North Lamar HS’s Grogan Awarded Sgt. Jay M. Hoskins Scholarship

The first annual Sgt. Jay M. Hoskins Scholarship was awarded to North Lamar High School senior Megan Grogan during a presentation in the high school library by retired Gunnery Sgt. John O’Donnell and Colonel Kathryn P. Cooney of the Marine Corps League.

          Grogan was chosen from one of six applicants after submitting a 500-word essay on what it means to serve in the armed forces.  During the presentation, she was asked to read her essay as she described the sacrifices of service men and women.

          The scholarship was named after Marine Sgt. Jay Hoskins who was a 2003 graduate of North Lamar High School and who died in 2009 while serving in Afghanistan.  The Marine Corps League started the scholarship to honor Sgt. Hoskins and as a way to give back to the community.  The $1,000 scholarship will be awarded each year to a North Lamar graduate.

          Sgt. Hoskins mother, Michelle Widner, and her husband, Chris Widner, took part in the selection process and attended the presentation for Grogan.  Others attending were North Lamar seniors, Conner Rutz, Adam Ely, Matthew Decrane, Travis Coston, and Jackson Leonard, who have enlisted in a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and will be reporting to duty this summer.