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Twentynine Palms, California
Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command and Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center
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(Left to right) Norma Baz, Sarah Snow, Tyler Erickson, Zachery Palmer and Victoria Perez were five of the seven Officers’ Spouses Club Scholarship and Grant Committee recipients for 2009. Each received a portion of the $10,000 grant collected by the OSC through various hosted events hosted in 2008.

Photo by Cpl. Nicole A. LaVine

OSC gives military families head start on educations

29 May 2009 | Cpl. Nicole A. LaVine Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms

Combat Center spouses and children gathered at the Officers’ Club for the Officers’ Spouses Club annual Scholarship and Grant Committee luncheon May 22.

The OSC sponsored a presentation luncheon for scholarship fund recipients for their college educations.

Applicants for the scholarship funds must be military spouses or children of active, retired or deceased service members, said Tami Roleff, the OSC second vice president, and president of the OSC Scholarship and Grant Committee.

Roleff said the Scholarship and Grant Committee reviews applications at the beginning of each year to decide who receives grants or scholarships, and exactly how much is given.

“Applicants must be living in the Morongo Basin at the time of the application,” Roleff said about requirements for scholarship and grant approval. “We start sending out the application forms in January, and the decision is made in March on who gets it and how much they get.”

This year, a total of $37,000 in grants and scholarships were handed out to approved applicants; $10,000 in scholarship funds and the remaining $27,000 in grants, Roleff said.

The scholarship and grant funds are raised through various OSC events such as the “Roll out the Barrel” wine tasting event, Mardi Gras auction, book clubs and more, she said. 

Tyler Erickson, the son of a retired Navy commander and Joshua Springs Christian High School senior, received $7,500 in scholarship funds to assist him in getting his associates degree in business at Northern Arizona University.

“I think it’s really cool to give kids a chance to not have to pay as much for college,” he said.

Norma Baz, the wife of Sgt. Christopher Baz, an instructor with Company B, Marine Corps Communications-Electronics School, received a $500 scholarship to help her pursue her dream of becoming a registered nurse through the RN program at Copper Mountain College.

“This is the first community college I’ve attended and my first scholarship,” Baz said. “The nursing program is really competitive and this will help out a lot.”

Dawn Rowe, a field representative from the office of Assemblyman Paul Cook of the 65th district in California, attended the luncheon on Cook’s behalf to show his support for both military service and education.

“As a retired Marine colonel, any combination of military and education is where [Cook’s] heart is,” she said. “He is very pleased with the Officers’ Spouses Club and how they are helping spouses with scholarships, as well as the graduating seniors.”

Applications for 2010 scholarship and grant funds will be handed out by OSC in January.


Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms