Awards
to 3
Michigan
students
by
Vietnam
Veterans
enable
greater
service
The
first
three
Michigan
students
to win
scholarships
as
Vietnam
Veteran
descendants
say the
funds
will
allow
them to
not only
further
their
education
but also
to honor
their
grandfathers.
Detroit
Chapter
#9 of
the
Vietnam
Veterans
of
America,
through
a
$250,0000
endowment
managed
by the
Community
Foundation
of
Southeast
Michigan,
established
the
scholarship
program
last
year.
The
three
students
received
$3,000
each.
“So
many who
served
still
endure
the
after-effects
of the
Vietnam
War,
whether
it be
through
PTSD,
health
challenges
due to
Agent
Orange
or
financial
woes
because
of how
we were
treated
when we
came
home,”
explained
Paul
Palazzolo,
president
of VVA
Chapter
#9.
“These
scholarships
are a
way to
help the
families
of those
who
served
and to
help
provide
access
to
education.”
Noted
Miriam
Noland,
president
of the
Community
Foundation
of
Southeast
Michigan:
“We are
honored
to
partner
with the
VVA
Chapter
#9 to
recognize
three
outstanding
students.
We
congratulate
the VVA
Chapter
#9 for
supporting
youth
whose
family
gave of
themselves
to
support
our
country.”
This
year’s
recipients,
who have
expressed
deep
caring
about
serving
the
community,
are:
Shaylin
Cota of
Tawas,
Angelos
Gogonis
of
Birmingham,
and
Katarina
Moore of
Royal
Oak.
Cota,
20,
graduated
from
Lansing
Community
College
and now
attends
Grand
Valley
State
University.
The
marketing
major’s
late
grandfather,
David
Thompson,
served
in
Vietnam
as a
member
of the
U.S. Air
Force.
The
oldest
of six
children,
she is
the
first in
her
family
to go to
college.
“I
come
from a
big
family,
so it’s
kind of
hard,”
she
explained.
She
noted
that her
grandfather,
who died
in 2018,
“would
be very
proud.”
Cota’s
parents
met and
got
married
while
serving
in the
U.S.
Marine
Corps,
and the
family’s
dedication
instilled
in her a
commitment
to
service,
she
said.
She does
that by
working
in the
student
center,
helping
those
new to
the
university
with the
transition
to
college.
“My
main
goal in
life is
to just
help
people
in a way
that my
parents
and
grandparents
have
been
able to
help,”
Cota
said.
Gogonis,
a senior
at
Michigan
State
University
majoring
in
microbiology,
is also
a
first-generation
college
student.
He
carries
a 3.9
grade
point
average,
is
enrolled
in the
Honors
College,
and
works as
a
teaching
assistant.
His
grandfather,
Richard
Heggie,
served
in
Vietnam
as a
member
of the
U.S. Air
Force.
“My
grandpa’s
real
proud,”
said
Gogonis.
“He
didn’t
get the
chance
to have
a
secondary
education.”
The
scholarship
award
“gives
me an
opportunity
to focus
more on
academics
and
working
in the
community
versus
working
to pay
for my
education,”
said
Gogonis.
“As a
first-generation
college
student,
that
really
means a
lot to
help me
out in
my
education.”
Moore, a
junior
at the
University
of
Michigan-Dearborn,
shares
the
overachiever
gene
held by
Cota and
Gogonis.
She is a
dual
major in
English
and
secondary
education
with a
minor in
speech
and has
3.98
grade
point
average.
Because
that is
the
equivalent
of
pursuing
two
degrees
at once
– and
because
she is
determined
to still
graduate
in four
years –
she has
taken at
least 15
credit
hours
every
semester.
She also
is a
member
of the
Honors
College
and
leads a
mentorship
program.
But
because
the
pandemic
halted
her work
teaching
theater
and
physical
education,
covering
the
costs of
the fall
semester
was
going to
be
tough.
“This
scholarship
is
really
just
amazing,”
said
Moore.
“I
cannot
express
how
thankful
I am to
be able
to know
that I
can
cover my
tuition
and my
books; I
am no
longer
concerned.”
Moore,
whose
grandfather
Michael
Phillips
served
in
Vietnam
as a
member
of the
U.S.
Navy,
wants to
continue
her
family’s
legacy
of
education
work by
teaching
middle
school
English,
coaching
debate
and
theater
groups
and, one
day,
opening
up her
own
school.
Her
passion
is
ensuring
that
young
people
can
tackle
public
speaking
and she
wants to
make
learning
more
accessible.
“I
want to
be able
to take
that
interest
in the
students
and
really
be
upbuilding
of
individual
students…
and do
it in a
way
that’s
self-sustaining,”
said
Moore.
The
descendants
of
Vietnam
Veterans
scholarship
will be
awarded
annually.
Michigan
has more
than
200,000
Vietnam-era
veterans,
according
to the
National
Center
for
Veterans
Analysis
and
Statistics
and the
U.S.
Census,
making
it the
largest
veterans
group in
Michigan.
ABOUT
THE VVA
CHAPTER:
Organizers
for
Chapter
9 trace
the
group’s
history
to the
late
1970s,
where
they
formed
one of
the
largest
chapters
in the
country
comprised
of
members
who
served
in the
Vietnam
War era.
The
chapter
supports
and
honors
veterans
by
helping
them
access
resources,
advocating
for
veteran-centered
policies
and
legislation,
being a
partner
in the
Metro
Detroit
Veterans
Coalition
that
hosts
the
annual
Veterans
Day
Parade,
and
working
to
better
our
community
through
scholarships,
donations
and
other
philanthropic
efforts.
For more
information,
go to
https://vva9.org/
I
HI TECH NEWS
I
SPORTS
I
The
first
three
Michigan
students
to win
scholarships
as
Vietnam
Veteran
descendants
say the
funds
will
allow
them to
not only
further
their
education
but also
to honor
their
grandfathers.
