Two UTC students are among three chosen to receive the annual John Thomas Steiner, Sr. Memorial Scholarship from Ruby Falls.
UTC’s Farin Cloyd and Clayton Curole, along with Ashley Brotherton from Dalton State College, are employees at the Lookout Mountain attraction and were awarded the $5,000 scholarship “for their distinguished passion and commitment to their academic careers,” according to a news release.
The Steiner scholarship was established in 2008 to honor the memory of the former Ruby Falls president.
Cloyd began working at Ruby Falls in October 2016 as a cashier and tour guide. Pursuing a career in journalism, she is vice president of philanthropy for Alpha Gamma Delta and is committed to ending hunger in Hamilton County.
“I strive to inspire others to make a change in our community,” she said in the release.
Clayton Curole worked at Ruby Falls before he joined the Army and spent four years as a combat medic. He returned to Ruby Falls after being honorably discharged in 2017. He is a double major in history and religious studies at UTC.
“Ruby Falls has offered me more than just a job. I have been given life skills that have carried me into the military,” he said.
Brotherton is a mother to two young boys and is balancing the demands of work, family life and studying biology at Dalton State.