Scholarship
“The
Fund in Action
MOAA
scholarship
Danielle and
helps keep
Matthew Gonzales
our dad’s
memory
“My dad used to take us camping. And when we
Danielle and
Matthew Gonzales
alive.”
would pack up our things, he told us, ‘Always leave
the place better than you found it.’ It didn’t mean
much to me then. But now that idea guides me in never a dull moment in our house. We didn’t
school and my activities and community service on watch cartoons on Saturdays, and we never got
campus,” says Danielle Gonzales, a 21-year-old junior bored. My dad was up for any adventure. We were
at Seattle University. She and her brother, Matthew, always out doing something new and exciting.”
a 19-year-old freshman at Sierra Nevada College, are Danielle recalls a time the family was hiking up
recipients of scholarships through MOAA’s American the Olympic Mountain range in Washington state. “I
Patriot Scholarship. T_h e scholarship was established sprained my ankle, and my dad encouraged me the
af_t er Sept. 11, 2001, to assist children of servicemem- whole way down the mountain. He made me believe
bers who have died on active duty. that I could make it. I never gave up,” Danielle says.
Pedro Gonzales, a chief petty of_f_i cer in the Navy, Danielle can see that mountain from her dorm
died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam April 7, 2001. room at Seattle University, and she says it is a daily
He was on a mission with the Joint Prisoners of reminder to push herself and work hard.
War, Missing in Action Accounting Command “T_h e MOAA scholarship helps keep our dad’s
to recover the remains of U.S. military personnel memory alive. He was passionate and driven and
lost in Vietnam. It was a volunteer mission. “He always put others f_i rst. His spirit guides my brother
volunteered for every opportunity throughout his and me. Receiving the scholarship helped us realize
military career. He pushed himself and was up for that his sacrif_i ce was important to others as well
any new challenge,” recalls his wife, Marie. Pedro and that it will not be forgotten.”
joined the Navy right out of high school, and it
was his dream that his children would attend and
graduate from college, says Marie.
2nd Lt. Doug Ruhl, USAR
“T_h e scholarships are such a relief to my family,” By the time he was 13 years old, 2nd Lt. Doug
says Matthew. “I didn’t know how my mom would Ruhl, USAR, was living in his 15th home. Ruhl’s
have been able to put the two of us through college father is a retired Army infantry of_f_i cer. “All of my
at the same time as a single parent.” friends were military kids, so I didn’t know any
Matthew says eight years later, not a day goes by better. T_h e longest I had ever lived in one place was
that he doesn’t think about his father. “T_h ere was during my four years as an undergraduate at Texas
ABOUT THE MOAA SCHOLARSHIP FUND: The MOAA Scholarship Fund is a nonprofi t, charitable organization incorporated in Virginia and
declared tax-exempt by the IRS under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Its tax identifi cation number is 54-1659039. We are committed to demon-
strating the highest standards of public accountability and stewardship of donors’ gifts. To view the MOAA Scholarship Fund’s most recent audited fi nancial
statements, go to
www.moaa.org/scholarshipfund.
The MOAA Scholarship Fund is a member of the Military, Veterans, & Patriotic Service Organization of America and is rated “Best in America” by the
Independent Charities of America.
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