The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society (AVHOFS) recognizes students, employees, and others at its annual Patriotic Awards Luncheon. This year was no exception. For the next few weeks, we will be featuring those honorees in this column.
The AVHOFS scholarship awards acknowledge exceptional veterans and high school students who support veterans. Our prize, the Copper Lamp of Knowledge, offers a symbolic light that is associated with the pursuit of greater learning and self-development.
This year’s honorees are:
- Rylee Brewer is a senior at Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria. Brewer graduated in the top 1% of her class and has already completed an associate’s degree in business. She comes from a family filled with veterans and military personnel. She plans to pursue a degree in Economics, Business, and Law with the goal of becoming an attorney.
- Joy Lu is a senior at Ironwood Ridge High School, where she has served as Student President and participated with Imprints of Honor for the last two years. The experience working with veterans, as well as the public speaking and active listening skills she learned, have solidified her decision to join the military and serve our country as an officer. Lu will be attending Norwich University in Vermont, majoring in aerospace engineering.
- Avah Montgomery is a senior at Shadow Mountain High School, where she has been a part of the Digital Academy for Advanced Placement Scholars. She is the President of the Imprints of Honor chapter, in addition to participating in numerous other student activities. Montgomery is interning at the Arizona Women’s Wellness Center. Her planned field of study at Arizona State University is Pre-Medicine, as she aspires to work as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist at a health center serving minority and impoverished communities.
- Brandon Taylor is a seven-year active-duty Army Veteran and a proud resident of Prescott. He attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he’s actively training as a commercial pilot and pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Science – Fixed Wing, with minors in Applied Meteorology, Aviation Business Administration, Humanities, and Psychology.
- Harrison Reiter, a 4.0 GPA student in his senior year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2017, serving as a fifth-generation fighter aircraft maintenance technician. During his time in the Air Force, he also earned multiple qualifications working as an F-35 crew chief and obtained an associate’s degree in aviation maintenance technology. Harrison is currently working to complete an Aeronautics degree while also pursuing a commission through Embry Riddle’s Air Force ROTC program.
- David Hamrick, a Navy veteran, is dedicated to enhancing the health and performance of veterans while pursuing a Master’s in Strength and Conditioning at Arizona State University. His goal is to apply his expertise and become a coach with Home Base, leveraging its partnership with ASU to support veterans.
In partnership with the Department of Arizona Military Order of the Purple Heart, the groups award a scholarship named in honor of U.S. Marine Corps Captain Robert J. Puskar, who served in Vietnam.
- This year’s recipient of the Robert J. Puskar Veterans Scholarship is Amanda Mendez. Amanda embarked on a life of service at eighteen, enlisting in the Air Force as a medic with deployments to Kuwait, Iraq, and Curaçao. Inspired by the resilience and unseen wounds of those who served, she is passionate about bridging Western medicine with holistic healing, pursuing a master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine with a focus on acupuncture at the Arizona School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
- The final Society scholarship goes to Melea Gaskins. She was selected to receive the first “Veteran Family Member Scholarship” given by the Society. Raised by a veteran father and supportive mother, she is excited to attend Arizona State University after being accepted into the prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She has been a dedicated member of her high school’s Air Force ROTC program for four years and spent two years honing her passion for journalism. She plans to join ROTC while at ASU and ultimately become an Air Force officer specializing in public affairs.
You can learn more about the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society online at https://avhof.org/.
Photo caption: This year’s honorees pose for a photo at the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society Patriotic Awards Luncheon.
Photo courtesy of AVHOFS
