Rica Esquivel: Recipient of the Julie Walter Memorial Scholarship
This past fall, the AFCEA Educational Foundation introduced the Julie Walter Memorial Scholarship, which will award $5,000 to a female STEM student enrolled at Virginia Tech. This scholarship was established in memory of AFCEA International employee Julie Walter, former manager of the National Security & Defense team. Julie graduated from Virginia Tech in 1996 and had immeasurable pride in her alma mater. To honor and continue Julie’s legacy and love for Virginia Tech, we are honored to introduce our scholarship recipient, Rica Esquivel.
Rica Esquivel is a rising senior at Virginia Tech studying computer science. “I chose a STEM degree,” Esquivel said,“ because ever since I was a little girl, I have had a passion for problem-solving and looking at the world as a collection of problems that are just waiting for the right individual, with the right amount of resources, enthusiasm, creativity and determination to solve them. I just knew I was an engineer at heart.” She finds joy in building code and marvels at the complexity and interconnectedness of society “made possible by sequences of bits and lines of simple instructions.” With a data science internship this summer at HII Mission Technologies, she hopes to learn more about artificial intelligence and machine learning, two topics she is interested in pursuing as a career.
Aside from her studies, Esquivel is a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, to which she owes much of her professional development and leadership skills. The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets nurtures and creates leaders dedicated to ethical and honorable leadership and community service. Through her leadership positions in the organization, Esquivel embodies the spirit of Virginia Tech’s motto, Ut Prosim, meaning “That I May Serve.” She’s participated in and managed several volunteer projects centered around environmental conservation and contributing to the local community.
The AFCEA Educational Foundation is proud to have Esquivel as the recipient of the Julie Walter Memorial Scholarship. Esquivel said, “It is truly heartwarming to know that there is support for the uplifting and empowerment of women like me in men-dominated fields such as STEM. I am forever thankful for the generosity and support of programs such as the AFCEA Educational Foundation for helping students like me strive for success by removing the financial barriers to college education.”
For more information on our STEM scholarships, please visit afcea.org/afcea-educational-foundation/scholarships.
