The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2003

10 AFSA NEWS • JULY-AUGUST 2003 AFSA IS PROUDTOANNOUNCETHEWINNERSOF THE 2003 Merit Award competition. There were 27 Foreign Servicehighschoolseniorschosentoreceivetheawards this year. The total amount awardedwas$27,600. The one-time-only awards were bestowed during a cere- mony on ForeignAffairs Day onMay 9. AFSA con- gratulates these students for their academic andartis- ticachievements. Winners received$1,500awards and honorable-mention winners received $500 awards. This year, 62 students competed for the 14 Academic Merit Awards. Applicants were judged on their grade point average and Scholastic Assessment Test score, a two-page essay, two let- ters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, and any special circumstances. A best essay win- ner (Sarah Taylor) and a community service win- ner (Jane Symington) were selected from the Academic Merit Award applicants. Applications were received from 17 students for the Art Merit Awards, each submitted in one of the following categories: visual arts,musical arts, drama, dance or creative writing. Jacob Thielman was the Art Merit winner for his piano submission. To date, four named Academic Merit scholar- ships have been established for the highest-scoring students in the competition. The named scholar- ships are: Association of the American Foreign ServiceWorldwide Scholarship, John and Priscilla Becker Family Scholarship, John C. Leary Scholarship, and Donald S. and Maria Giuseppa Spigler Scholarship. For more information on the AFSAMerit com- petition, the AFSA Scholarship program, or how to establish a named scholarship, contact Lori Dec at (202) 944-5504or dec@afsa.org. Ple ase visit theAFSA Web site at www.afsa.org/scholar/index.cfm. 2003 AFSA Merit Award Winners Art MeritWinner Jacob Thielman: son of Sara and Sam Thielman (State), graduate of Rosslyn Aca- demy,Nairobi,Kenya;attend- ing Wheaton College in Wheaton,Ill. Awardedforhis piano performance. Academic Merit Winners BrandonCook:sonofSabrina (State) and Jeffrey Cook (State); graduate of American International School of Budapest,Budapest,Hungary; will be attending Yale University. Christine Elliott: daughter of Angela and William Elliott (USAID); graduate of G.C. Marshall High School, Falls Church, Va.; will be attending University of Virginia. MatthewKeegan: sonof Sally Lindfors and David Keegan (State); graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria,Va.;willbeattend- ing Williams College. JesseLaeuchli:sonofElizabeth and Samuel Laeuchli (State); homeschooled in Chengdu, ChinaandBudapest,Hungary; willbeattendingUniversityof Notre Dame. Mariel Murray: daughter of Vigdis Jacobsen and Jeffrey Murray (State); graduate of AmericanInternationalSchool ofLisbon,Sintra,Portugal;will be attending University of Pennsylvania. Also AFSA HonorableMentionArtAward winner for flute. Peter Quinzio: son of Connie and Tom Quinzio (State); graduate of HB Woodlawn High School, Arlington, Va.; will be attending Princeton University. Also AFSA HonorableMentionArtAward winner for alto saxophone. Erica Schlaikjer: daughter of Imoi and Stephen Schlaikjer (State); graduate of Watkins Mill High School, Gaithers- burg, Md.; will be attending Northwestern University. Julie Schwartz: daughter of Ellen and Larry Schwartz (State); graduate of Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda,Md.;willbeattend- ing Brandeis University. Johanna Smyth: daughter of Janice SullivanSmyth (State) and Richard Smyth (State); graduate of American Inter- national School of Kingston, Kingston, Jamaica; will be attending College of William and Mary. James Steele: son of Naiyana andEarlJamesSteele(State); graduate of Herndon High School, Herndon, Va.; will be attending Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif.