Fayetteville Today

The Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission (FCHR) has announced the recipients of its annual scholarships. Each of the nine exceptional students will receive $1,000 to pursue higher education at an accredited two- or four-year college or university.

The students were recognized at a scholarship reception held at the Bill Crisp Senior Center on May 9. The scholarship award recipients include Zhyuana Peterkion from Cross Creek Early College, Morgan Ward from South View High School, Warren Johnson from E.E. Smith High School, Selina Miguel-Felipe from Seventy-First High School, Olivia Haynes from Jack Britt High School, Fernandus Vinson II from Pine Forest High School, Zyaih Hobdy from E.E. Smith High School, Mikayla Henderson from Cross Creek Early College and A’lexia Jones from E.E. Smith High School.

Since 1988, the commission has awarded 164 scholarships to graduating seniors in Cumberland County. To qualify for the FCHR scholarship, students must have resided in Cumberland County for at least one year, maintained an average GPA of 2.5 or better and have been admitted as a full-time student in an accredited two-or-four-year college or university with a financial need.

The scholarship requires students to write an essay on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles on non-violence and apply those principles to a current social or economic event in today’s society along with three letters of recommendation.

The mission of FCHR is to serve as an innovative public service department promoting equal opportunity and positive community relations to facilitate the protection of human and civil rights in Fayetteville and Cumberland County through effective collaborations and partnerships with residents, elected and appointed leaders, and individuals in the public, private, non-profit and higher education sectors.