CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — The J.W. Darden High School Class of 1968 announced its 2025 academic scholarship recipients. These scholarships are awarded to outstanding graduating seniors in honor of their grandparents, who are DHS Class of 1968 alumni.
Scholarship committee members include Lonnie Cockrell, Eddie B. Lockhart, Gwendolyn Pearson Mitchell, Phyllis Mills Peters, Betty Crittenden Reese and Delores Kirk Turner.
Karynten Cochran is an honors graduate of Cumberland International Early College High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She is the daughter of Fonda Jones and Bishop Cochran. Her grandmother, Cheryl Meredith Clark, is a 1968 Darden High School alumna. Karynten is enrolled at East Carolina University as a biology major.
Tyler J. Moore is a recent graduate of Opelika High School and is the son of Tania Stinson Moore and Timothy Moore. He is the grandson of DHS Class of 1968 alumni David Stinson and Yvonne Stinson. Tyler is a real estate major at Georgia State University, where he is a member of the football team.
Braelin Smith is an honors graduate of West Manchester High School in New Hampshire. She is the daughter of Cassandra Smith and the granddaughter of DHS Class of 1968 alumna Valerie Thomas Nolan. Braelin is enrolled as a business major at Manchester State College.
Cole J. Walker is an honors graduate of Alpharetta High School in Georgia. He is the son of Daffany Kennedy Walker and Charles Walker and the grandson of DHS Class of 1968 alumna Francine McGhee Kennedy. Cole began summer quarter as a finance major at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he is a member of the football team.
