The Foreign Service Journal, May 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2014 63 AFSA NEWS sented, availability for panel discussion meetings and, in the case of the art judges, expertise. As mentioned above, each panel had an AFSA Scholarship Commit- tee member on it, too. Academic merit award applicants receive a score for their unweighted gradepoint average, standardized test scores, higher-level courses taken, a two-page essay, high school activities and any special circumstances. Letters of recommendation are also taken into consider- ation. Art merit award appli- cants must have at least a 2.0 GPA, but do not need to submit their standardized test scores. These candi- dates submit two to five art samples in one of the follow- ing four categories: creative writing, visual arts, perform- ing arts or musical arts. They also submit an essay and two letters of recommendation, and answer various ques- tions on their artwork. The competition is open only to children of AFSA members who are active duty or retired Foreign Service employees. REWARD I NG FS STUDENTS “I am happy we have this AFSA program and that we are able to reward the students we do,” says Ambas- sador Lange Schermerhorn, chairwoman of the AFSA Scholarship Committee. “However, there are still many deserving applicants AFSA cannot recognize because of the funding constraints, so we must, at times, make tough decisions.” Overseen by the seven- person AFSA Scholarship Committee, which is made up of representatives from all Foreign Service agencies, AFSA’s Merit Award pro- gram is now in its 38th year. Thirteen top prizes ($2,500) and 12 honorable mention prizes ($1,000), along with a $750 prize each for the Best Merit Awards Program • Continued from page 57 Essay Award and Community Service Award are bestowed annually. AFSA thanks the 2014 merit award judges: Lora Berg*, Chanda Berk*, Jennifer Bucha, Frances Chisholm, Larry Cohen*, Paul Cox, Mort Dworken, Kevin Ellison, Mark Gellerson, Olivia, Hilton, David Jones, Todd Kushner, Bill Kutson*, Helen Lovejoy, Bill Martin, Bobbie Neal, Maureen O’Neill*, Mark Petry*, Andrew Ryan, Amb. Lange Schermerhorn*, Anne Simon, Jennifer Spande, Carol Sutherland, Jane Tan- nenbaum and Karen Zens. (The (*) denotes members of Volunteers Paul Cox, a first-time judge, and Maureen O’Neill, a member of the AFSA Scholarship Committee, review applications at an academic merit panel meeting. the AFSA Scholarship Com- mittee.) The Merit Award program is part of the AFSA Scholar- ship Program, which also includes a need-based Finan- cial Aid Scholarship program providing $200,000 in edu- cational aid it to FS students annually. The AFSA Scholar- ship Program is managed by two AFSA staff members and a one-semester intern. For more information on the program and to view the full list of merit award winners, visit www.afsa.org/ scholar. n –Lori Dec, Scholarship Director KERRINMURPHY