"Fit to fight and health for life" guides scholarship winner.

On the last day of August DAV National Director of Voluntary Services Edward E. Hartman received a letter from Helena Chapman, a 2002 Jesse Brown Memorial Youth Scholarship recipient of $5,000. The letter thanked the DAV once again for awarding her the scholarship and brought Hartman up to date on Helena's current academic achievements,

Like all scholarship recipients. Helena was a passionate volunteer at her local VA medical facility and an exemplary student dedicated to providing assistance to veterans through her volunteer efforts. Her voluntary service at the North Florida--South Georgia VA Medical Center began at the encouragement of her family during her high school freshman year in 1995. It consisted of three hours each Saturday in recreation therapy activities working with nursing home patients and has expanded to include many areas since that time.

Helena is quick to point out that volunteering has helped her to mature and allowed her to focus on medicine as a career.

"I plan to serve in the military as an orthopedic surgeon."' Helena said. "Volunteering motivates me to pursue my career goal, while gaining hands-on experience through a variety of tasks working with employees from many different disciplines. It also allows me to get to know and assist veterans who have given so much of themselves to keep America free."

For Helena, being around veterans is a family tradition. Her father. Robert, is a former U.S. Marine and retired airline pilot. Her mother, Marianne, recently retired from [lie Army National Guard with more than 30 years of service, including duty in the Persian Gulf War. She was the first female Major General in the Anny National Guard. A doctoral prepared nurse researcher, she currently works at the VA Central Office ire Washington, D.C.

Military tradition doesn't stop with Helena's mother and father. It includes uncles and aunts; a grandmother who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II; a grandfather who served in World War II w id in Korea as a Marine medevac helicopter pilot; and her older sister, Kathy, currently serving as a U.S. Army major in Afghanistan.

Helena used her scholarship to help finance her undergraduate studies. She earned a B.S. degree in biology from the University oh Florida in 2003, and enrolled in the University of Florida graduate program in 2003, graduating in 2005. Helena has applied to medical school for the fall of 2006. She hopes to attend medical school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.

Commenting on her lifelong desire to pursue medicine in a military career. Helena said, "Coming from a family rich in military background, I am passionate about leadership and comradeship, both of which I experienced in ROTC leadership training and research tear; building. I model my life after my mother whose academic, military, and professional achievements are amazing. My mother's motto throughout her career is 'Fit to Fight and Health for Life.' I plan to foster her motto in my career."

Since receiving her scholarship from the DAV, Helena has continued her volunteer work through the Recreation Therapy. Surgical, and Cardio-Thoracic Intensive Care Units, where she says, "Each day brings new opportunities and experience, making me aware of how much the Veterans Administration serves the needs of patients."

Students interested in making application for consideration for a Jesse Brown Memorial Youth Scholarship may do so through the DAV Web site www.dav.org/volunteersljesse_brown_scholarship.html. The deadline for making an application is Feb. 27, 2006. Additional inquires should be directed to Disabled American Veterans, National Service and Legislative Headquarters, Voluntary Services Department, 8017 Maine Ave. S.W., Washington, DC 20024.