers them role models.  

Like Ashworth, he said the program has helped develop leadership skills.  

“We learn how to build bonds between our cadets, to better prepare for the world outside and mainly just take care of ourselves and our community,” Walker said.  

He said he’s taking away leadership, public speaking and time management skills from the program.  

During his time in JROTC, Walker said he balanced international baccalaureate program classes, community service, serving as a captain of the track and cross-country team, serving as co-captain of football, soccer and wrestling teams and a part-time job.  

Murray said during Walker’s time in the program he’s also been part of South View High School’s Tiger Stripes program, which helps mentor special needs students.  

"I help out wherever I can," Walker said.                           

Both Walker and Ashworth will attend N.C. A&T State University, where Ashworth plans to major in psychology and branch into Army psychology once she commissions. Walker plans to major in engineering and computer science and branch into technical support once he commissions into the Army.  

MOAA recognizes ROTC cadets

Also handing out scholarships to college ROTC students this month was the Cape Fear Chapter of the Military Officers of America.  

The recipient of the $3,500 Meinhardt ROTC Scholarship award is Army Cadet Marquize Woodson who is a first-year student at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  

Woodson said he joined ROTC because his parents were in the military, and he plans to work either in the signal or ordnance fields once commissioning.  

The recipient of the $3,000 Charles Pimble ROTC Scholarship is Army ROTC Cadet Jasmine Thompson-Yanes, who is also a Fort Bragg military spouse and will attend her final semester at Fayetteville State University in the fall.  

Thompson-Yanes said her stepfather, who served in the military, inspired her to join.  

“He was the first person I ever saw who had a house and a car and was situated and all his ducks in line,” she said. 

Thompson-Yanes joined the North Carolina National Guard in 2018 and focused on military intelligence. She joined the ROTC in 2019.  

After a deployment to Kuwait last year, she became interested in geospatial science, which is what she is now majoring in, she said.  

Other recipients of the $3,000 Cape Fear MOAA ROTC scholarship were Army Cadet Andrei Fennimore, a student at Campbell University, and Air Force Cadet David B. Hudson, a student at Methodist University.  

Corvias Foundation awards Fort Bragg military child

Corvias Foundation, founded by the chairman of military housing provider, Corvias, also announced that Katrina Churchill, the daughter of an active-duty service member at Fort Bragg, is receiving one of the foundation’s four-year college scholarships worth up to $40,000.  

“Our assistance does not stop with financial support,” Chairman John PIcerne said. “We encourage our scholars to engage with the Corvias Foundation community, where we cultivate personal and professional growth through a network of support and advocacy." 

The scholarship program provides financial support to military children all four years of college and provides opportunities to attend conferences, participate in internships and receive mentoring, according to a news release.  

Churchill is a senior at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines and plans to attend Saint Louis University in Missouri to study international business with a focus on economics and finance, according to the release.  

She has been active in Girl Scouts, worked for a local business since she was 15, played cello in Pinecrest High School's Sinfonietta Orchestra and the Moore Philharmonic Orchestra, is a drum major with the Pinecrest Marching Patriots and was a choreographer, soloist, and captain this past winter with Moore County Combined Percussion. 

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.