A highlight of this year’s Reunion Banquet in Berlin, Germany was the presentation of the Berlin Brats Reunion Scholarship Awards.  These awards represented the third round of awards for the Berlin Brats Alumni Association and were deemed by those in attendance to be a raging success.    The intent of the scholarships is to further the success of the Berlin lineage.

Scholarship applications were emailed to the class contacts and posted on the Berlin Brats Website (www.berlinbrats.org) and on the Berlin Brats Alumni Association Facebook page this past summer.  The intent of the awards is to award a minimum of (3) $500 awards to be made available to the following persons:

• A Berlin Brat and/or their dependents (children, grandchildren or spouse) and/or

• A faculty (teacher or administration) member and/or their dependents (children, grandchildren or spouse)

Application forms were completed and submitted one month prior to the reunion to the three-person Berlin Brats Scholarship Committee (berlinbrats.scholarship@gmail.com).  This committee consisted of Michelle Estes (’90),  John Latham (‘67) and Jenni (Hewitt) Shaw (’85).  In an attempt to make the evaluation process as objective as possible, the committee reviewed each application package in its entirety multiple times and rated each package against an exhaustive set of evaluative criteria.   Follow-up questions were submitted to the candidates if necessary and three outstanding packages rose to the top.  There was however, one package that stood out from the rest and this package was awarded a larger portion of the scholarship total. 

Specifically for the Berlin Reunion awards, we offered scholarships based on the generosity and private contributions of our alumni and faculty instead of the Silent Auction and Raffle used for the previous two offerings and for the first time the sponsoring Brat did not have to attend the reunion.   So a great big thank you to you, our alumni, faculty and friends for this amazing effort!

We were fortunate enough to have a past winner in attendance at the banquet, Ms. Heidi Martin.  Heidi was able to spend some time sharing what it meant for her to receive the scholarship honors in 2012 and how much she enjoys being part of the elite community of awardees.

This year we received our highest number of packages.  From individual reviews to a committee review and ranking we were able to bubble up three candidates that really impressed us. The following students received the three Berlin Brats Reunion Scholarship Awards.

Gretchen Krenning, daughter of Dawn (Abel) Hayes ’87 and stepdaughter of Robert Hayes ‘85

Gretchen is working towards her degree in American Sign Language and working with the deaf.  She has real life experiences in working with the deaf and really impressed the committee with her analogy of the Berlin Brat community to those she has studied and worked with in the deaf community.  I know “the deaf community” grows very close to its own kind as they can empathize with each other.   There is a big difference in empathy and sympathy.  These communities know what it’s like to be them and reach the deepest levels of understanding, communicating and connection. Being a military brat herself she knows what that means but being a Berlin Brat is not just a label but an honor and you can see it in those who claim it. 

Gretchen put forth a lot of effort into pulling together an impressive package and the committee commends her for that.  For her outstanding application package, Gretchen received $2,000 from the Berlin Brats Alumni Association Reunion Scholarship Award.  Gretchen received her award following the Berlin Reunion.

Anastasia Lowe, son of Yoshika (Loftin) Lowe ’83 and sister of Nathan Lowe, 2009 Scholarship Recipient in Phoenix

Anastasia’s package was the “extras” package…her extras came in the form of giving back.  Not only does she have a 4.0 GPA and is on track to graduate early this this recipient is the daughter of a Berlin Brat graduate from the early 1980s and she attributes her hard work and dedication to her mother, which is not surprising when you look at her mother’s own achievements.

This recipient spends her summers volunteering with a Houston based non-profit soccer training and summer camp program for 5-8 year olds called Sports Quest Training. Her favorite sessions are working with the inner city camps. In addition, she has led sports camps in Ecuador and Chile. What stood out was something this recipient said in her application: “I’ve learned that just like math and music, sports are universal and bring people together regardless of language, faith, or experience”. For me, those words epitomized the qualities of a Berlin Brat. 

It has been an honor to watch Anastasia over last few years interviewing Berlin Brats and capturing their stories for your upcoming documentary.  For her exceptional application package, Anastasia received $1,500 from the Berlin Brats Alumni Association Reunion Scholarship Award.  Anastasia was in attendance to receive her award.

Monica (Moni) Brians, daughter of Michael Brians ’78 and niece of Deb (Brians) Clark ‘74

Monica is currently a Freshman discovering who she is and discovering her passions and desires.  She is one of four family members currently in school.  She is very active in her church and in her community with SAFE Animal Haven.  She found her true niche as a volleyball player where her team won the state championship.  Reflecting back on that experience she states she learned what is like to be confident and humble; what it is like to be talented and gracious; what it is like to be a champion and a competitor; what it is like to fight and persevere; what it is like to be a teammate and something greater than myself. 

For her poignant application package, Monica received $1,500 from the Berlin Brats Alumni Association Reunion Scholarship Award.  Her award was received by her Aunt Deb in Berlin.

The Berlin Brats Scholarship Committee would like to thank all the applicants for their efforts and we wish each of them success in their future educational endeavors.   

The next round of Scholarship Awards will be at our Summer 2017 reunion so please look for Scholarship Application packages on the website, Facebook page and/or from your class contact February 2017 for the next round of awards. 

If you would like to get involved with the Scholarship Committee, we would love to have you on the team.  We are currently looking for someone with experience in helping the Berlin Brats Alumni Association Reunion Scholarship obtain 501-c status.  If you have or know someone who has experience with setting up this type of tax entity, please contact Jeri Glass (berlinbrats@gmail.com).

In an effort to continue to grow the program and make a difference to our community, we currently have a need for a Scholarship Fund Campaign Manager.  This person will setup and execute online crowdfunding campaigns, personal donations and an online or onsite silent auction prior or during the reunion.   This is a great way to be part of this amazing “Pay It Forward” initiative and invest in our Berlin Brats community.  So, if health, financial, family or other things prohibit you from attending the reunion, please consider this a means to being involved!  Please contact Jeri Glass (berlinbrats@gmail.com).

If you are interested in including the Berlin Brats Alumni Association Scholarship in your estate planning, please contact Jeri Glass (berlinbrats@gmail.com).

If you have any questions about the scholarships themselves, please contact the committee at berlinbrats.scholarship@gmail.com.

In a reunion filled with the magic of friendships, old and new and the pageantry of military pride illustrated by promotion ceremonies, it’s hard to imagine the Berlin Brats could have much more to be proud of.  Wrong!  The generosity of 340+ people grossed just under $5,000 for our Scholarship Fund.  The Scholarship Fund is fed by private donations, the Silent Auction, Raffle Tickets and the Welcome Table’s Dollar Store.  With incredible Brat generosity, the 2012 Berlin Brats Reunion Scholarship Fund was able to award four ($1,000) scholarships to Brats and dependents of Berlin Brats.  Our two largest donors were Wayne Bloebaum '74 and LTC Michele Estes ’90 with contributions totaling $1500.  A great big Berlin Brat Thank You to all the donors of this amazingly worthy cause.

Using structured and exhaustive criteria and ranking schedules, the committee, comprised of Jim Branson ’64, Deb (Brians) Clark ’74 and Jenni (Hewitt) Shaw ’85 were able to ascertain four packages for the awards.  The winners ranged from a hard-working young lady, active in her church and the Girl Scouts, earning the exclusive Gold Award in leadership, with a 4.0 average (all years so far in college), while working a part-time job.  We determined she just never sleeps to accomplish all she has already, and what she plans to take on in her future.  We also awarded a scholarship to an upcoming scientist whose specialty is the earth's energy forces, and we were blown away by how smart he is!  He plans to use the scholarship to study in Italy under an infamous mathematician and scientist in the study of a new mathematics called fractional incipient calculus…. It all conjures up the image of Da Vinci Code. In addition to a talented young lady, a dual major candidate, on the President's honor roll, with a goal to graduate debt-free, her definition of a Brat was spot-on:  "Being a Berlin Brat means you have thousands of family members, scattered all across the world that would be willing to do almost anything for you.  They feel the connection with one another just as intensely from thousands of miles away as they do when they are sitting next to one another, celebrating the times they shared in past years."  And lastly, we awarded our first Brat scholarship (versus dependent)... from the class of 1990, a Lieutenant on the Dayton Police force, who is pursuing a masters in Criminal Justice.  She works the night shift, and supervises other cops on the night beat in the most violent area of Dayton and has earned the utmost respect from her peers and supervision.

Congratulations to Ms. Heidi Martin (daughter of MG Rick Martin'73), Mr. Christopher DeVilbiss (son of Melvin De Vilbiss '71) Ms. Hannah (Liz) Jordan (daughter of Billy Jordan '76) and Ms. Wendy Stiver '90!   You make us Brat Proud!  [They are in order as presented above]

The Berlin Brats Scholarship Committee would like to thank all the applicants for their efforts and we wish each of them success in their future educational endeavors.  Look for Scholarship Application packages on the website and/or from your class contact Spring 2014 for the next round of awards.  Interested in donating privately, please contact us at berlinbrats.scholarship@gmail.com and we’ll get you the information you need.