KHS Graduate Zaryah Bracy credits JROTC with personal turnaround, helps lead program’s revival
KHS Graduate Zaryah Bracy credits JROTC with personal turnaround, helps lead program’s revival Zaryah Bracy doesn’t wear her story on her sleeve—but listen long enough, and you’ll hear one of Kinston High School’s most powerful turnarounds in recent memory.
Once a student adrift in grief and anger, Zaryah served as the captain of the Kinston High School JROTC Color Guard and one of the newest LCPS graduates in the Class of 2025. Her transformation didn’t happen overnight—but it started with a simple decision to walk into a classroom that would change everything.
“I had a really rocky start to high school,” Zaryah shared. “My grandmother passed away, and I just kind of went down a rabbit hole. JROTC was my light out. I wanted to rebrand myself, basically—and they gave me that chance.”
Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Zaryah moved to Kinston in 2019 and found it hard to regain her footing after the pandemic, the loss of her grandmother, and a string of personal challenges. Her early high school years were marked by behavioral issues and what she described as hanging around the wrong people.
“I was a kid just doing stuff. I wasn’t on the right path,” she said.
Her mother, Rosalynne Bracy, remembers those years vividly—and emotionally.
“When you’re not sure which direction your child is going to go because of what you currently see, and then to watch her change herself... that has to be a God thing,” Rosalynne explained. “She’s not the child she used to be. That makes me proud. That makes me really proud.”
The turning point came in an unexpected place—Kinston High’s JROTC program. Zaryah joined after a friend introduced her to Color Guard.
“I fell in love with it,” she said. “Color Guard has really blossomed, especially with Colonel Beeson. We hadn’t had a program in three years. It was tricky at first, but it wasn’t hard to recruit others once I got started.”
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Roy Beeson, who heads up the program, quickly recognized her potential.
“What a sight it was to see her mature as a person,” he said. “She came in with some teenage angst and a little bit of attitude, but also with potential and a heart of gold.”
By the end of her first marking period in JROTC, Beeson said, Zaryah emerged as a natural leader.
“Her peers looked to her for guidance, advice, empathy, and friendship. Once she saw that, she started refining her leadership abilities. I'd love to get 100 Zaryahs in the program.”
Today, under Zaryah’s leadership and with the support of Lt. Col. Beeson, the JROTC program is thriving and will officially become a Career and Technical Education (CTE) course next year.
“I feel nothing but triumph,” Zaryah said. “I went from a cadet to teaching new cadets the basic movements. Watching them grow—it’s like watching your little sister grow up.”
That growth has been mutual. Zaryah credits Lt. Col. Beeson not just as a mentor, but as a father figure.
“He’s not the scary military man people expect,” she said with a smile. “He’s a girl dad. He keeps scrunchies in his car for us. He brings the additional logic we need.”
Her mother echoes that sentiment: “He’s the dad she never had. That bond between them—that's what pushed her to want to do more.”
Zaryah’s future plans, which do not include military service, involve studying real estate at Pitt Community College, with future aspirations of becoming a psychiatrist specializing in veteran mental health—a tribute to both her grandfather, a Marine, and the lessons she’s learned from JROTC.
“I believe JROTC helped me manage people and my emotions,” she said. “I was emotionally impulsive before. Now I know how to adjust, how to lead, how to talk. It just taught me a lot.”
If there’s one thing Zaryah wants people to take from her story, it’s that wisdom isn’t just about age.
“Age is not indicative of wisdom,” she said. “I’ve learned from ninth graders, grandmothers, everyone. And I didn’t know anything about the military when I started—but look where it got me. You can do it.”
In a world where students face countless pressures—from social media to peer influence—Zaryah’s story is a reminder of the power of second chances, strong mentors, and programs that teach more than curriculum—they teach character.
