MARTINSVILLE, Va. (rbs news now) — The first-ever Joseph “Joey” Lynn Martin Scholarship was awarded during the Martinsville-Henry County Junior Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) banquet on June 7 at the New College Institute in Martinsville.

This scholarship commemorates Joey, a 19-year-old from Axton, who passed away on November 8, 2019, at his home.

Joey was a 2018 graduate of Martinsville High School and was studying engineering at Danville Community College, where he was inducted into the Alpha Beta Gamma and Phi Theta Kappa national honor societies.

He aspired to attend North Carolina A&T State University, according to his obituary.

Joey was actively involved in his community and church, Bethel Way Church of Christ, Inc., and participated in the Youth for Christ, drama, kitchen, and food bank ministries.

In high school, he was a member of the golf and baseball teams, MADAWGS Robotics 3258 Team, NSBE, National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, National Beta Club, and CHILL Clubs.

At the banquet, the family presented the scholarship to Demarius Barksdale, a student aspiring to major in mechanical engineering, a field Joey was passionate about.

“It’s a special honor. Joey was awarded his engineering degree at his funeral service, and it was amazing that that young man is going to be a mechanical engineering major. We want to keep Joey’s memory and legacy alive because he loved education. We want other people to continue to grow and to prosper and if there’s any little way that we can be a part of that, that’s what we want to do. It’s a blessing for us,” Joey’s mother, Bonnie Martin, told rbs news now.

His mother and sister, Marnie’ Martin, serve on the non-profit organization’s board in his honor.

Bonnie also highlighted the significance of wearing purple to the event, raising awareness about epilepsy, which Joey was diagnosed with as a child.

“We found out when Joey was in kindergarten that he started to have seizures. They initially started as daydreaming seizures. We wear purple in honor of epilepsy, the color for epilepsy awareness. We want people to know and be aware that while there’s not a cure, we continue to pray and hope that there will be. We want to continue to encourage people to fund epilepsy organizations so other children will be saved from this disease,” she added.

As the program grows, the family hopes to partake in other initiatives in Joey’s name to help the community.

Future scholarships will be awarded through with the local NSBE chapter and the church.

For more information on the scholarship and how to support the cause, interested parties are encouraged to connect with NSBE or the church.

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