Tyler Junior College has announced sophomore student DeShona Jernigan as the recipient of its annual Rotary Young Citizens and Watson W. Wise Incentive awards.
She was chosen by a vote of TJC faculty and staff.
The Rotary Young Citizens Award, which includes a $500 scholarship, is selected based on qualities including: dependability, service, honesty, courtesy, loyalty, leadership, sportsmanship and scholarship.
Jernigan, of Marshall, is a TJC general studies major.
She serves as president of the TJC’s Alpha Omicron Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa and clarinet section leader in the Apache Band. She is also a member of the Student Services Fee Advisory Committee, Kappa Kappa Psi band fraternity and the leadership council in the TJC Presidential Honors program.
She was recently named a semifinalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship. If selected, she will receive financial support and comprehensive educational advising for up to three years at her next educational institution.
After graduating from TJC, she plans to transfer to The University of Texas at San Antonio and major in biomedical engineering. She eventually hopes to design artificial organs and prosthetics.
The Watson W. Wise Incentive Award goes to a TJC student who has exhibited the best in the virtues of industry, scholarship and student activity, and who plans to attend a senior university or college in the fall. Jernigan will receive a $989 scholarship for the fall 2021 semester.