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NNOA to award scholarships at annual banquet May 20

20 May 2016 | Lt. Col. Patrick Nelson Marine Corps Base Quantico

The Quantico Chapter of the National Naval Officers Association (NNOA) will be holding its annual scholarship banquet at 6 p.m. on May 20 at the Clubs at Quantico. Five local high school graduating seniors will receive scholarships at the event. Once the scholarships are awarded, the Quantico chapter will have awarded $48,500 of need-based and academic scholarships to local students since 2012.

The NNOA is a professional, national organization with local chapters throughout the United States and the Far East. The organization is comprised of active duty, reserve and retired officers and civilians who seek to actively support the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard in the recruitment, development and retention officer corps via professional development and mentorship designed to optimize individual performance and enhance operational readiness. NNOA focuses on training and mentoring sea service officers toward career success, while charging them to increase awareness and promote the sea services in communities where they live and serve.

The guest of honor and speaker for the scholarship banquet will be Maj. Gen. Craig Q. Timberlake, director of Manpower Management, Manpower and Reserve Affairs. This year’s theme is “Today’s Student…Tomorrow’s Leader,” and was chosen to emphasize the importance of education and investing in the future through our young people.

Two of the five scholarships to be awarded are will be given in memory of Marine Capt. Jesse Melton III and civilian Emily Selke.

The Capt. Jesse Melton III Memorial Scholarship honors the memory of Melton, age 29, who died Sept. 9 while supporting combat operations in Parwan Province, Afghanistan. Melton was working with a team helping to train members of the Afghan National Army when a roadside bomb exploded, killing him, another Marine officer, a member of the U.S. Navy and an Afghani interpreter.

The recipient of the Capt. Jesse Melton III Memorial Scholarship is Nicholas W. Smith of Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. Nicholas was born Aug. 11, 1998 and is a senior in the Information Technology Program. He has a 3.978 GPA and is a well-rounded student who is a member of the National Honor Society, an anchor for the school’s morning announcements and an announcer for the boys’ soccer team. He is also a member of the Students Working to Advance Technology and is a starting point guard for the varsity basketball team. Nicholas also enjoys public speaking and appeared on Washington DC’s Viewpoint on Channel for as part of a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Emily Selke Scholarship is named after a 22-year-old American passenger who was among the 149 innocent people aboard Germanwing Flight 9525, which was brought down by the co-pilot and crashed into the French Alps March 24, 2015.

This year the NNOA Emily Selke Scholarship goes to Paige Talley of Brooke Point High School in Stafford. Paige is a senior and has been pursuing an advanced diploma in the International Baccalaureate Program. She is a member of the National Honor Society where she serves as the secretary, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Academic Team, Key Club and the Spanish Club. She is also a member of the Varsity Lacrosse Team and has been a member of the Varsity Swim Team. Paige also plays violin in the Chamber Sinifonia Orchestra and is a classically trained pianist among her many other accomplishments.

Other scholarship recipients include Tyler S. Royston from Gar-field High School, Samantha Boateng, Gar-Field High School and Kathryn Cardenas of North Stafford High School.

Tyler is a participant in the International Baccalaureate program and has a 4.61 GPA and is currently ranked 4th in his class of seniors. He is captain of the baseball team where he also plays as a pitcher and first baseman. He was inducted into the National Honor Society last year and has been on the honor roll every year. He will be attending Washington and Lee University in the fall where he plans to major in mathematics and economics and eventually work as an economic analyst.

Samantha is a 16-year-old senior. She is in the International Baccalaureate Program and secretary pf the Student Council, historian for the National Honor Society, a Model United Nations conference delegate and captain of her Speech and Debate team. She has been in the Marine Corps JROTC throughout her high school career. Her favorite activities include writing, reading and shopping. She recently collected more than 14,000 books and help raise $9,000 in order to build a library in Ghana. Samantha plans on studying government and computer science at William and Mary College and hopes to become and international military lawyer.

Kathryn is an AP Scholar with Distinction. She serves as the historian of the National Honor Society, is a captain on North Stafford varsity golf team that won this year’s conference championship. Kathryn coordinated a fundraiser for Birdies for the Brave, in which she raised more than $2,000 to support wounded veterans and their families. She plans to enroll in the University of Virginia in the fall where she will major in business and minor in marketing or psychology.

For more information and tickets to the banquet visit http://www.quantico-nnoa.org.
Marine Corps Base Quantico