Military Education Scholarship Winners
VA Mortgage Center.com is proud to announce the five winners of our fifth semi-annual Military Education Scholarship Program. The five individuals we have selected all displayed remarkable strengths in numerous areas and wrote impressive essays about how their military experiences will prepare them for their careers. Congratulations to William, Patrick (for daughter Courtney), Harold, Sharlene (for son Tyler), and Reina (for daughter Gabrielle). We thank you for serving our country proudly, and we hope that you are successful in your educational endeavors.
The Military Education Scholarship Program was put on and funded solely by the joint efforts of the employees of VA Mortgage Center.com. We support all of the servicemen and women that give so much for our country, and we enjoy working with you every day. Thank you.
Winner Profiles
Check out our winners below. Each person has a unique story to tell. Read about their military experiences and how they plan to use the award money.
William Douglas Price - U.S. Marines
William joined the Marines right out of High School. He was stationed in Okinawa for one year, and Camp Pendleton for the remainder of his time. He served for nearly 5 years. He included his military career in his essay in a way that tied the emotional and physical growth he experienced. Having some successes and failures after the end of his enlistment, he has been able to take those life experiences as well as the military experience and keep moving forward.
William is graduating from San Diego City College in May 2009 and transferring to University of California, San Diego in the Fall to major in Political Science/Public Law. He is also currently attending UCSD Extension earning his Paralegal Certification and plans to take the LSAT next year. He would like to attend University of San Diego Law School and focus on Human Rights or International Law.
Courtney Smith - Daughter of Patrick Smith - US Navy
Patrick graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1981 and after flight training was assigned to his first helicopter squadron at NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii. His first shore duty assignment was at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland where he attended the Naval Test Pilot School. Other shore duty tours included the Bureau of Naval Personnel, a flight instructor, and at U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk Virginia. He retired in August 2007 and he and his family have remained in Chesapeake Virginia.
His daughter, Courtney, attended Great Bridge High school and was a member of the Volleyball team, Cross Country and Track team, and the Tennis team. During one of his deployments in USS SAIPAN, she was elected Homecoming Queen. He found out by calling home from the Arabian Gulf off the coast of Iraq. Courtney was very active in several leadership and volunteer activities in High School. She has completed her Freshman and Sophomore year at Virginia Tech, where she is a very proud Hokie. She will start in a Nursing program this summer with the goal of attaining her BSN.
Harold Thompson - Air Force Veteran
Initially, Harold joined the military for educational benefits but gained much more than a college education. During his military career, he was assigned to Vandenberg AFB California and Beale AFB California. He has traveled to several countries as well as special assignment deployments to Kuwait and Bahrain. In 2003, he deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In between deployments and the rigorous demands of the military, he continued to take college courses and received an Associate of Arts in Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from American Inter Continental University.
His goal and passion has always been to become an attorney. He was recently selected to attend the Oklahoma City University School of Law in the fall of 2009. By serving his country, he has developed an undying passion and respect for all military service members and Veterans. He looks forward to gaining a legal education and taking the first steps towards giving back to his fellow service members and Veterans in this capacity. By being awarded the VAMC scholarship, he is able to advance this goal.
Tyler Loennig - Son of Sharlene Loenning - US Army Nurse
Sharlene V. Loennig, a retired US Army Nurse, wrote a compelling essay in respect to what her military career taught her and what she was able to pass on to her son because of her experiences. She admittedly is a very proud mom of a soon to be second year student, Tyler James Loennig, at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Tyler completed his first year of study with high honors in the Biology/Pre-med/Doctorate of Physical Therapy programs.
Tyler was given the support and encouragement throughout his life to know that goals should be set with the ability to achieve them by never losing site of the prize. Every morning from Kindergarten through High School, Tyler was reminded to "Learn lots, study hard and have fun". Recognizing his gifts of kindness and leadership it is no surprise that he would pursue a career in a profession known for helping others. It is with sincere pleasure and respect for all of his hard work, that the essay written by his proud mom was submitted. "Thank you so very much and be assured that this scholarship is most appreciated."
Gabrielle Davison - Daughter of Reina - US Army
Reina is a Vietnam veteran. As an adolescent, she made a decision to serve in the US Army and was relentless about following her calling. She became increasingly concerned when our country had been declared to be in a state of national emergency, and was determined to serve. She says that she has never looked back on that decision. Her story speaks of the lifetime price that is invested for freedom by each soldier that decides to contribute part of their lives to serving our country.
Her daughter Gabrielle plans to double major in Cinema TV and Theater Arts. Gabrielle is concerned with the disintegration of family values. Her career goal and contribution to our society will be to develop and produce television programs and motion pictures that are morally wholesome.
Past Winners
You may also be interested in checking out the winners from our May 2008 contest and the November 2007 contest, as well as the winners from our first contest, held in May 2007.
More About VAMortgageCenter.com
VA Mortgage Center.com is a leading provider of VA Loans and other VA lending products in association with the VA Home Loan Program. Each year, our VA Specialists work with thousands of new and existing VA Benefit-eligible homeowners to secure the home loan solutions that are right for them.
As mentioned, our Scholarship Program is 100% funded by the employees of our company. We hope our Scholarship Program helps make a difference in the lives of our customers and the service member community through the pursuit of higher education.
Brought to you by the employees of VA MortgageCenter.com
