In December 2021, Ohio University announced new veterans scholarships would be making their way for the 2022-2023 school year. Two $2,500 scholarships, issued by the Military and Veteran Student Services Center and Fiserv, will be accepting applications from now until Tuesday.
Fiserv has worked with OU for a long period of time providing scholarships for student veterans and support to the military department on campus. It even has a number of OU alumni on its staff. Fiserv has also made appearances at career fairs, helping students start to think about future careers in business and technology fields.
Terry St. Peter, director of the Veterans and Military Student Services Center, said the scholarships are geared toward students meeting the following criteria: students currently enrolled in or accepted for admission to the College of Business or Russ College of Engineering and Technology and students who are veterans, active duty, currently serving in the National Guard or Reserves and/or military-affiliated dependents or spouses of the aforementioned. The donors of these scholarships also prefer students of junior and senior rank.
St. Peter said Fiserv has shown a commitment to support OU’s veterans and military-affiliated students in tangible ways like these scholarships. It helps alleviate financial burden on students and helps set focus on academics, St. Peter said.
“This allows our military affiliated students an opportunity to continue to pursue those academic pursuits now that they've finished their military service to our country,” St. Peter said.
Meg Hendricks, army veteran and head of military and veteran affairs at Fiserv, believes it is important to support those involved with the military because it’s not only the right thing to do, but it is also good for business.
“Many service members choose to further their education upon separating from the military,” Hendricks said in an email. “So, we see it as a logical next step to engage with student veterans to further their professional goals, potentially as their employer or by providing resources that will help these veterans start their own business.”
Further, this scholarship offers the opportunity for students to be exposed to full-time career and internship opportunities at Fiserv. Hendricks said Fiserv provides students access to resources and subject matter experts who are connected with the military and are willing to assist students.
“To ensure each student’s success, it is important for us to provide ongoing support, whether the student ends up working for Fiserv or one of our partners,” Hendricks said in an email.
Some students, like Trevor Ashworth, a senior studying aviation management and of service in the National Guard, believe these scholarships prove to be beneficial for current military students and could even encourage other military students to attend OU in the future.
“I know a lot of military students could definitely use the help,” Ashworth said. “And I think it shows that OU’s offering their support to military students as well by giving this new scholarship out to us.”
If a student meets the criteria and wants to apply, they can do so at https://webapps.ohio.edu/scholarships or on their OHIO Student Center under the "Student Services Links." Applicants to this scholarship may receive an additional communication from the scholarship committee with prompt request.
“This is a large company. This is a pretty good deal,” St. Peter said. “(The scholarships can) continue their academic pursuits but to also potentially open up doors for career.”
