Dyess Spouses’ Club awards $23,500 in scholarships

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kylsee Wisseman
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The Dyess Spouses' Club awarded $23,500 to 15 military dependents during a scholarship awards carnival May 3, at the picnic grounds here.

The DSC is a private volunteer organization that supports Dyess families, as well as local and national charitable organizations through funds generated by the DSC Annual Scholarship auction.

"Our auction combines the efforts of the Dyess Spouses' Club volunteers with community donations, resulting in a great night of fundraising," said Angela Witkowsky, president of the DSC.

The amount of money given to each winner is determined by the scholarship committee. Nominees are chosen based on scholarship, leadership and citizenship. Their packages are kept anonymous and reviewed by an impartial board of leaders from local universities. Throughout the entire judging process the names of each nominee are not released.

"The applicants must meet a certain criteria to be considered," Witkowsky said. "Ideal applicants are students who balance academic pursuits with leadership and community involvement."

One of those recipients, Jessalyn Armes, is a spouse who will use her $1,000 scholarship to further her Chinese language and literature education at Indiana University-Bloomington.

"It's a great privilege to be awarded this scholarship," Armes said. "I wouldn't be able to finish college without financial aid, and this scholarship will help tremendously."

The DSC requires applicants to either be a legally married spouse or dependent child of an active duty, retired or deceased military member who was assigned to Dyess Air Force Base or the Dyess area. They must also be seeking an undergraduate or graduate degree at a four-year college for the upcoming summer or fall semesters, and must not have received a different scholarship from the DSC. Next year's scholarship applicants can apply to the DSC in March 2015.

The winners of this year's scholarships were:
Mary Dolan - $5,000
Crystal Branco - $3,000
Kelly Hartley - $2,500
Brianna Bond - $2000
Mary Engelker - $1,500
Dayana Hansley-- $1,500
Mae Dolan - $1,500
Kelly Croci - $1,000
Amy Johnson - $1,000
Jessalyn Armes - $1,000
Jillian Dodderer - $1,000
Jessica Saab - $1,000
John Dolan - $500
Devon Henderson - $500
Cortney Reed - $500