Senior Sophia Day one of four awarded $180,000 Marine Corps. scholarship
Posted Jan. 4, 2022
Sports Editor
Senior Sophia Day was one of four recipients in the Pacific Northwest to be awarded the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship on Dec. 9 by the United States Marine Corps..
Day will join the Reserve Officers’ training corps (ROTC) while attending college through the NROTC Scholarship program. It will pay for her college education, provide training, and offer $180,000 towards a four year degree at any university with an NROTC program. Day has to be actively involved in the ROTC program for all four years of college to maintain the scholarship.
“At the end of her freshman year she has to commit to four years as an officer in the Marine Corps or give up the rest of the scholarship,” said Lisa Orquist, Day's mother and ex-Marine Corps. reserve truck driver.
To earn the scholarship, Day had to go through a rigorous application process that involved essays, letters of recommendation, a panel interview lead by Marine Corps. officers, and a rigorous physical fitness test, as well as maintaining a high GPA and earning high SAT scores.
Day has applied to Stanford University to pursue an Environmental Engineering degree.
“Sophia is one of the kindest, smartest, most determined people I know,” said Orquist. “I have no doubt she will be successful in anything she sets her mind to. Her dad and I are very proud of her.”
Day's father, Shane Day, was also in the Marine Corps. where he worked as a mechanic for eight years.