7 Clover High JROTC cadets earn full scholarships

A record seven senior cadets in Clover High School’s Air Force JROTC program have received full ROTC college scholarships worth an estimated $1.1 million.

“That’s nearly one-third of my senior class,” said Major Brian Batson, senior aerospace science instructor at Clover High. “You could tell this class was special when they started with us four years ago. They were outstanding students from the very beginning.”

Those cadets are Ray Beebe, John Dickey, Sam Gordon, Sahara Ivey, Ariel Lopez, Kirsten Morrison and Emily Stefurak.

In addition to the seven ROTC scholarships, five senior cadets qualified to receive the South Carolina Palmetto Fellows Scholarship awarded to the most academically talented high school seniors across the state, and can be as much as $10,000 per year for math and science majors.

“The depth of talent in this class is extremely special. In my 10 years of teaching JROTC, I’ve never encountered anything like it,” said Senior Master Sgt. Clarence Woodham, also an instructor. “It’s really a testament to the outstanding education the cadets receive in Clover schools.”

Past cadets have been appointed to national premier service academies such as the United States Military Academy at West Point, United States Air Force Academy and United States Naval Academy. Four cadets in the past two years received full ROTC scholarships.

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 3:10 PM with the headline "7 Clover High JROTC cadets earn full scholarships."