Warren Early College graduate Jesus Reyes awarded prestigious scholarship
By Luci Weldon
The Warren Record (Warrenton, NC)
May 20, 2015
warrenrecord.com
Warren Early College High School senior Jesus Reyes has been awarded the Aubrey Lee Brooks Scholarship, which will cover approximately half of the cost of his undergraduate education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The scholarship is named for Person County native Aubrey Lee Brooks, who earned his law degree at the University of North Carolina. The attorney, politician and author established the Brooks Scholarship Fund for students in a 14-county area, which includes Warren.
Reyes was among 17 graduating high school seniors to be awarded the scholarship.
The son of Porfirio and Maria Reyes of Warrenton, he is a member of the National Beta Club.
Reyes played high school soccer as a junior, and has devoted much of his time to community service activities, such as organizing fundraising activities for the Early College Beta Club chapter, serving as a daycare volunteer during a Mariam Boyd Elementary School event, assisting at the Northside K-8 School Fall Festival and planning a youth retreat for his church, St. Catherine of Siena, in Wake Forest.
Prior to the start of his senior year at Warren Early College, he served in the Maria Parham Medical Center Youth Volunteer Program, where he assisted in the laboratory.
As part of preparing for college, Reyes applied for the Brooks Scholarship, which required an essay about leadership and involvement in the community. During the scholarship interview in March, he was asked to give an example of a difficulty that he was able to overcome. Reyes described his experience taking college-level algebra, saying that Warren Early College Principal Ryan Hurley encouraged him to finish the class. Ultimately, Reyes passed the course.
Several weeks went by, but on May 1, he received a phone call from the Brooks Scholarship Committee that he had been selected to receive a scholarship.
Reyes remembers that he was running errands with his mother when the call came through, and that they both became extremely happy. He sent a text message to Hurley and Aimee Anderson, Warren Early College guidance counselor, to share his good news.
Reyes will receive a $12,000 scholarship this year, which is renewable, as well as a $2,500 stipend for a laptop computer. The award also provides opportunities for study abroad and additional educational programs.
Warren Early College’s partnership with Vance-Granville Community College allows students to graduate in five years with both high school diplomas and two-year college degrees. Reyes has earned an Associate in Arts degree along with his high school diploma.
In the fall, he will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he plans to double major in biology, with a pre-medicine concentration, and business administration.
Reyes hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon and open a medical practice in Warren County or Henderson.
He said that the experiences of seeing people who needed medical help while he volunteered at Maria Parham and watching people who needed orthopedic help during his work at the Warrenton Walgreens inspired him to consider a career in medicine.
As he looks forward to his future opportunities, Reyes expressed thanks to Hurley and others at Warren Early College, including Eric Grebing, his freshman and sophomore science and math teacher.
Reyes also expressed thanks to his family, especially his parents, for their support in enabling him to become the first member of his immediate family to attend college.
“My parents instilled in me that education is important,” he said.
Hurley, a former Warren Early College teacher, grew to know Reyes as a freshman student whom he taught. Hurley described Reyes as “one of the most kind, respectful students” he has known and a good role model for his younger siblings.
Hurley said that the patience and consistency that Reyes displays while interacting with friends and in other situations has caused his classmates to consider him as their rock that they can look toward as an example of calmness.
“When others are freaking out about exams, the others look at him and say, ‘Jesus has it together. It’s going to be OK,’ “ he said.
Above: Warren Early College High School senior and Aubrey Lee Brooks Scholarship recipient Jesus Reyes, at right, will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall with dreams of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. He is pictured with Early College Principal Ryan Hurley.
Reprinted with permission of The Warren Record.
