A Cookeville High School senior has been named the recipient of a $180,000 Naval Reserve Training Officer (NROTC) Marine Option Scholarship.
Quentin Ding said he has wanted to participate in the program for as long as he can remember. He said his parents are immigrants from China and moving to the United States has brought him a plethora of opportunities.
“And so I want to see my service as a way to give back to the place that was so welcoming to my parents and to myself,” Ding said. “And also because I am pursuing a path in civil service and public service, I think it’s sort of, in my opinion, kind of a moral obligation to serve in the military, at least for some time.”
Ding said the scholarship process was highly competitive and at the national level. He said it required essays, physical tests, and medical screenings.
Ding said when he found out he won the scholarship he immediately felt a strong sense of responsibility. He said while he is grateful for the money, the more important thing to him is the opportunity to become a Marine Corps Officer.
“So that $180 grand goes to paying tuition at any university with a Naval ROTC unit,” Ding said. “So I applied to a couple of schools and I’m still waiting to hear back on decisions and I’ll get those in late March and then in late March I’ll decide on a school and I’ll attend that school, and the Navy will pay for my school and I’ll begin my training to become an officer.”
NROTC Scholarship Recipients are commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Marine Corps upon graduation from college.
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