Ellsworth Officers' Spouses' Club awards scholarships

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alessandra N. Gamboa
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Six students received scholarships amounting to ten thousand dollars at Dakota's Club, April 21.

Award recipients and their families arrived at the club for a dinner and ceremony in their honor, sponsored by the Officers' Spouses' Club.

The guests were served a three-course meal followed by motivational speeches from special guest speaker Col. Steven Hiss, 28th Bomb Wing Vice Commander, and Jenn Pedersen, OSC president.

After the speeches, Melissa Malcom, the scholarship chair, briefly explained the scholarship program before presenting the six winners with their certificates.

The winners included three Air Force spouses; Kenleen Pringle, Michelle Shepherd and Mollie Holmes, who each received $1,000.

Three high school seniors were also among the award winners. Shylah Slaughter, daughter of Lt. Col. Dwain and Mrs. Gayla Slaughter and Douglas high school senior, was awarded $3,000; while Haley Hultgren, Stevens High School senior; and Lisa Myers, Ellsworth Summer Hire and Rapid City Central High School senior, each earned $2,000 scholarships toward their college tuition.

Award recipients were quick to credit their strong ties to family as the reason for their success.  Mrs. Shepherd, wife of Tech. Sgt. James Shepherd, said she owes much of her success to her husband and three daughters who are her biggest motivators in life.

"They inspire me to try my best in everything," she said. "As my father's youngest and only daughter, my wish is to be the first in my family to go to college and make him proud of me. After I complete my degree in criminal justice and psychology, I plan on working with the Rapid City police department for a few years before following my lifelong dream to become an FBI criminal investigator."

After the presentation, Mrs. Pedersen concluded the evening by wishing the scholarship winners and their families much success and encouragement in their future.

"As you progress in your academic and professional careers, don't allow yourselves to grow discouraged by future challenges," Mrs. Pedersen said. "One of my favorite quotes by Winston Churchill is, 'success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.' It's that enthusiasm that will help you and keep you going as you continue to pursue your goals. On behalf of the Officers' Spouses' Club, congratulations to all of the scholarship winners - we wish you success with your continued education."