2009 Scholarships for Military Children Program is under way

  • Published
  • By Caroline Williams
If you're a high school or college student and the child of a military family looking for ways to fund your education, you might want to checkout the 2009 Scholarships for Military Children Program that began Nov. 3. Scholarship applications are available in commissaries worldwide and online through a link at https://www.commissaries.com and at http://www.militaryscholar.org.
The program kickoff coincides each year in November with National Military Family Month, and the scholarships are a great way for commissaries to get involved with the community and demonstrate support for the contributions of military families.
Only dependent, unmarried children (under the age 23) of active-duty personnel, reserve/guard and retired military members, survivors of servicemembers who died while on active duty or survivors of individuals who died while receiving retired pay from the military may apply for a scholarship. Eligibility is determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database. Applicants should ensure that they, as well as their sponsor are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current ID card. The applicant must be planning to attend, or already be attending, an accredited college or university full time in the fall of 2009, or be enrolled in a program of study designed to transfer into a four-year program.
Applicants should prepare to submit an essay on the following topic: "What would you place inside a time capsule to help people in the next century understand military life today?" Applications must be turned in to a commissary by close of business on Feb 18, 2009. At least one scholarship will be awarded at every commissary location with qualified applicants.

Reprinted from the Defenders Digest