AFCEA International has awarded more than $70,000 in the form of 25 scholarships for the 2019-2020 academic year to both undergraduate and graduate students nationwide.
“I am incredibly grateful to have been chosen,” says Francesca Falzon, who is pursuing her doctoral degree in computer science. “Having my current research on encrypted databases and my involvement in the computer science community recognized as a valuable contribution to the mission of AFCEA is a great motivator.”
The landscape of information technology, communications and cybersecurity continues to change at an increasingly rapid pace. AFCEA recognizes this and is committed to helping our members maintain and grow their knowledge and expertise. AFCEA’s Preferred Provider program allows our members access to academic institutions that are DHS/NSA designated Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense or a cybersecurity certifying agency to continue their professional development. Our current Preferred Providers include American Public University System (APUS), Saint Leo University and SANS Institute. These institutions offer undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as certificates in areas of study that are of interest to AFCEA members.
In a first-of-its-kind move, new sustaining AFCEA corporate member Abacus Technology is offering its employees associate AFCEA memberships as an employee benefit. So far, the company has signed up 300 employees.
“I wish we had done it sooner because we really have gotten a lot of positive feedback,” says Alice Solomon, a vice president of Abacus. “When we were trying to come up with approaches for tightening up our community, it just seemed like a logical thing to do,” she adds.
Chenega MIOS (military, intelligence and operations support) has been awarded the AFCEA Trendsetter Award. The Trendsetter Award is a membership spot award to recognize a company who found an innovative way to leverage AFCEA that resulted in significant growth to AFCEA’s member base.
Chenega MIOS is a shared services division of Chenega Corporation. The company purchased a total of 10 corporate memberships, which prompted the AFCEA corporate membership team to create a multiple membership bundle for them. Because the company is a sustaining member who purchased nine or more memberships for wholly owned subsidiaries, the group received a 10 percent discount on all new memberships.
Every year AFCEA recognizes outstanding military students with honor and research awards, and AFCEA members travel to universities all over the country to present them in person.
The two winners of the Fall 2018 AFCEA War Veterans Scholarship were honored at chapter luncheons this spring.
Master Sgt. Jason K. Stover, USAF, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Trident University. He enjoys serving in the Air Force and hopes to be accepted to Air Force Officer Training School once he finishes his degree. As a new dad, juggling everything is difficult, and this scholarship will help him finish his degree sooner. “I appreciate the foundation’s work to help service members attain their educational goals.” He is currently stationed at Randolph Air Force Base and was honored by the Alamo Chapter.
To say Leonard Rokaw has witnessed the communication revolution would be an understatement. When he first joined the Signal Corps in 1942, he relied on semaphore flags and homing pigeons to communicate.
The WWII veteran is incredibly well-spoken and has a lot to say about the changes he’s witnessed in his 97 and a half years of life.
Though he only served three years in uniform, he spent his career as a civilian working at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Home of the Signal Corps Laboratories and later the Signal Corps Center, Fort Monmouth has had its hand in every bit of communication technology we use today, says Rokaw.
The 2018 Gravely Grants for STEM Teachers have provided students with hands-on experiences in STEM subjects. The awards, which range from $500 to $1,000, are used by teachers to purchase classroom supplies for STEM-related activities inside and outside of the classroom. Many teachers focus on robotics and programming, such as Alisa Janiski, whose students at Roye-Williams Elementary School in Havre de Grace, Maryland, built and programmed basic robots using electronics kits.
AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute have recognized 18 outstanding individuals from the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps with their 2019 Copernicus Awards. Established in 1997, this award selects winners who show sustained superior performance in a command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) or information technology-related job over the course of the previous fiscal year. They must also demonstrate exceptional leadership, insight and initiative.
Col. Tom Horton, USAF (Ret.), a member of the executive committee on AFCEA’s board of directors died on March 20 at the age of 72. He also served on the board of the Atlanta Chapter.
Col. Horton attended Georgia Tech where he was a member of the varsity football team. Upon graduating in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management, he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He earned a Master of Science in management from Troy State University.
Col. Kathy Swacina, USA (Ret.), and her husband Lt. Col. Dan Swacina, USA (Ret.), have generously donated $15,000 to endow a new scholarship for female students in Georgia who are majoring in STEM.
The Col. Kathleen Swacina Scholarship will be awarded to one deserving female student each year in the amount of $1,000. The program will be open to students majoring in STEM subjects and enrolled full-time as an undergraduate at a college or university in the state of Georgia. Students may attend a community college so long as they intend to transfer to a four-year institution and complete their bachelor’s.
Charles (Chuck) R. Corjay, a Distinguished Life Member of AFCEA, passed away on March 17. He was 86.
Corjay joined AFCEA in 1972 and held almost every chapter officer position throughout his career at the association. For 12 years he was a regional vice president, supporting multiple chapters in the Mid-West, Mid-South and National Capital regions, and also served on the international board of directors.
A veteran of the Air Force, Corjay helped build the Northern Virginia (NOVA) Chapter from a sub-chapter of Washington DC to the largest AFCEA chapter. At its height, NOVA had more than 7,000 members.
Women face special challenges in the military and in technical careers. Those challenges are magnified for military women who are also in technical careers, but two successful military officers who have overcome those challenges have some words of support for those following in their footsteps.
Thanks to the generosity of donors and supporters, the AFCEA Educational Foundation is proud to announce it is expanding its 2019 scholarship programs. In addition to funding more awards for existing scholarships for STEM majors, STEM teachers, STEM diversity students and war veterans, a new cybersecurity scholarship for undergraduate students is now available. Applications will be accepted on a joint form together with the STEM majors and undergraduate STEM diversity scholarships.
AFCEA chapters got to the heart of the matter of the recent partial government shutdown by responding to the immediate needs of federal workers and contractors with contributions to assistance organizations.
To ease the strain on resources the influx of families in need of food, the Energy and Earth Sciences Chapter donated $5,000 to the Maryland Food Bank (MFB). Its donation was matched by an individual AFCEAN.
AFCEA International has received the 2018 Best of Small Business Award as the Best Non-Profit and ranked 16th in the Small Business Top 100. The Small Business Expo presents these awards to recognize America’s preeminent small to midsize business visionaries.
The Best Non-Profit Award honors nonprofit organizations that specialize in supporting small businesses and small business owners with workshops, business counseling and guidance. The SB100 Award recognizes the top 100 small to midsize businesses in the U.S. and celebrates their growth and accomplishments in the previous year.
The coming year will be full of activity and progress for AFCEA. The association continues moving in a positive direction, and the efforts that initiated this progress will persist.
We are not going to simply stay the course. Internal changes will be assessed, and the professional expertise inherent in our community will address many of the national and global challenges facing the United States, its allies and partner nations.
The August-Ft. Gordon Chapter is dedicated to supporting STEM students through scholarships and teacher grants. Thanks to a $100,000 endowment from the Chestnut Family Foundation, the chapter will be able to fund a new scholarship for students from the Central Savannah River Area who are majoring in STEM. Ben Chestnut, one of the trustees of the Chestnut Family Foundation and co-founder and CEO of Mailchimp, received an AFCEA Educational Foundation scholarship in 1996 to pursue his college education.
When it comes to giving back to the community, AFCEA members excel in supporting STEM education. Whether it’s the Aberdeen Chapter’s Young AFCEANs getting thrown in “jail” to raise “bail” to send local students to a STEM summer camp or more extravagant fundraisers such as the Bethesda Chapter’s Roaring 20 Years of Giving Gala, AFCEA members consistently come out to support the students and teachers in their local communities. In fact, some AFCEA corporate members are devoted entirely to bringing STEM education to students who use it as a tool to change their lives and careers, such as Per Scholas, which offers computer training and certifications to low-income students free of charge.
AFCEA began when a group of successful innovators and communicators led by David Sarnoff, then president of RCA, experienced first-hand how open dialogue and strong relationships between government and industry facilitated military preparedness.
Each year, AFCEA identifies an individual who has demonstrated a sustained and personal commitment to information sharing and collaboration across traditional and nontraditional boundaries. This individual is presented with AFCEA’s most prestigious award, named after David Sarnoff.
