chaptersinaction Student Support
By awarding scholarships each year to deserving students from their communities, chapters help lessen the financial burden of higher education.
F
or more than 30 years, members of the Ark-La-Tex (La.) Chapter (http://arklatex
moaa.org) have been helping students afford higher education by awarding scholarships to college-bound high school seniors. This year, the chapter awarded scholarships totaling more than $30,000 to 21 students, including five leadership scholarships to Junior ROTC (JROTC) cadets. According to Lt. Col. George C. Finck, USAF (Ret), chapter scholar- ship chair, the funds for the schol- arships come from the generous donations of chapter members. He says the chapter’s matching pro- gram (a $500 donation is matched by the chapter to fund a $1,000 scholarship; a $1,000 donation is matched to provide a $2,000 schol- arship) has been very successful. The application for scholarships opens Jan. 1 and closes April 15. A board of three to five chapter mem- bers uses a matrix developed by Finck to evaluate each applicant based on factors such as GPA, SAT scores, lead- ership in school and the community, and involvement in school activities, among other criteria. In addition, each applicant must have a parent, grand- parent, or great-grandparent in good standing in the chapter. Chapter members recognize recipi- ents and their guests at a dinner in
42 MILITARY OFFICER SEPTEMBER 2016
June, where the students receive their scholarship checks. “The stu- dents are very appreciative,” Finck says, “and so are their parents.” In addition, the chapter has funded
two designated scholarships through national MOAA’s Scholarship Fund — one named after the chapter and one in honor of longtime chapter leader Col. Steve dePyssler, USAF (Ret), who, at age 97, still is involved actively in the chapter. The minimum donation for a designated scholarship is $25,000, and the student selected to receive the scholarship receives both a $500 grant and an interest- free loan. As long as students reap- ply for the loan and maintain their academic standing, they will receive a designated scholarship for up to five years. (Learn more at
www.moaa .org/designatedscholarship, or watch MOAA’s webinar at
www.moaa.org/ chapterdesignatedscholarship.) Finck says he hopes the chapter’s scholarship program will continue to grow. “When I started 20 years ago, it was $5,000 for 10 scholar- ships,” he says. “We’re trying to encourage students to go to college, and we want to keep helping them.”
Recognizing cadets Members of the Hawaii Aloha Chap- ter (
www.moaa-hawaii.org) present- ed scholarships totaling $11,000 to
22 JROTC cadets from island-wide programs, most sponsored by the chapter. And, like the Ark-La-Tex Chapter, members’ generosity is in large part to thank for the scholar- ships. “Chapter members are proud to assist the JROTC cadets, who are guided by exceptional cadre in the creed, leadership skills, values, traditions, and ethics that have made this nation strong,” says Col. Ralph J. Hiatt, USA (Ret), chair of the chapter’s JROTC scholar- ship program. According to Hiatt, legacy and memorial contributions from deceased members, members’ sponsorship of a particular school, and $2 to $5 markups on monthly events are other sources of funds. The chapter’s support of local
students began in 1981, with two $100 savings bonds given to Uni- versity of Hawaii ROTC cadets. Since then, over $130,000 in various amounts has benefited 130 college- bound JROTC cadets and nearly 40 University of Hawaii ROTC cadets and nursing students. The Hawaii Aloha Chapter’s process for selecting recipients differs from that of the Ark-La-Tex Chapter. Ap- plication announcements are sent to each JROTC program around March 1, and each cadre can nominate one cadet, who must be accepted and enrolling as a freshman in a four-year
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