2016 Scholarship Entries

My troubles began on Monday, September 10, 2012. After coming back from a long8-month deployment on the USS Essex, I started to feel tired, lightheaded, hot and sickly. A short while later, my body was so tired that I had to go to sleep. While in bed, I began sweating and decided to check my […]

I honorably served nearly 15 years in the United States Army and was discharged in December 2013. I was injured in the line of duty. Due to my injuries I am unable to pursue my past hobbies and have difficulties on a daily basis both physically and mentally. I am currently working full-time in the

I was raised in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgiaby a lower middle class, blue collar family.  My father worked for Southern Railway coupling and decoupling rail cars.  My mother was an admin in an office.  College was something that was suggested in my home, but there was never any conversation as to what I was

When I enlisted in the Army, I felt like I had answered my calling and was destined to do great things throughout my career and around the world. I was going to follow in my dad’s footsteps; and make my mom proud because her baby girl joined the military to better herself. I also wanted

My story as a Marine started in 1998 when I enlisted as a field artilleryman in Melbourne, Florida. I arrived at Parris Island, South Carolina on December 17, 1998 and quickly learned I had made a difficult but important decision to join the Marine Corps. The next 13 weeks proved difficult and taught me more

I joined the Army in 2005, choosing to become a part of the Infantry. I always had the desire to be a part of the military and serve my country. Upon graduating basic training, I completed Airborne school and then was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On a deployment

At the moment, over 10 million veterans are unemployed. Not only are service members leaving the military into a rough economic environment, but also carry the weight of psychological and physical damage from years at war in the middle east. The trauma caused by war has produced over 22 veteran suicides a day. As a

My name is Joseph. I am a student at Cleveland Chiropractic College in the DC program. I am also a disabled veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and I proudly served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. My time in the military has taught me so many valuable lessons that will help me achieve my

My service to this great nation of potential and rewards has been breath taking. I joined the US Army at the age of 17. My mother at the time was battling an illness known as sarcoidosis which is a collection of inflammatory cells in different regions of a person’s body. In my mother’s case, sarcoidosis

My name is Faraz and I joined the Marines after high school in attempt to solve my identity crisis. The majority of the public sees an image of a limbless man when mentioned the words “disabled veteran.” What is overseen is that the majority of disabled veterans comes from a psychological perspective. I was a