1999: Tsz-Yin (Jeremy) So

Jeremy attended Winston-Salem State U. his freshman year. He then transferred to UNC Chapel Hill and majored in pharmacy. He became a pediatric clinical pharmacist, and has spent time lecturing as an Assistant Professor. He has had articles published in various medical journals, and he serves as an online consultant for one of the pediatric websites.

2000: Leslie Clark

Leslie attended Meredith College.

2001: Ellen Gwin

Ellen is a daughter of graduates of Reynolds High School. She attended Roanoke College her freshman year, then transferred to Appalachian State University, where she double majored in journalism and photography. She now owns her own photography studio in Boone.

2002: Anna Ledbetter

Anna graduated from Florida State University in 2007 with a double major in International Affairs in Spanish. She first worked as an Assistant Testing Administrator at FSU's Testing Center. She then worked as an English teacher at the English Language Institute in Zhengzhou, China. She then became an English Language Teacher at the Yellow River Science and Technology College in Zhengzhou.

2003: Toni J. Grace

Toni graduated from Duke University in May, 2007, with a BA in Political Science. She later graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2010. Initially she worked with a law firm in Asheville, then returned to Winston- Salem to work for the firm of Blanco Tackabery (where she practices “bankruptcy law and creditors rights."

2004: Seema Banger

Seema graduated from UNC-Charlotte in 2008, with a B.S. in Biology and Psychology and a minor in Chemistry. She graduated from the School of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012. She then began her career at Rite Aid in Winston Salem.

2005: Marco Mata

At graduation, Marco said his ambition was to be an architect. He planned to attend Forsyth Tech to prepare for transfer to NC State. He graduated as an honor student from Forsyth Tech in May, 2007, with an Associates Degree in Science. He attended Forsyth Tech for five semesters, while working weekends and summers to save money for his university tuition. He then attended NC State U., and graduated with a B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering.

2006: Trey Miller

Trey attended the University of Virginia, where he ran track and cross country (winning an ACC championship in the latter). He graduated in 2010 with a major in Foreign Affairs. He then moved to Houston, and worked with Select Energy, first as a Financial Analyst, and then as Assistant Director of Corporate Development. After getting married, he moved to Chapel Hill to pursue an MBA at UNC's Kenan-Flagler School of Business.

2007: Tim Hairston

Tim graduated from Rutgers in 2011 with a B.S. in Exercise Science and Sport Studies, and a minor in Psychology. He then served for two years as a Team Leader with the National Civilian Community Corps of AmeriCorps. He and his 11-member team (ages 18 to 24) worked throughout the Southeast on service projects such as neighborhood revitalization, education, and infrastructure rebuilding. He later moved to New York City to work as an Associate Product Manager for DBRS, Inc., a credit rating agency. He is a donor to the scholarship program.

2008: Mona Xiao

Mona graduated from Duke U. with a double major in Neuroscience and Evolutionary Anthropology. She then worked in Wisconsin for a year with Epic Systems, a software company specializing in healthcare. She then returned to North Carolina to enter Med school at UNC.

2009: Terell Lamont Kirby

Terell graduated from UNC-Charlotte with an Honors Degree in Business. He was also awarded the University's Distinguished Leadership Medal and was named the Outstanding Senior by the Black Student Union. United Black Professionals, the campus organization he led as President, was named the Outstanding Student Organization of the Year. He was then hired as a Product Manager at Bank of America in Charlotte, in the area of Consumer Banking, Technology and Operations.

2010: Rebecca L. Martin

Rebecca was scheduled to graduate from UNC Chapel Hill in May, 2014, with a major in Exercise and Sport Science and a minor in the Study of Christianity and Culture. With an eye towards your future career, she has also taken all the pre-requests for Physical Therapy School and has trained to be a fitness consultant in the Student Recreation Center.

2011: Zoe Detter

Zoe is attending Appalachian State University, where she plans to major in English Education. She is one of 500 statewide participants in the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program, which encourages students to go into teaching.  At ASU, she has been working with Child Development Center and the Student Tutoring Center.

2012: Meredith Ashe Johnson

Meredith is attending NC state, where she was pursuing a double major in Business and Nutritional Science. She participates in a leadership development program called Leadership in Action in place intramural basketball.

2013: Sophia Rose Lyons

Sophia is attending Barnard College (Columbia University) in New York City. She plans to study foreign languages and perhaps pursue a career as a fundraiser or publicist with a nonprofit organization.

2014: Francesca (Frankie) Miller

Frankie attends North Carolina State university and wants to major in public relations.

2015: Chloe Valentina Clements

Chloe attends NYU and wants to major in Music, and thereafter, to teach music.

2016: Bethany Jean Ebbitt

Bethany attends UNC-Chapel Hill and plans to major in Engineering or Computer Science.

2017: Joanna Silva

Joanna attends Wake Forest University, with plans to major in Business, with a focus in Finance.

2018: Amy Zinni

Amy will attend UNC-Greensboro, where she will study mathematics, and later transferred to NC State to obtain a degree in Civil Engineering.

2019: Kalynn Knox

Kalynn intends to attend Wake Forest University, and to become a nurse practitioner. She spent extensive time during all four years of high school volunteering in homeless shelters, her local church and assisted living facilities.

2020: Arwen Baker

Arwen is going to Depaul University in Chicago to study Theatrical Lighting Design.  Over the past four years she has volunteered countless hours to community and school theater, and do acapella at RJR.

2021: Elizabeth Marshall

Elizabeth will attend Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA.  Her plans are to study Spanish and the world of business, problem solving and engineering. When not in class Elizabeth teaches horseback riding, and is fluent in Spanish.

2022: Jarod Alexandra Brown

Jarod will be attending UNC-Charlotte. He looks forward to studying Computer Science and Engineering and to designing programs and Weld applications. He noted on his application…”I am beyond determined to accomplish my goals with utmost effort.  Aiding others helps me learn new lessons as I open my eyes to the perspective of others and try to run a mile in their shoes.”

2023: Vivian Hines

Vivian will be attending UNC-Chapel Hill. Her plans are to follow her keen interest in the constantly changing climate. She wants to “create a sustainable future for our society. As global warming grows more detrimental and irreversible my desire is to make a difference grows stronger.”  When not studying and maintaining a 4.0 unweighted GPA, she has worked and volunteered at Forsyth Humane Society, Crisis Control Ministry, Crossnore Food Bank Garden, Anthony’s, and Camp Sprout. At RJR she has been a member of the Girls Council, and the acapella group. She was also a member of the RJR cross country team, the swim team,  and track and field team.

2024: Luke William Sanders

Luke will attend UNC–Chapel Hill (Honors College) studying neurosciences. He is a stellar student-athlete, captain of the football team, student council vice-president, active in
choral and drama clubs, and emcee of the Follies. His choice of advanced study,
to research treatments, therapies and neural healing surrounding brain disorders, springs from personal knowledge and compassion. “This scholarship is not only a huge financial provision in the wake of my father’s death, but a deep encouragement that other people believe in me and are behind me as I enter college and pursue my dreams,” said Luke.