The Foreign Service Journal, March 2016

70 MARCH 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Announcing the 2015-2016 AFSA Financial Aid Scholars The American Foreign Ser- vice Association bestowed 124 named financial aid scholarships worth $218,000 on 64 students for the 2015-2016 school year. These need-based awards were provided to under- graduate children of Foreign Service employees who are AFSA members. Individual awards ranged from $3,000 to $5,000. (See pages 71-75 featuring each recipient, including the names of his or her parents, the univer- sity attended and scholar- ships received.) Mrs. Elizabeth T. Harriman established the first AFSA memorial scholarship in 1926 to honor her son Oliver Bishop Harriman, who died suddenly while she served in Copenhagen. AFSA has since endeavored to help families lessen the burden of pay- ing for college by providing awards to their children. During the last 89 years, the scholarship fund has grown to $7 million thanks to the many individuals who have established annual and perpetual scholarships or made general donations. Affiliated organizations such as the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide and DACOR, as well as some corporate enti- ties, have also played a critical role in the success of the AFSA Scholarship Program. No AFSAmembership dues go toward the scholarship fund. AFSA’s Scholarship Com- mittee manages the program. Every March, the committee receives applications from FS dependents all over the world and determines the recipients, taking into account family assets and income, among other factors. The scholarships are disbursed in installments, which are sent directly to the students’ col- leges in August and Decem- ber to coincide with the start of the academic semester. Smaller scholarships are bundled together to make larger award amounts. Stu- dents need only submit one application; AFSA will match students to the appropriate scholarships, in accordance with any special restrictions placed on each individual award. Recipients receive infor- mation on their particular scholarship—how and why I thank all the people at AFSA who made this award possible. Thank you for making it possible for me to reach my academic goals and the cost of college more affordable with this scholarship. —Katherine Sugely Arriola, Junior, SUNY Buffalo State Spotlight on Scholarship Donors Harriet Winsar Isom Financial Aid Scholarship Harriet Isom is a retired career Foreign Ser- vice officer who worked in Asia and Africa with the Department of State from 1961 to 1996. During her final 10 years of service, Ambassador Isom headed the U.S. embassies in Laos, Benin and Cam- eroon. She speaks Indonesian and French. In retirement, she returned to her family ranch near Pendleton, Oregon, where she is a “gentlewoman farmer” and active in Oregon civic and volunteer organizations. Amb. Isom graduated from Mills College and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She has received women of achievement awards from the March of Dimes Oregon Chapter, the Oregon Commission for Women and the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce. Isom established her AFSA scholarship in 1993. it was established and by whom—and submit personal thank you letters and photos that are shared with the scholarship donors. In this way, AFSA seeks to build a stronger sense of Foreign Service community. Donors and students often form a personal connection, leading to ongoing correspondence or even an in-person meeting. In 2015, AFSA provided a total of $260,000 in college aid. In addition to the 64 need-based scholarship recip- ients, 22 high school seniors received funding through AFSA’s Merit Awards Program (see the 2015 July/August AFSA News). Over the last 25 years, AFSA has awarded $4 million in college aid to more than 2,200 FS students. For more information on the AFSA Scholarship Program, visit www.afsa. org/scholar or contact AFSA Scholarship Director Lori Dec at (202) 944-5504 or dec@ afsa.org. n —Lori Dec, Scholarship Director