The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2011

Academic Merit Winners A F S A N E W S A FSA is proud to announce the 28 Foreign Service high school seniors whowere selected as the 2011 AFSAMerit Awardwinners. These one-time-only awards, totaling $44,000, were conferred on Washington, D.C.-area winners on May 6. AFSA congratulates these students for their academic and artistic achievements. Winners received $2,000 awards, and honorablementionwinners received $1,000 awards. The best-essay winner and the community service winner each received $500. Judges aremembers of AFSA’s Committee on Education, chaired by Amb. C. EdwardDillery andmade up of individuals fromthe Foreign Service community. This year, 91 students competed for 16AcademicMerit Awards. They were judged on grade point average, standardized test scores, an essay, two letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities and any spe- cial circumstances. FromtheAcademicMerit Award applicants, Caroline Huskey was selected best-essay winner, and JordanWarlick was select- ed as community service winner. Sixteen students submitted art merit applications under one of the following categories: visual arts, musical arts, drama or creative writ- ing. Art applicants were judged on their art submission, two letters of recommendation and an essay. Katherine Skipper was selected as the ArtMerit Awardwinner for her short story andnovel submissions. Sophia Hubler and Anna Turner were selected as the Art Merit Honorable MentionAwardwinners. Sophia submitted photographs, andAnnawon for her piano submission. Anna was also an Academic Merit Winner. Nine academic merit named scholarships have been established to date, the newest created this year by the ForeignServiceYouthFoundation. These awards were bestowed on the highest-scoring students. The named scholarships are: the Association of the American Foreign Service Worldwide Scholarship; the John andPriscilla Becker Family Scholarship; the Turner C. Cameron Memorial Scholarships; the John C. Leary Memorial Scholarship; the Joanna andRobertMartin Scholarships; and the Donald S. Memorial and Maria Giuseppa Spigler Scholarship. For more information on the AFSA Merit Awards, the AFSA Scholarship Program, or how to establish or apply for a scholarship, con- tact Lori Dec at (202) 944-5504 or dec@afsa.org, or visit our Web site at www.afsa.org. 2011 AFSA Merit Award Winners BY LORI DEC, SCHOLARSHIP ADMINISTRATOR Hayley Ernyey – daughter of Alexander Ernyey and Helen Lovejoy (State); graduated from Cairo American College, Cairo, Egypt; attending Tufts University, majoring in Middle Eastern studies. Alexandria Foster – daughter of C. Franklin Foster (FCS) and Virginia Foster (State); graduat- ed from Jamestown High School, Williamsburg, Va.; attending the College of William & Mary, majoring in international relations; desig- nated the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide Scholar. Eliza Hale – daughter of Jonathan P. Hale (State) and Sarah J. Sandberg; graduated from Escuela Campo Alegre, Caracas, Venezuela; attending Harvard University, majoring in cognitive science; designated the Joanna and Robert Martin Scholar. Jennifer Rollins – daughter of Jay Reed Rollins (USAID) and Nancy Rollins; graduated from Forest Park High School, Woodbridge, Va.; attending Brigham Young University, majoring in English. Marshall Thompson – son of Dean R. Thompson (State) and Jane K. Thompson; grad- uated fromWalt Whitman High School, Bethesda, Md.; attending Wheaton College, majoring in philosophy/theol- ogy; designated the Priscilla and John Becker Family Scholar. Patrick Morgan – son of Richard H. Morgan (State) and Katheryn Morgan; gradu- ated from Escuela Americana, San Salvador, El Salvador; attending the University of Virginia, majoring in interna- tional studies. Alexander Recinos – son of Augusto Recinos (State) and Helen Greeley Recinos (State); graduated from James Madison High School, Vienna, Va.; attending Reed College with no declared major; des- ignated the Donald S. Memorial and Maria Giuseppa Spigler Scholar. Erika Cummings – daugh- ter of David Cummings (State) and Constance Cummings; graduated from Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins, Colo.; attending the University of Oklahoma, majoring in piano and pre-med. Thaddeus Jones – son of Stuart Edward Jones (State) and Barbara Lynn Jones (State); graduated from Sidwell Friends School, Washington, D.C.; attending Duke University, majoring in engineering; designated the Foreign Service Youth Foundation Scholar. 48 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / J U L Y - A UGU S T 2 0 1 1 John Nesemann – son of Michael E. Nesemann (State) and Susan A. Nesemann; graduated from George Mason High School, Falls Church, Va.; attending the University of Virginia with no declared major.