The Army Scholarship Foundation announced today the award of seven scholarships to deserving children of United States Army soldiers and veterans and to spouses of active duty enlisted soldiers. Scholarships for the upcoming 2008-2009 academic year were awarded to: Jennifer Cheek of Fayetteville, NC, who is attending UNC Greensboro; Ashley Wright of El Paso, TX, who is attending the University of Texas at El Paso; and Steven Ledvina of Toledo, IA, who is attending the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Also, the named scholarships listed below were awarded to deserving Army family members.

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 to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell.

Captain 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.

The Lieutenant Scott Love Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Thomas McGinnis of Fort Leonard Wood, MO who will attend Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, where he will major in Performing Arts and Music. Mr McGinnis’ father is currently deployed in Afghanistan with the Regional Advisory Command – Central.

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 

The KBR Honorary Scholarship was awarded to Miss Janay Cheek of Fayetteville who is attending North Carolina A&T State University. She is the daughter of CW3 & Mrs Reginald Cheek of Fort Bragg, NC.

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 Mrs Elizabeth Grimm, spouse of PFC Daniel Chabot. PFC Chabot is serving with the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry at Fort Polk, LA. Mrs Grimm is attending the University of Colorado, where she is majoring in Foreign Relations and Italian.

Hamilton Sundstrand, a United Technologies Corporation, employs approximately 18,300 people worldwide and is headquartered in Windsor Locks, Conn. 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 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.