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Lyle Stephens, Pendleton County High School Senior was recently awarded a Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps Preparatory Scholarship through the NJROTC program.
By Nila Harris
Lyle Stephens, Pendleton County High School Senior was recently awarded a Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps Preparatory Scholarship through the NJROTC program. “The preparatory scholarship is designed to establish a path for high potential students to gain college experience and strengthen fundamental areas of study, such as math and English, prior to being put on the four-year NJROTC Scholarship.” memphis.edu. The scholarship provides tuition, fees, books, meals, and housing paid by the university. After the first year, if the student maintains a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher, passes the Navy’s Physical Fitness Assessment, and upholds other eligibility requirements, he will automatically be granted the four-year ROTC scholarship by the U.S. Navy. This scholarship may well turn out to be worth more than $200,000.
According to PCHS Senior Naval Science Instructor, Commander CJ Warren, Lyle is the second cadet from NJROTC to earn this scholarship. Last year, Carlee Brannen received offers from Miami University and Jacksonville University and is currently in her first year at Jacksonville.
“We expect more of our seniors this year to apply, but Carlee and Lyle are the only cadets we’ve had apply until now. We’re currently two for two, and I hope to announce more scholarships in the future,” states Warren. This scholarship program is only available at universities which have a special agreement with the Navy.
Stephens, a cadet in the NJROTC program for all four years in high school, plans on attending the University of Memphis next fall. He will complete Training Camp in the summer at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago prior to attending the University of Memphis.