Meet Local Military Child of the Year Semi-Finalists

Operation Homefront has announced the semi-finalists for the 2012 Military Child of the Year Award.  There are five semi-finalists from the Fort Bragg area representing the Army in the program's fourth year.

In the past, just one military child out of the services received the annual top honor.

“It is vitally important to recognize military children,” said Jim Knotts, Operation Homefront’s chief executive officer. “I think kids have gotten overlooked as we’ve recognized the sacrifices of the military, and they are such an important aspect of our military community. They deserve to have their moment in the sunshine as well.”

Each semi-finalist has been interviewed by Operation Homefront staff, and award recipients will be chosen by a committee including active duty military personnel, Family Readiness Support Assistants, teachers, military mothers, and community members.

Courtney Lyles is 16 years old  from Fayetteville, NC is a semi-finalist representing the Army. Courtney completed high school in two years and a graduate 2011 Summa Cum Laude of Massey Hill Classical High School, Fayetteville,NC. She is a first year college student at Spelman College, Atlanta GA. She is a member of National Honor Society, National Society of High School Scholars, Spelman College Honors Program, NC Chapter of NAACP, Spelman College-Alpha Lambda Delta Freshman Scholastic Honor Society. Courtney's senior year of high school was very challenging and complicated moving twice.
Courtney has received scholarships from Spelman College Scholarships: Dewitts Dean's Scholarship (Full Tuition) & Lettie Pate Grant-$1,500; Ft. Bragg Officers Spouse Association Scholarship- $1,000; Lumbee Electric 4yr Scholarship--$4,000; and the AER MG James Ursano Scholarship-$2,000.

Marly Kwolek, a 12-year-old from North Carolina, is a semi-finalist representing the Army. For Marly, being a military kid often means saying goodbye to both parents. Her mom and dad both serve in the Army. Recently, Marly spent two years living with her grandparents while her parents had to travel for duty. During the transition, Marly worked with doctors to deal with issues of attention, focus and anger brought on by the dual assignments. Soon, Marly found her own escape from the stress of military life: music. The seventh grader can play 16 instruments, to include the flute, saxophone, piano, drum, guitar and trumpet. Many of them she is able to play by listening, without the help of lessons. Marly’s musical talent has been rewarded at school where she plays in the band and has been named best musician, twice. During the week Marly also volunteers at a local farm where she cleans the stalls and helps feed the animals.

Brandon Gould, a 17-year-old from Hope Mills, NC, is a semi-finalist representing the Army. At the age of seven, Brandon was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome and severe migraines. The long list of issues, coupled with repeated deployments, could have forced many families to collapse. Instead, Brandon and his family fought harder to shine. During his childhood, his soldier father has deployed twice to Korea for year-long tours, spent 15 months in Iraq on a single tour and has hopped between Iraq and Afghanistan for shorter missions. Rather than focus on his father’s absence, Brandon aimed to help build his community. Upon becoming a Boy Scout, Brandon set his sights on becoming an Eagle Scout and earned the accolade in four years. To earn the award, he built a trail in the local botanical garden and was responsible for the design and management of volunteers to make the project a reality. In addition to his Eagle project, Brandon sewed 50 pillows for his church to give to homeless residents and frequently volunteered at the local animal shelter to clean cages and wash the dogs.  Brandon said when his father is away, volunteer work helps keep him focused and positive.

“Brandon has somehow picked up a great sense of service to others,” said his dad Kevin in a NBC 17 news report, who is an active duty member of the Army.

Zachary Herbst, a 17-year-old from Pinehurst, N.C., is a semi-finalist representing the Army. As a tot, Zachary’s first soccer coach was his dad. Now, as a student at the prestigious North Carolina School of Science and Math he helps lead his soccer team to victory. His dad misses more games than he sees. With 36 months of deployments and counting, there’s little time to hit the field. Zachary said the lessons his father taught him help him not only endure the deployments but pass on his love of soccer and his father’s good advice to other children. Every summer Zachary teaches at a local soccer camp called Kicking for Hunger. The non-profit camp charges no fee but instead asks attendees to bring canned food donations for needy families. Over the summer he also volunteered for 70 hours at the local center for developmentally disabled children where he played with the attending children, cooked their meals and, he said, leaned a lot about himself. He said when he is volunteering, he often thinks of the lessons his father taught him. With every deployment, he helped his little sister with her homework and tried to make a bigger impact on his local community. Zachary is a high school senior and will attend Georgia Tech this fall to study engineering.

Erika Jones, a 17-year-old from Raeford, N.C., is a semi-finalist representing the Army. Erika Jones’ mother deployed to Afghanistan for one year. In that year, Erika left her childhood behind and assumed not just the duties of the house, but began her path to college and beyond. During the deployment, she lived with several months for an aunt and uncle and then moved in with her 21-year-old brother. In both places, Erika was responsible for most of the household duties such as cooking and cleaning. Unlike other students her age, she not only had the extra responsibilities at home, she took on extra work in the classroom. Erika began pursuing her associate’s degree at Sandhoke Early College High School. During the rigorous program, Erika enrolled in two high school courses and two college courses each semester. The high school junior said she hopes the long hours will pay off when she graduates. She hopes to become a midwife. To round out her already busy schedule, Erika regularly volunteers around her community at various events such as fundraisers and town festivals.

Marquis Hackett, a 17-year-old from Sanford, N.C., is a semi-finalist representing the Army. When Marquis Hackett’s family arrived in North Carolina, he had already attended nine different schools in six states. With this move, he finally landed in a place where he had family and roots. After two years in the local school system, he won a spot on the roster at the prestigious North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. The resident program could have been a gateway to a prestigious college career, but Marquis decided he wasn’t ready to move again. Instead, he chose to stay near his family. In summer of 2011, he was chosen for the People to People Student Ambassador program. After months of preparation, he spent four weeks in Australia, immersing himself in the culture of the continent. The program placed a lot of emphasis on interaction with local families and exposure to the country’s wildlife. Marquis said opportunities such as this trip help to balance the nomadic military lifestyle. In North Carolina, the teen cares for his hometown as though he has lived there forever. He serves as chairman of the Lee County Youth Council which works with the mayor to perform service projects in the area. The group also advocates for teens during school board meetings. Marquis, currently a high school senior, has applied to UNC Chapel Hill and hopes to study computer science.

Operation Homefront will announce five finalists from each branch of service on March 1. The recipient of the Military Child of the Year Award for each branch of Service will be announced March 8. Each award recipient will receive $5,000 and will be flown with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C. for a special recognition ceremony on April 5, 2012.