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putting military families first
The Family First Scholarship was established to help family members of fallen and disabled veterans achieve their educational goals by providing financial assistance
About Family First
The loss of life or severe impact of service-related disability suffered by our military veterans can be a devastating for our military services families. In support of these families, the Family First Scholarship has been created to enable Chapter 35 (VA’s Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance program) benefits-eligible family members to continue on their academic pathways.
We strive to create create lifelong opportunity in the face unimaginable tragedy.
News
New donor recipient dinner to be announce in April 2024
Location and date to be determine.
50+
Recipients
success stories
Luther Laycoax
My name is Luther Laycoax, and I am pursuing my Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. I want to obtain my degree because I would be a first-generation college student, I’m a returning student after many years, and I want to use my knowledge and experience to level up within my career field. I have been working in purchasing, procurement, and supply chain for almost twenty years and I am seeking my degree so I can better myself both professionally and personally.
I want to thank you both for this amazing opportunity. I greatly appreciate this scholarship and want to express how much of a difference this will make for me. I’m so grateful for this chance because it allows me to pursue my degree without having to worry about finances, and to set me up for success in my future. I plan to obtain my degree and go on to make a difference in my field. A degree is very important in my line of work, and it has taken me years to pursue it. I always had some sort of barrier preventing me from finishing higher education, but now, with this scholarship, I am able to pursue my dreams. Again, thank you so much for this scholarship and what it means for me and my family.
Candace Muhlhauser
I am writing this letter to express my sincere gratitude to you all and thank this committee for making the Family First Scholarship available to people like myself. I am so grateful for being selected for this scholarship. It will have a profound impact on my family. I am married to a 100% disabled Marine Corp veteran and a mother to a 14-year-old girl, so being a full-time student can be both financially and mentally taxing. This scholarship will greatly relieve that financial burden. It will allow me to dedicate time to my studies and maintain my 4.0 GPA.
This scholarship will also allot me the opportunity to become the first person in my family to receive a bachelor’s degree from a university! I hope that by doing so, I inspire my daughter to pursue her passions in life and to learn it is never too late to achieve your dreams. Thank you again, Family First Committee, for selecting me to receive this scholarship. I will do my best to honor your generous contribution.
Anthony Molina
First and foremost, I want to say thank you very much for choosing me as a recipient of the Family First Scholarship. This scholarship means a lot to me as it will help me focus more on my grades and eases the financial stress associated with school. I am attending Arizona State University to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology because I recently moved to Arizona in April of 2021 from the central coast of California. After I graduate, I want to work as an elementary school counselor. Working with children is something I have always loved doing and is what drives me to pursue this degree. I love the major I am studying because I am very intrigued with how the human mind works and makes people behave.
I have a few family members that struggle with their mental health and I know learning about this subject really helps me understand those in my family who are struggling or going through a tough time mentally. I have received an Associates in Arts-Transfer for Psychology as well as an Associates in Arts for Liberal Arts-Transfer- Social and Behavioral Sciences. I also earned a 3.92 GPA during the Spring Semester of 2022, which earned me a spot on the Dean’s List. This is a really big accomplishment for me and is something I will strive to achieve again for the following semesters to come. Once again, I want to say thank you very much for choosing me as a recipient of this scholarship and I am very excited to continue this journey of furthering my education.
Alexandra DeCosta
I would like to express my sincere gratitude for being selected for the Family First Scholarship. I am Alexandra DeCosta and I am truly honored to have been chosen for this award. I want to express my sincere appreciation to the families of Chris West and Mike Lofton. Your commitment to support students like me is inspiring. I am incredibly grateful to be associated with this scholarship and the esteemed meaning it represents.
The financial assistance you’ve provided has lightened my financial burden and will be a great help to me in paying my educational expenses, as I continue my studies at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. After graduation, I intend to pursue a master’s degree in Sports Journalism.
I am beyond excited for this career path, thank you for supporting my passion. Sports bring people together and I strive to be a part of that. Receiving this scholarship brings me one step closer to pursuing my dream career as a sideline reporter in the NBA. I look forward to the day I can pay it forward, and make a meaningful impact on others, the way you have done for me.
Growing up as a military brat has provided me with the experience, resilience, and deep comprehension of sacrifice that has shaped the person I am today. I am humbly thankful for this selection and will continue having the highest level of dedication in pursuit of this goal. Thank you for believing in me and my future!
Renee Joseph
Hello! I first want to begin by saying thank you for your kindness and generosity. My name is Renee Joseph, and I am entering my 3rd year at Arizona State University studying Digital and Integrated Marketing Communications. Being at ASU has allowed me to have a safe place near my family, to study something I am passionate about. After graduation, I hope to create meaningful marketing campaigns for a company that puts diversity and inclusion at the forefront of its brand. In the near future I hope to find an internship that will allow me to gain real-world experiences related to my future career field.
I am beyond thankful to have been selected by the committee for this scholarship. I currently work a part-time job and try to balance my school schedule with my work schedule. With this job, I have had the opportunity to gain some very valuable customer service skills, but I also have had less time to partake in opportunities such as internships and student organizations. I have always wanted to become more involved in the community and make monumental steps in creating my future, but I felt that financial duties have held me back. This scholarship will allow me to work towards creating a future for myself that I will be proud of. Again, I am incredibly grateful to the scholarship committee for their generosity and kindness throughout this entire process.
Luther Laycoax
Candace Muhlhauser
Hi, my name is Jordan Post and this will be my fourth year at Arizona State University studying Computer Science with a focus in Cyber Security. After graduation, I plan on working for either the military or a good company where I can focus more on cyber security and cyber threats. I really hope to be able to participate in an internship with the military and learn more about the types of threats that they deal with. I am most passionate about cyber security and really want to further my education in cyber forensics as well. One of the reasons that I actually chose Arizona State was because of the Engineering program and the opportunities that are provided for the students. I am so thankful for being selected by the committee to receive this scholarship because now I am able to focus on my last few semesters at Arizona State without having to worry about whether or not I will be able to pay for tuition. I am hoping that by the time I graduate, with the help of this scholarship, that I will not have any loans to pay off. I feel very fortunate to be in the position that I am in now. This scholarship will also allow me to save money that I can put towards a car, my potential move to Colorado after graduation, and I will be saving my family money that they can now put towards my two younger brothers. Receiving this scholarship has been a huge blessing and I hope to make The Family First Committee proud with my future here at Arizona State University and onward.
Anthony Molina
My name is Adia Eckberg. I’m going into my first year of college this fall, and I’ll be starting a bachelor’s degree in film. After graduating, my dream would be to find a studio and do technical jobs, preferably sound engineering, foley, or camera work for movies or tv. Then I hope to make my way up to a director one day. It won’t be all yellow brick roads and wishing on stars, but I’m ready to give it everything I’ve got. Getting an interview for this scholarship was really nerve wracking, but also really exciting. It meant I was one step closer. Closer to a better path to furthering my education without having to worry as much about money. Then receiving the congratulations email sent joy through my bones. I was ecstatic plus it meant we got to eat cake and celebrate. Now writing this letter, college is just around the corner, and yet it doesn’t feel real. I know once it’s the week before school starts and I’m starting to get ready for classes, I’ll be ready. Right now however, it all seems like a dream, and I’m getting to make it a reality thanks to my parents, my sister, and this scholarship. So thank you. Thank you for helping me achieve my dream. I can’t wait to make it a reality and dive head first into filmmaking.
Alexandra DeCosta
Hello, my name is Rebecca, first I would like to say thank you for providing me with this opportunity, I am deeply appreciative and take my academic success very seriously. I am a first generation college student as well as a single mom, in my free time I paint and explore outdoors with my son. I am majoring in Biological Sciences which is something I’ve been passionate about since I was a little girl,
my favorite part about majoring in science is that I get to learn about the natural wonders that make our world work. After I graduate I plan to go to graduate school for Pharmacy and participate in research focused on medicine. I am beyond grateful for being selected for this scholarship because it means that I will continue my studies at Arizona State. The scholarship allows me to continue my education this next year without having to stop to catch up financially, and without having to transfer to a more affordable school. While this scholarship does give me the opportunity to pursue my dreams it will also change the life of my son and mine by providing me with better paying job opportunities. This scholarship is allowing me to study and spend more time with my son without the extra financial pressure of finding more funds for school. This award is giving me the chance to earn a degree in a field I love from a University that I love while maintaining a family balance and for that I am so grateful.
Renee Joseph
Hello! I first want to begin by saying thank you for your kindness and generosity. My name is Renee Joseph, and I am entering my 3rd year at Arizona State University studying Digital and Integrated Marketing Communications. Being at ASU has allowed me to have a safe place near my family, to study something I am passionate about. After graduation, I hope to create meaningful marketing campaigns for a company that puts diversity and inclusion at the forefront of its brand. In the near future I hope to find an internship that will allow me to gain real-world experiences related to my future career field.
I am beyond thankful to have been selected by the committee for this scholarship. I currently work a part-time job and try to balance my school schedule with my work schedule. With this job, I have had the opportunity to gain some very valuable customer service skills, but I also have had less time to partake in opportunities such as internships and student organizations. I have always wanted to become more involved in the community and make monumental steps in creating my future, but I felt that financial duties have held me back. This scholarship will allow me to work towards creating a future for myself that I will be proud of. Again, I am incredibly grateful to the scholarship committee for their generosity and kindness throughout this entire process.
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