New Ray Gray, Jr. Memorial Scholarship is launched to honor legendary educator and surfer

By: Joy Crist at Island Free Press

The Outer Banks Community Foundation (OBCF) helps manage dozens of scholarships every year, which all go to deserving students close to home.

In 2024, 92 named scholarships totaling nearly $250,000 were awarded to 77 students throughout the Outer Banks, and new scholarship opportunities are constantly being added to the OBCF’s portfolio as organizations and individuals sign on to promote goodwill, honor loved ones, or just step up to support the community.

This year is no different, and the OBCF has helped launch a wave of new scholarship opportunities for imminent Outer Banks graduates.

For example, the new-in-2025 Love of Learning Scholarship and Healthcare Professionals Scholarship Fund were both recently created by unnamed philanthropists who simply wanted to give deserving local students a financial boost.

However, there is one new scholarship in particular that will resonate with all varieties of Hatteras Islanders, from community leaders, to local surfers, to multiple generations of former Cape Hatteras Elementary School and Outer Banks students.

After years of efforts and fundraising – and a collaboration with the OBCF – the Ray Gray, Jr. Memorial Scholarship is now officially available for an upcoming 2025 graduate on Hatteras Island.

The scholarship came to fruition thanks to Ray’s son, Alex Gray, who wanted a perpetual and appropriate way to honor his father’s memory.

“The scholarship is limited to students on Hatteras Island, because given Dad’s experience as an educator, and being a Hatteras native, we wanted to focus on this community,” said Alex. “Our hope is that this scholarship is a small way that his name can still be present, and that it can allow kids to continue growth, no matter what form it takes.”

Ray was a lifelong educator, serving as a tennis coach, science teacher, assistant principal, and elementary school principal on his native island of Hatteras. He was an avid surfer, and enjoyed decades of sessions on the north side of the first jetty in Buxton, eponymously named “Ray’s Rights.”

Ray suffered a severe brain injury in 2014, and passed away on April 2, 2023, but he remains a legend for islanders of all demographics, (including and especially surfers), due to his love of the island community, and particularly its youngest members.

Loved ones attest that Ray’s proudest achievement in life was helping support and encourage hundreds of Hatteras Island youth through education and sports.

“He was their world, and they were his world, too. He lived for the kids,” said Ray’s partner of 24 years, Paulette Boyden.

“He would do anything for a child, and that never changed. He would take money out of the bank to buy coats for students who needed them, or he would make sure that every kid could purchase a book at the book fair, and being a surfer dude, he could always relate to the kids,” she said. “He took his job seriously, but he always made sure he left them laughing… There will never be another Ray Gray.”

“I think he always wanted to create a space for kids to be comfortable and to be themselves, and to try to make being at school and learning seemed a little more fun,” said Alex. “Surfing was of course a passion of his that enabled him to connect with a lot of kids.”

Alex grew up on the island, shadowing his dad as he taught, coached tennis, and surfed regularly, and after some time away from the Outer Banks, Alex and his wife moved back to Hatteras Island in 2020.

“It’s comical going around the island sometimes and introducing or reintroducing myself. I’ll ask people ‘Do you know my dad, Ray Gray?’ and there’s a very high hit rate, which is evidence of his role in the community,” said Alex.

After Ray passed, Alex was approached by a family member who suggested that a scholarship be created with the help of OBCF. “Personally, I also benefitted from local scholarships, which helped me go to UNC-Chapel Hill for my undergraduate degree, and this seemed like a great way for his name to stay in the community and have an impact.”

Donations trickled in and the Grays contributed a substantial portion of the new scholarship to bring it to life. “Folks were very kind and put a little money toward it, and we got moving and finally finished funding it, and we’re excited for it to be live for the first time this year,” said Alex.

While the Ray Gray, Jr. Memorial Scholarship is earmarked for one Hatteras Island student, it is one of dozens of scholarships offered by OBCF for local graduates, and Principal Beth Rooks of Cape Hatteras Secondary School (CHSS) says that these financial opportunities are a lifeline for many CHSS graduates.

“Our scholarship programs are not just valuable, they are essential,” said Rooks. “We currently have about 55% of our students who are on free or reduced [cost] lunches, and having scholarships and community support is the difference between them going to college or not.”

The scholarships aren’t just for students who are pursuing a four-year degree, either.

Principal Rooks says there is funding available for a wealth of careers, such as scholarships that help students purchase military uniforms, scholarships for students who are going into the construction field, and scholarships for students who are pursuing maritime and fishing careers.

“These scholarships help students with the equipment or tools they need for their future careers,” said Rooks. “Typically, we give out about S250,000 grant monies total to our students every year, and it’s endearing the amount of support our community gives to our kids.”

There’s still time for students all across the Outer Banks to apply for the wave of scholarships offered by the OBCF, but that time is running out quickly.

The application deadline is Monday, February 24, but by completing the common application here, students will automatically be considered for all eligible scholarships, with the exception of partner scholarships hosted on OBCF’s portal, or those administered directly by partner organizations.

A full list of available scholarships can also be found on the OBCF website, which includes a number of scholarships that are specifically designated for Hatteras and Ocracoke Island students.

And thanks to the hard work of Alex Gray and his family and friends, the Ray Gray, Jr. Memorial Scholarship is now added to the list of available Hatteras Island scholarships for 2025, and for many years to come.

“There were a lot of ways that we could have honored Dad, because there were many things he was passionate about and involved in, like the Buxton Volunteer Fire Department, or the Surfers with Autism group,” said Alex. “But this just seemed like the right fit.

“He always wanted to invest in all the local kids that he had an opportunity to teach and be principal to, and we wanted to do the same.”

To learn more about the Community Foundation’s scholarships, visit OBCF.org/scholarships.

About the Outer Banks Community Foundation: The Outer Banks Community Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to fostering philanthropy and supporting local causes. Through its charitable funds and grant programs, the Foundation strives to enrich the quality of life for residents of the Outer Banks.