The Army Scholarship Foundation announced today the award of seven scholarships to deserving children of United States Army soldiers and veterans and to a spouse of active duty enlisted soldier. Scholarships for the upcoming 2009-2010 to were awarded to deserving Army family members as follows:

Deleshia Youngblood, head and shoulders 

The Captain Jennifer Schafer-Odom Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Deleshia Youngblood of Fort Campbell, KY who is attending the University of Louisville in Kentucky. She is the daughter of Sergeant First Class and Mrs John Youngblood. SFC Youngblood is assigned at Fort Campbell.

Jennifer Shafer Odom grew up on a dairy farm in Knoxville, Maryland. After graduating first in her class at Brunswick High School, she entered the U.S. Military Academy and graduated as a member of the Class of 1992. She became an Army aviator and served tours of duty in both the United States and Europe, where she supported both the Kurdish refugee and Bosnia missions. While serving with the 204th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas in 1999, her aircraft was reported missing while flying intelligence and counter drug missions over Columbia, South American. She and her crew were lost.

Shelby and Kyle Belville 

The Lieutenant Scott Love Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Ms. Shelby Belville of Phenix City, AL who is a senior at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. She is an Army spouse and is married to Sergeant Kyle L. Belville who is assigned to the 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, GA.

First Lieutenant Scott Love was killed in action in 1991 while serving in Operation Desert Storm. Scott Love was an “Army brat” who was born at Fort Campbell, KY and graduated from high school in Huntsville, AL. He graduated from Florida State University in 1996 and enlisted in the US Army in 1999 as a military intelligence specialist. In 2003, he attended Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, and was subsequently assigned as a platoon leader with 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry stationed at Baumholder, Germany. His unit deployed to Kuwait in November 2005 with Scott’s platoon assigned as part of Task Force 1-35 Armor when he was killed at Ar Ramadi, Iraq.

Ashley Visitacion, head and shoulders 

The Private First Class Christopher R. Klassen Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Ashley Visitacion of Fountain, CO. Her father recently retired as a Master Sergeant following 23 years service in the Army. She graduated from Fountain High School, and is a pre-med major at the University of New Mexico.

PFC Christopher R. Klassen passed away at Fort Bragg, NC in October 2008. The, son of Ms. Amy Klassen, brother to Ms. Jennifer Klassen and uncle to Brianna Michelle of Saint Charles, MO, PFC Klassen was assigned to the 82d Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was known as an exemplary soldier.

The KBR Honorary Scholarship was awarded to Miss Kimberly Cook of Coppell, Texas. She is attending Austin College in Sherman, Texas with a major in Biochemestry. She is the daughter of CSM and Mrs Thomas Cook, who are both deceased.

KBR is headquartered in Houston, Texas. KBR is a leading global engineering, construction, and services company supporting the government services, energy, petrochemicals, and civil infrastructure sectors. The company employs over 50,000 people worldwide in locations that include Australia, Africa, the UK, Asia, and the Middle East. KBR has built a proud history and a leading market position in the government infrastructure (G&I) sector by being a low-cost, high-efficiency and absolutely reliable provider. Not only is KBR the largest contractor for the United States Army and a top-ten contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, it is currently the world’s largest defense services provider. KBR is a proud supporter of Army Families and the Army Scholarship Foundation through this annual scholarship award.

The Hamilton Sundstrand Honorary Scholarship was awarded to Miss Jennifer Cheek of Fayetteville, NC who is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Grensboro. She is the daughter of CW3 and Mrs Reginald Cheek of Fort Bragg, NC.

Hamilton Sundstrand, a United Technologies Corporation, employs approximately 18,300 people worldwide and is headquartered in Windsor Locks, CT. Among the world’s largest suppliers of technologically advanced aerospace and industrial products, the company designs, manufactures and services aerospace systems and provides integrated system solutions for commercial, regional, corporate and military aircraft. It also is a major supplier for international space programs. Hamilton Sundstrand is a strong supporter of Army Families and is proud to sponsor this annual scholarship for Army Family members.

The BAE Systems Honorary Scholarship was awarded to Lyndsi Gilbert of Hamilton, Ohio. Her father, Sergeant First Class Michael Gilbert retired from the Army upon over 20 years service. She is a junior at the University of Cincinnati.

BAE Systems is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. The company provides support and service solutions for current and future defense, intelligence, and civilian systems, and designs, develops and manufactures a wide range of electronic systems and subsystems for both military and commercial applications. They also design, develop, produce, and provide service support of armored combat vehicles, artillery systems and intelligent munitions.

Miss Ashley Wright of El Paso, Texas was also awarded a scholarship. She is a senior at the University of Texas at El Paso, majoring in criminal justice.

The Army Scholarship Foundation was founded in 2001 by concerned Army veterans who desired to continue their service to the Nation and to support and assist families of Army soldiers. The Foundation provides scholarships to deserving sons and daughters of US Army soldiers and Army veterans, as well as to spouses of serving active duty enlisted soldiers. The Foundation is sustained by the generous donations of its supporters. Tax deductible donations can be sent to the Army Scholarship Foundation, 6412 Brandon Avenue, Suite 201, Springfield, Virginia 22150.