Iuliana Petre
SMA Leadership Scholarship Inaugural Recipient - 1999
Mary Baldwin College VWIL Cadet Iuliana Petre initiated the planning for the first SMA-VWIL cooperative project, the SMA-VWIL Parade.On May 18, 2001, Iuliana was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army, where she was assigned to responsibilities in Ordnance. That graduation weekend, she and her VWIL peers also transferred the VWIL command. Congratulations to you, Lt. Petre, and to your graduating classmates, and we wish you all the very best of luck.
Iuliana’s first duty assignment was at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. In December 2001, Iuliani was transferred to Camp Casey, in Korea, near Tongduchon, where she is now very close to the front line against one of the members of President Bush’s triad of evil. Her responsibilities keep her busy, but she is having the opportunity to explore her neck of the Korean “woods,” and she is planning to extend her experience of the Army’s promise to “see the world” with a trip to Thailand or Japan when her first leave comes up.
Update
Monica Choi
SMA Leadership Scholarship Recipient - 2000
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Cadet Monica Choi is a computer-science major with a minor in leadership, and she carries a 3.8 grade-point average. An Army ROTC scholarship cadet, Choi is the VWIL Corps’ executive officer for the 2001-2002 academic year, and she serves as president of the Mary Baldwin College Honor Council. She also is a member of the college swim team.
Amanda Bennett
SMA Leadership Scholarship Recipient - 2001
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On Friday, March 23, 2001, at the awards ceremony for the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL) at Mary Baldwin College, SMA Alumni Association President Tom Phillips, SMA '74, presented the Association's $1,000 annual Leadership scholarship to a surprised and grateful Cadet Corporal Amanda Bennett. As is VWIL's practice, the SMA colors joined the other flags on the podium for the ceremony.Bennett, a sophomore from New York, is an Air Force ROTC cadet with a 3.3 grade-point average (out of 4.0). She also earned a perfect score on the physical-fitness test and is a member of the soccer team.
In a thank-you letter to the Association, she wrote:
I cannot even begin to explain the pride and joy I experienced upon receiving the award. It is an honor to have my name associated with that of the Staunton Military Academy. VWIL appreciates all that the alumni of SMA freely do for our corps. Thank you again.
Nicole Littlejohn
SMA Leadership Scholarship Recipient - 2002
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Congratulations to Nicole Littlejohn, a Landover, Maryland native and a sophomore who plans to accept a commission in the US Air Force after graduating in 2004. She is a psychology major with a minor in leadership, and she has been extremely active in extra-curricular activities. She was president of the Mary Baldwin freshman class, vice president of the Mary Baldwin College sophomore class, is a member of the Black Student Alliance, the Army Aviation Association of America, the physical training cadre, the emergency response team, and she is a corporal in the VWIL regimental system.
An SMA alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous has pledged a dollar-for-dollar match of contributions, up to $5,000, to the SMA Leadership Scholarship, which will increase the scholarship fund to nearly $16,000. Show your appreciation for his gesture by accepting the challenge.
Please make tax-deductible donations payable to the SMA Foundation, Inc./Scholarship Fund and send to the SMA Alumni Association office.
The SMA Leadership Scholarship is an annual $1,000 award presented by the SMA Alumni Association to the Mary Baldwin College - Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership cadet junior who exhibits strong leadership qualities and high academic standards and who is enrolled in and committed to completion of one of the ROTC programs. Recipients of the scholarship are determined by a joint VWIL-SMA selection committee. The award is not yet perpetual and depends upon continued donations if it is to be repeated. The Association's goal is a fund level of at least $50,000, which will assure a perpetual, annual award, preserving the SMA legacy.
Please contact the SMA Alumni Association with questions about the Leadership Scholarship.