Arizona Marines recognize Danielle Dawson, center left,

Arizona Marines recognize Danielle Dawson, center left, a senior at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, and Savannah Cunningham, a senior at Horizon Honors High School in Phoenix, for each accepting the selective Marine Corps Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps [NROTC] Scholarship during a presentation at the Tempe Center For the Arts in Tempe, Ariz. May 11, 2015. Dawson and Cunningham each won the scholarship based on their commitments to the classroom, their community, and physical fitness. “I was actually getting ready for a ballet performance when I got the phone call about receiving this scholarship,” said Dawson. “It was exhilarating, I was speechless – nobody would think of a ballerina being on her way to becoming a Marine Corps officer.” Cunningham, on receiving the scholarship said, “I’m not doing it just to be in the military, I’m doing it because I want to earn the title Marine.” Cunningham, a multi-sport athlete, added, “I’ve been in leadership positions throughout my life, now I want the opportunity to learn to do it in the best branch of military in the world.” Dawson and Cunningham will both be studying at Arizona State University. For more information about the Marine Corps NROTC scholarship program, visit http://bit.ly/MarineCorpsOfficer. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tyler J. Bolken)