Members of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Southside Virginia presented a bright student and recent Randolph-Henry High School graduate with a $500 scholarship Saturday.

The club awarded two students with the Raymond L. Shelton Leadership Scholarship this year, the first to Tia Taylor, of Charlotte Court House, and the second to a student in Mecklenburg County. 

The Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club began its scholarship program in 2015 following the death of Raymond L. Shelton, of South Boston, who died at age 100.

Shelton served in World War II.

Dearrion Snead, who serves as scholarship chairperson and a club member who knew Shelton, said his legacy inspired the club to help future leaders and curious, driven students.

“As a club, we were so inspired by his presence, his leadership and his legacy (that) we felt it was something we could to do commemorate his life,” Snead said.

The requirements of the scholarship include meeting a grade point average of 3.0 or above, attending a scholarship award the following year by the club for another student and writing a 600-word essay.

Snead said Taylor far exceeded those qualifications.

Taylor will attend Old Dominion University in the fall, and is planning to study chemistry and cytotechnology.

She thanked the club for the scholarship.

“It’s a big help,” Taylor said.

Rocksand Stewart, Taylor’s mother, said she was also grateful to the club and proud of Taylor’s accomplishments.

“I’m excited and thankful,” Stewart said. “It will definitely be a big help as she gets ready to attend.”

The Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club began in 1993 and is named after the African-American soldier cavalries and infantries that served during the Civil War.

The article had been corrected from its original version.