Scholarship set up in honor of Reynoldsburg student killed in shooting
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (WCMH) – The family of an 18-year-old whose life was taken much too soon has created a scholarship in her honor.
A'yonta Jarmon went by AJ. Anyone who knew her knew Reynoldsburg meant a lot to her. Her parents still have her cheer bags, pictures of her in her cheer uniform, her varsity jacket and other Reynoldsburg Raiders memorabilia up in a room.
“Spring, winter, summer, she was wearing her varsity jacket and that's because she wanted everyone to know where she was from, Reynoldsburg," said LaShonda Campbell, AJ's mother.
Campbell said the room is set up in a way AJ would have it, if she were here.
"I don't think we would have gotten through the days that we have gotten through without this community," Campbell said.
That community and the Raiders' colors showed up at a vigil for AJ in the summer of 2022. Police said she was shot and killed at a party. She had just graduated high school and was getting ready to go to the University of Cincinnati.
“She was just a beautiful, beautiful child. I miss my baby. She was truly loved in the community," said Frank Jarmon, AJ's father.
Jarmon and Campbell said even at a young age, their daughter was inspirational. They said she was quiet but always took care of others, especially her cheer team. In a way, through the scholarship she is still taking care of them. Jarmon and Campbell established the $1,000 dollar scholarship for a senior on the cheer team.
“It’s just one of those things that we know this is what she would have wanted us to do," Campbell said. "I think just seeing her name on that scholarship does a lot. It makes them want to apply because they know it is something she enjoyed to do, being a cheerleader as well as just being a great person.”
To start, the scholarship is from money AJ made while working.
"It's just to keep my baby girl’s legacy going. She loved her friends, her family, loved her school and she loved cheerleading so it's just to keep her name out there because our baby girl was a good girl, she was an angel," said Jarmon.
Tyshawn Jenkins is charged with murder for the deadly shooting. His trial is scheduled to start in May, according to court documents.