SOA Scholarship Programs

Special Operations Association Scholarship Program

The Special Operations Association has proudly sponsored scholarships for SOA members’ relatives since 1983, when COL George Clyde Morton (member #59-GL) initiated the program. The SOA Program has expanded and is now comprised of three awards from three funding sources. These three separate awards are accessed through the same single application and are evaluated and ranked at the same time by the same set of SOA Scholarship Evaluators. (See below for more information and downloadable application.)

2023-24 SOA Scholarship Awardees

GENERAL: Annual Special Operations Association Scholarship Grants are available for eligible candidates attending an accredited Junior College, Community College, four-year College or University for studies that will lead to a college degree, OR for Technical Schools lasting at least one school year and for which a distinct qualification or certification is granted. (Tech Schools are subject to Committee approval.)

MAJOR POINTS:

All THREE SOA scholarship awards in the program are for one school year;
All scholarships are accessed through a single application (no need to state which program you are applying), evaluated at the same time by the same group of Evaluators, with the finalists announced at the same time;
The criteria and the award amounts of each scholarship vary.
Applicants can only receive one scholarship award per school year.
NOTE: All applications are de-identified as much as possible (and practical) to remove the perception of nepotism, prejudice or favoritism.

Three Scholarship Awards (all accessed through the same application form):

The Morton Scholarship:
This is a one-year $4000 award ($2000 per semester) award named in honor of George Clyde Morton, SOA member number 59-GL. Col. Morton was an ardent supporter of and donor to the Scholarship program; and he initiated the SOA Scholarship in 1983.

The Len and Nancy Fein STEM Endowment Scholarship: This is a one-year $4000 award graciously provided by an endowment from a generous Special Forces family – Len and Nancy Fein. It specifically targets and promotes students who plan to major in a Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) field.

The William and Eleanor Lueders Honors Scholarship: This one-year $1000 award is presented to several students who have shown merit in numerous ways that are worthy of recognition. It is funded by a generous annual contribution from one of our own legendary SOA member’s family – William and Eleanor Lueders.

BASIC GRANT CRITERIA AND ELIGIBILITY: An applicant must:

Be a high school graduate or a high school student anticipating graduation during the year of application, or have a GED certificate OR already have a letter of admission from a school.
Be under the age of 21 years at the time of application…
1. OR,for students already attending an approved institution, must have been under 21 years of age at the time that they began their studies at the institution, AND have been enrolled full-time and in good standing since beginning their studies, AND have not yet received a college degree or terminal certification (if a Tech School).
Is a child or grand or great grandchild, natural birth or legally adopted, of a SOA member in good standing in the organization.
- ORis a child or a grand/great g-child of an individual who was KIA or MIA while serving in a Special Operations unit that would have been eligible for SOA membership.
- NOTE: The sponsoring SOA member must remain a member in good standing for the duration of the scholarship award.
- NOTE: Those SOA-eligible but not-current sponsors will be notified of the submission of an application by a relative and will have the opportunity to comply with membership requirements.
- OR said relative of a deceased SOA member who was a member at time of death.

APPLICATION FORMS: Only the current year’s (2024-25) application can be used.

APPLICATION DEADLINES:

All aspects of the application (including all transcripts, evaluations, recommendations, scores, etc.) must be received by email dated by 15APR24
For the parts of the application that come from outside sources, these can be emailed or mailed directly in – BUT AGAIN, must be dated or postmarked by 15APR24.
- Grades and scores do not have to come from official sources. The official transcripts/scores can be scanned by the applicant and included in the application.
Applicants are responsible for the timely receipt of all parts of the application, even for those parts from other people. No excuses, so anticipate this requirement.

AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENTS: On approximately 15 June of 2024, selectees/recipients of the Special Operations Association Scholarships will be appropriately notified.

SOA SCHOLARSHIP EVALUATORS:
In March of 2024, a request for volunteers to evaluate the scholarship applications will be announced. Regardless of experience or education level, ANY CURRENT SOA MEMBER or Associate can volunteer to help evaluate and rank these applications. This involves reading possibly over 400 pages of applications, so this is not a trivial task. The aim is to choose applicants who best represent the will, mindset, and attitude of the overall SOA membership.

The only stipulations for evaluators are the following:
1) Member is willing to studiously and dutifully read all applications.
2) Must assign a rank-order to the applications based on their own perception of merit;
3) Cannot be a relative of any of the applicants;
4) Must return their ranking sheet by 1 JUNE 2024.

POC: Steve Yevich, Scholarship Program Chair: syevich@hotmail.com

DONATIONS

SOA gratefully accepts donations to the fund and appreciates the memberships’ support of furthering the education and careers of SOA members’ lineage.

Special Operations Association Scholarship Program

2023-24 SOA Scholarship Awardees

DONATIONS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT