Purnell Swett Senior Wins a New Car at Beasley Driven 2 Excel Event
LUMBERTON — Four years of hard work paid off for a Purnell Swett graduate Thursday night, as Shakylia Hunt won a new car thanks to her scholastic efforts in the…

Shakylia Hunt of Purnell Swett High School won a new car in the Beasley Media Group Driven 2 Excel program.
Dashawn Byron / Beasley Media GroupLUMBERTON — Four years of hard work paid off for a Purnell Swett graduate Thursday night, as Shakylia Hunt won a new car thanks to her scholastic efforts in the Robeson County Driven 2 Excel program.
Hunt won a 2022 Honda Civic LX in Beasley Media Group’s Driven 2 Excel program, sponsored by Lumberton Honda.
"I didn't know how to feel," Hunt said after name was pulled. "There wasn't a secret, I just stayed on top of my stuff."
Hunt said she does plan to go off to college, with aspirations of being a veterinarian, but for now she's looking forward to just working.
Beasley Media of Fayetteville (Foxy 99, WKML, My Kiss Radio, Sunny 94.3, 96.5 BOB FM, 107.7 JAMZ) awarded Hunt the car from Lumberton Honda for her academic and attendance achievements this school year. To qualify, Robeson County Schools students had to maintain a GPA of 3.2 for each grading period of the 2021-2022 school year, and have had no more than five unexcused absences.
"We are so incredibly proud of the hard work all of these seniors have put in for a challenging four years of high school," said Kent Dunn, Regional Vice President for Beasley Media Group. "We're thankful for our partners who help us reward these students for their achievements and look forward to continuing to celebrate academic success."
The car was awarded at a special event Thursday evening at Lumberton Honda.
"This one is a little more exciting for us because all the people were here and you could feel the energy in the air," Kent Locklear, General Manager of Lumberton Honda said. "It just makes me feel good about doing this program, and support the schools."
Additionally, six $1,000 scholarships were awarded to graduating seniors by Piedmont Natural Gas. The scholarship winners representing the six Robeson County schools were:
- Xylaija McIver - Fairmont High School
- JaQuez Parris - Lumberton Senior High School
- Jaylen Lamark - Purnell Swett High School
- Ignacio Gomez-Espinoza - Red Springs High School
- Ethan Driggers - Early College High School
- Ja'Marcus Simmons - St. Paul's High School
Beasley Media Group, Robeson County Schools, Lumberton Honda and Piedmont Natural Gas are proudly supporting this year’s Driven 2 Excel program in Robeson County.


Graduation is upon us and it's time to see where Cumberland County schools ranked among the best in North Carolina.
In surfing around a few days ago, I stumbled on a US News and World Report article listing the Best High Schools in the state of North Carolina. The numbers will show if students are prepared to graduate high school and either pursue a college degree or enter the work force. Some of the factors in the study include college readiness, scores that students must have in order to graduate and an assessment of performance.
We both can agree that high school is a very important time for learning. Fact is, what we learn from kindergarten through grade 12, often lays the foundation for what type of college studies we seek and ultimately what we choose as a career.
So, which schools are the best of the best in Cumberland County and in North Carolina? Read on for the full list.