by Carrie Williams
DeCA marketing specialist
1/29/2009 - FORT LEE, Va. (AFNS) -- For military parents who have children about to enter college or already attending, the opportunity to apply for a $1,500 scholarship through the Defense Commissary Agency's Scholarships for Military Children Program is ending Feb. 18.
Applications are available in commissaries worldwide. You may also fill
out an application online at the Military Scholar Web site,
http://www.militaryscholar.org, but the Web site does not have a
"submit" button, so you must print a copy and drop it off at a
commissary. You may also fill the application out by hand. At least one
scholarship will be awarded at every commissary location with qualified
applicants.
Since the scholarship program kicked off in 2001, it has distributed
more than $6.4 million dollars in scholarships to more than 4,000 of
the best and brightest children of military families.
"Education today is very expensive," said Andrew Knaub, a 2003
scholarship recipient from Scott Air Force Base, Ill., "so every dime
you get in scholarship money is that much less you'll have to pay back
in college loans after you graduate." Mr. Knaub put his $1,500 toward
tuition at Penn State, earning a bachelor's degree in finance while
specializing in international business.
Mr. Knaub said education has completely changed the course of his life.
"Without it I wouldn't have been able to travel abroad to other
universities, and I would not have been able to get the job I have
today as a compliance analyst with a securities firm.
"Since I paid for most of my education with loans and money from summer
jobs, this scholarship means a few less months of my salary today that
will go toward repaying those loans."
While the $1,500 scholarship can only be applied to undergraduate
studies, the money it saves students and their families can then be
applied to postgraduate work.
Starla Armstrong, a 2003 scholarship recipient from Fort Gordon, Ga.,
did just that and went on to earn a master's degree in clinical
psychology from Georgia Southern University at Statesboro, Ga.
"Education plays a huge role in my life. I'm committed to a career that
requires two advanced degrees; I will have spent 11 years in college
before entering the workforce!" Ms. Armstrong is working on a doctorate
in counseling psychology at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., and
plans to pursue a career in counseling psychology with the Department
of Veterans Affairs.
And then, of course, there's the psychological payoff of earning a
scholarship. "If anything, the scholarship provided a sense of support
in knowing that DeCA and Fisher House believed in my potential,"
explained Joshua Lanzet, a 2003 scholarship recipient from Cairo,
Egypt. Lanzet put his scholarship to good use, graduating magna cum
laude from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., with a
bachelor's degree in international affairs. He is working for the
Coca-Cola Company's North and West Africa Business Unit in public
affairs and communications.
What could you accomplish with the help of a $1,500 scholarship? You'll never know if you don't apply.
Only dependent, unmarried children (under the age 23) of active-duty,
Reserve/Guard and retired servicemembers, survivors of service members
who died while on active duty or survivors of individuals who died
while receiving retired pay from the military may apply for a
scholarship. Eligibility is determined using the Defense Enrollment
Eligibility Reporting System database. Applicants should ensure that
they, as well as their sponsor, are enrolled in the DEERS database and
have a current ID card. The applicant must be attending or planning to
attend an accredited college or university full time in the fall of
2009, or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer
directly into a four-year program.
Be sure to check your materials carefully for simple things, like
making sure the application is signed and that you are using the 2009
application, not one from previous years. For details about the
program, check out the "Frequently Asked Questions" page on the
Military Scholar Web site.
Scholarships for Military Children is funded through donations by the
general public and by product manufacturers and brokers that sell
groceries in commissaries. Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit
organization best known for building comfort homes near military
medical facilities, administers the Scholarships for Military Children
Program. Fisher House Foundation uses the services of Scholarship
Managers, a professional firm that has handled more than 400 programs,
to screen applicants and award scholarships. Neither Fisher House nor
DeCA is involved in the decision process.
Stumble It!
