IN MEMORY
Student receives scholarship honoring fallen soldier who served with her father
Chaniya Tingley didn’t know Capt. Chris Cash but her father, Craig, served in the same N.C. National Guard infantry battalion as Cash in Iraq.
Captain Christopher Cash (Contributed photo)
Now an East Carolina University junior, Chaniya Tingley has been awarded the Captain Christopher Cash Memorial Scholarship, given annually in remembrance of Cash, who died June 24, 2004, in a rocket-propelled grenade attack. Cash received a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science and a master’s degree in health education from ECU.
Tingley has been involved in several clubs and activities at ECU including the student conduct board and Air Force ROTC, which instilled great leadership skills, she said. She’s now preparing for the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidates School program and recently changed her major to university studies to combine her previous major of interior design and merchandising with psychology and leadership. She will graduate in 2019.
Tingley said her father is happy she received the scholarship, which means a great deal because of her family’s long service in the military. She grew up in Fayetteville near Fort Bragg. In addition to her father, who is now retired, her mother, brother and sister-in-law serve in the military. “In retrospect, I knew I wanted to serve and be a leader that people could follow,” Chaniya Tingley said.
Tingley was barely in elementary school when her father – a paratrooper – served his first tour in Iraq. Craig Tingley didn’t know Cash but his company commander and several others in the unit did.
Chaniya Tingley is majoring in university studies at ECU.
“Listening to them speak, I heard he was a soldier’s soldier who possessed the respect and admiration from the lowest ranking soldier to the highest ranking one in our battalion, and especially to those that were closest to him in the company that he commanded,” Craig Tingley said. “He was the kind of leader who led from the front and never asked his men to do anything he was not willing to do himself. He was a great husband and wonderful father.”
Craig Tingley said it’s fitting that the scholarship was named for Cash. “It brings much honor and respect for those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy,” he said.
Chaniya Tingley said she is grateful for the scholarship, which has helped her persevere through struggles like changing her major and paying her way through college. She also had advice for other students facing similar challenges.
“It’s never too late to put yourself in a better position,” she said. “Everybody’s path is different. I didn’t believe it at first but now I do.”
She said she admires Dawn Cash-Salau, who created the scholarship to honor her husband. The annual Reindeer Dash for Cash 5K and 10 Miler – now in its 13th year – helps pay for student scholarships at ECU and N.C. Wesleyan College, where Chris Cash also was an alumnus. This year’s event will be held Dec. 2 in Greenville.
“For her to do this dealing with everything and her resilience – it’s inspiring,” Tingley said.
Tingley and other scholarship recipients in the College of Health and Human Performance will be honored April 20 at the college’s Winner’s Circle Scholarship Breakfast sponsored by the Pecheles Automotive Group.
Chaniya Tingley’s father served in the same N.C. National Guard infantry battalion as Capt. Chris Cash.