Cheryl Ross Communications Makes Promise Scholarship Award

PORTSMOUTH
Jordan Thornton, an aspiring entrepreneur, award-winning student athlete, and a 2016 honors graduate of Portsmouth’s I.C. Norcom High School, has won the Cheryl Ross Communications John Robinson and Arthur and Patricia Ross Promise Scholarship. Thornton will use his $500 award to attend North Carolina A&T State University this fall. The scholarship assists a Norfolk or Portsmouth high school student who has overcome social challenges in order to pursue a higher education.

In his scholarship essay, Thornton attributed most of his success to his mother, Latesha Thornton, who raised him in a single-parent home. 
“She has certainly instilled in me the importance of taking responsibility for my actions, demonstrating moral character and being respectful to those in authority,” Thornton wrote.
He also credited positive male role models with providing him further motivation and support. He singled out Norcom golf coach Wayne White, who taught him the art of golf, and Norcom staffer Quentin Jones, a sponsor for Boyz II Men, a mentoring program.  

Thornton is the third recipient of the Cheryl Ross Communications Promise Scholarship. Last year’s winners, De’Ja Rogers and Angel Darden, each received $500.
Promise Scholarship recipients are selected based on their commitment to academics, self-confidence, and stride in overcoming life’s obstacles. Cheryl Ross’s reporting on challenged public schools for The Virginian-Pilot newspaper inspired her to create the program, which she launched in 2011 as a Hampton Roads Black Media Professionals (HRBMP) initiative while serving as president of that organization. Ross continues the program under her company, Cheryl Ross Communications, providing financial assistance to students regardless of their GPA or intended course of study.

The Promise program honors its namesakes, John Robinson and Arthur and Patricia Ross. Robinson, a former acting vice president and education committee chairperson of HRBMP, was an exemplary HRBMP volunteer and a tireless advocate of the Promise program. Ross’s parents, Arthur and Patricia, are a retired master sergeant (US Marine Corps) and a retired insurance company assistant vice president, respectively.
For more information about the Promise Scholarship, application deadlines, or how to make donations, contact Cheryl Ross at cheryl@cherylrosscomm.com.