AUSA Announces 2022 Scholarship Awards
AUSA Announces 2022 Scholarship Awards
The Association of the U.S. Army is announcing the award of its national scholarships for 2022 valued at more than $340,000.
Scholarships are being awarded to 44 AUSA members.
Three full-ride scholarships are awarded for Trident University, an accredited online institution offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees that gives credit for leadership and professional experience. Each scholarship is valued at $48,000.
The recipients are Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Wong, Marissa Moore and Chibueze Ikonne.
An Army cyber warfare technician, Wong said he is working to complete his bachelor’s degree in computer network and cybersecurity. “I would like to be a subject matter expert in the Cybersecurity field and continue to contribute my knowledge and experience to the Army’s youngest branch,” Wong wrote in his application.
Moore, a military spouse, is on track to receive her bachelor’s degree. Her goal is to pursue a master’s in nonprofit management. “I would eventually like to work for an organization that helps disadvantaged mothers and provides exceptional education for their children,” she wrote in her application.
Ikonne, a service member from Nigeria, wrote in his application that he hopes to earn a master’s degree in forensic science. “I have a specific interest in exploring access to safe and legal crime investigations in West Africa,” he said. “I feel strongly that an international scholarship and internship abroad as a part of my career pursuit would provide me with an unparalleled opportunity to gain hands-on research, advocacy and other legal experience that would undoubtedly serve me throughout my legal career.”
Van Autreve Scholarships
Eight SMA Leon Van Autreve Scholarships are awarded in honor of the former sergeant major of the Army who died in 2002.
A $25,000 Van Autreve scholarship is awarded to Sgt. 1st Class Hazzel Leon, an Army medic who has been accepted into the Army Green to Gold program through the University of San Francisco. Leon, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in kinesiology, wrote in her application that upon completion of her degree and commissioning into the Army, she plans to apply for the Army-Baylor University physical therapy doctoral program.
“My long-term goal is to join the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) system to primarily be on the team that invests in soldier readiness and lethality, help change the culture towards physical and non-physical performance, and empower overall effectiveness of the Total Army,” Leon wrote.
A $10,000 Van Autreve scholarship is awarded to 2nd Lt. Jack Parker, who said he plans to use the scholarship to help pay for his legal education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A recent graduate of Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, Parker is working to become an Army judge advocate.
“It is my dream to be a JAG officer in the United States Army,” Parker wrote. “I desire to be a legal steward for the commanders who operate in spartan conditions and make decisions in morally ambiguous situations.”
A $5,000 Van Autreve scholarship is awarded to retired 1st Sgt. Wayne Howard, the senior Army instructor at the Oak Hills High School Junior ROTC program in California. Howard, who was a military police soldier, said he plans to offset the debt he’s incurred from getting his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He also is enrolled in a doctoral program. His goal is to “attain a level of education qualifying me to run for and be elected to a supervisory office position where I can help to make high level decisions for the benefit of our youth in education,” Howard wrote in his application.
Five Van Autreve scholarships of $2,000 each also are awarded. The recipients are South Carolina National Guard Pvt. Tyson Lurie, who is pursuing a bachelor’s in criminal justice at The Citadel in South Carolina and plans to be commissioned as a second lieutenant; Kayleigh Mitchell, an Army daughter who just graduated from high school and plans to pursue a nursing degree; Cutter Clayton-Delgado, a military family member who is studying engineering at North Carolina State University; Donna Reynolds, a military family member and economics and foreign affairs student at the University of Virginia; and Spc. Ryan Lock, a North Carolina National Guard soldier studying at Virginia Tech who aims to commission as an Army infantry officer.
Cribbins, Condor, Chabraja and Merritt Scholarships
Two Joseph P. and Helen T. Cribbins Scholarships of $10,000 each are awarded to students completing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math. The Cribbinses were longtime supporters of AUSA and the Army.
The recipients are Lt. Col. Jeffrey Jager, who is studying exercise science so he can start a small business as a personal trainer while also pursuing a doctorate in international relations so he can join the federal workforce and teach at a university level; and National Guard 1st Lt. William Howlett, who is working on his doctorate in medicinal chemistry and research at the University of Minnesota.
This year, AUSA also is awarding five new scholarships sponsored by Condor Outdoor Products worth $10,000 each to help AUSA members pursuing a degree in any field.
Recipients are Olivia Sullens, an ROTC cadet at the University of North Georgia who hopes to commission as an intelligence officer; Joshua Duffer, a student at Baylor University who’s studying entrepreneurship and finance; Staff Sgt. Raymond Lazar, who is working on his bachelor’s degree at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania and plans to commission as an Army officer; Nadjaliette Hernandez-Lopez, a military family member who is a medical student at Texas Tech University; and Anna Hernandez, an Army brat studying biology at the University of Kentucky.
Six Nicholas D. Chabraja Scholarships of $5,000 each are also awarded for science, technology, engineering and math, named for a former AUSA Council of Trustees chairman.
The recipients are Christopher Henson, a military family member studying electrical engineering at Ohio University; Joshua Brower, the son of a soldier who is studying mechanical engineering at Liberty University in Virginia; Victoria Stuart, a military family member and student at Millikin University in Illinois who is working to become a physician assistant; Pvt. Jordan Hazelman, a National Guard soldier who is pursuing a bachelor’s in biology at East Carolina University with plans to go to medical school; McKenzie Cox, the granddaughter of a soldier who is attending the University of Kentucky and aspires to be a dentist; and former Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Grohs, who served as an Army Ranger and is now attending Hillsdale College in Michigan with plans to eventually earn a law degree.
Two Gen. Jack N. Merritt Scholarships, each $5,000, are awarded in the name of the former AUSA president.
Eleanor Frederick, the daughter of a soldier who is studying chemical engineering at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and 1st Lt. Sangrae Jo, an Army medic and nurse for eight years who is pursuing a master’s degree, are the 2022 recipients.
Completed Coursework and More
Eight Completed Coursework scholarships, each worth $2,500, are awarded to help with debt from recent completion of college courses or professional certifications.
Recipients include Anna Blessinger, an Army family member who is studying industrial design at Purdue University in Indiana; Master Sgt. Eric Schooff, who is completing his master’s in business administration at the University of Cincinnati; Xavier Garay, an ROTC cadet studying mechanical engineering at Rutgers University, New Jersey; and Maj. Steven Song, a 2006 West Point graduate who is seeking a doctorate in engineering from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
The remaining recipients are Robert Gudz, an ROTC cadet seeking a degree in computer science and economics from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania; Olivia Holland, an AUSA member who is studying nursing at Auburn University in Alabama; Jessia Marie Avila, the daughter of a soldier who is a master’s student at Columbia University in New York; and Cassidy Ngaopraseutsack, who is studying biology at the University of Connecticut.
Ten Delta Dental scholarships, each $2,000, are awarded to applicants pursuing health and wellness training, including dentistry, nursing, home health care or caregiver training.
Recipients include Ryan Dukes, a military family member studying mechanical engineering at North Carolina State University; Macy McLeod, the daughter of a soldier and a math student at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands; Airman 1st Class Pfc. James Rowcliff IV, a Mississippi National Guard airman studying industrial and systems engineering at Mississippi State University; Isabelle McDonough, a military family member studying wildlife science at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry with the goal of becoming a wildlife biologist; and Anna Fenn, the daughter of a soldier and an airman who is pursuing degrees in quantitative economics and flute music performance from James Madison University in Virginia.
The remaining recipients are Elisabeth Williams, a military family member studying psychology at the University of Kentucky; Delianne Ayala Ramos, an ROTC cadet studying forensic science at the University of New Haven, Connecticut; Samuel Pelzner, the son of a soldier who is studying biochemistry at Pennsylvania State University; Megan Munson, a military family member who is pursuing a degree from Villanova University, Pennsylvania, with aspirations to become a physician assistant; and Ashley Pearson, the daughter of two service members who is seeking a degree in security and risk analysis from Pennsylvania State University.
For more information on AUSA’s scholarship program, click here.