Photo By Burrell Parmer | EDINBURG, Texas – (May 13, 2021) Selena Castanon, of Chicago, a senior attending...... read more read more
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EDINBURG, Texas – (May 13, 2021) America’s Navy awarded the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) Scholarship to Selena Castanon, 18, of Chicago, a senior attending Edinburg North High School, during a special presentation held at the school.
The NROTC scholarship, valued at up to $180,000, pays for the cost of full tuition, books and other educational fees at many of the country’s leading colleges and universities. Upon graduation, midshipmen are commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Castanon, who aspires to become an explosive ordnance disposal officer, will be attending Clark Atlanta University in the fall majoring in Chemistry.
Special remarks were delivered by ret. Army Lt. Gen. Richard Sanchez, City Mayor Richard Molina, and Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Mario Salinas.
“Honestly, it feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was so ecstatic to read the "Congratulations" in the subject line of the email I received,” said Castanon, who serves as a cadet lieutenant colonel and battalion commander of her school’s Army Junior ROTC program. “All the work I've put in the last four years truly paid off.”
She stated that JROTC has helped her figure out what direction she wanted to go in life along with learning how to deal with emotions, time management, prioritizing, and giving back to her community.
According to retired Maj. Saul Gonzalez, of Harlingen, Texas, the Senior Army JROTC instructor assigned to Edinburg North High School, the school is very proud that its JROTC is helping students like Castanon move forward in life and reach for the stars.
“This year, we only had two cadets received scholarships,” said Gonzalez, who has been at the school for two years. “This has been one of the changes that I have been pushing our cadets to do; apply for scholarships, move forward and join the military as officers.”
In reference to Castanon, Gonzalez said she is a star student and very active in the school and in the community.
“When Cadet Castanon joined JROTC, she was a quiet young girl, and over the years she has changed a lot,” said Gonzalez. “Her plan was to enlist in the Navy; however, now with this NROTC Scholarship, she will be joining as an officer.”
Presenting the award was Cmdr. Dominique Jackson, of Monroe, La., deputy director, Navy Recruiting Command’s (NRC) Office of Outreach and Diversity, who traveled from Millington, Tenn.
Accompanying Castanon at the ceremony were her father, Jorge Castanon, to include city council members, district administrators and school faculty.
"I am very proud of my daughter for receiving this scholarship,” said Jorge. “I know that she has worked very hard to get where she has today.”
Castanon has two sisters, one who graduated from college and another who is in high school.
"This scholarship will help immensely as Selena's older sister, Abigail, has graduated, but we're still paying off the debt,” said Jorge. “It will not only help Selena financially and academically; it will also open up many opportunities throughout her years of schooling."
“I am very proud and thankful for the opportunity that was given to my daughter as this will lead her to make all her dreams come true,” Jorge continued. “I know she's going to use this wisely and become the young woman I know she's meant to be.”
The Navy offers several scholarship programs to help pay for school so a person can enjoy a normal college life and focus on their studies before starting a career in the Navy.
Through these programs, a person will enter the Navy in a leadership position as a commissioned officer. Officers in the Navy have responsibilities that include anything from low-level management to the highest levels of command.
For more information about the NROTC Scholarship program, visit www.navy.com.
Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) San Antonio’s area of responsibility includes two Talent Acquisition Onboarding Centers (TAOC) which manage more than 34 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread throughout 144,000 square miles of Central and South Texas territory.
NRC consists of a command headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions, 26 NTAGs, and 64 TAOCs that serve more than 1,000 recruiting stations around the world. Their mission is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
| Date Taken: | 05.13.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2021 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 396406 |
| Location: | EDINBURG, TX, US |
| Hometown: | CHICAGO, IL, US |
| Hometown: | EDINBURG, TX, US |
| Hometown: | HARLINGEN, TX, US |
| Hometown: | MONROE, LA, US |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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