“I feel incredible,” Nooks said. “He was an incredible man. I feel totally honored and grateful.”
Nooks never had the pleasure of meeting Griffin, who died Dec. 28 at the age of 82. But Nooks has heard about him from his mother, Caroline Harris, who attended E.E. Smith while Griffin was the principal. That was before Griffin became the first black superintendent of Cumberland County Schools.
Nooks will be attending North Carolina A&T in Greensboro — which is Griffin’s alma mater — and plans to study mechanical engineering.
Nooks also was a recipient of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Scholarship, the John Thomas Gibson Scholarship and the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission/Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship. All four were for $1,000.
Two other first-time scholarships were presented. Stephen K. Pierpoint, a senior at Cape Fear High School, was awarded the Cumberland County Farm Bureau Federation Inc./William E. “Bill” Tew Scholarship, which awards $2,000 to children or grandchildren of current Farm Bureau members. Pierpoint will be attending N.C. State University this fall.
The Durham and Lucy Riddle Scholarship went to Dylan K. Craddock, a South View High School senior who will be attending Campbell University. The $1,000 scholarship honors the husband and wife who were lifelong residents of the Gray’s Creek community. It is available to students who attend South View or Gray’s Creek high schools and will attend Campbell University or Meredith College.
Jernigan Scholarship
Megan Huddleston was named the recipient of the Brenda Jernigan Memorial Scholarship, honoring the former South View High School girls’ volleyball and basketball coach who died in December 2002, shortly after she retired.
Huddleston’s mother, Melanie Garrett, was a standout athlete on the Jernigan-coached teams, and is immensely proud that her daughter received the $1,400 award that’s presented to a graduating South View student who participates on a sports team and has achieved excellence in athletics, sportsmanship, competitive nature, leadership and academics.
“It’s another example of how life comes full circle,” Garrett said. “I played for her and now she’s (Huddleston) is at South View.”
Like her mother, Huddleston played on the girls’ volleyball team.
Huddleston will be attending the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she plans to play intramural volleyball and major in nursing.
“It means a lot to me,” Huddleston said, adding it’s more special because of the coaching relationship between Garrett and Jernigan.
Staff writer Nancy McCleary can be reached at nmccleary@fayobserver.com or 486-3568.