Above: Christopher, Gabrielle, Emily, and Jennifer are the 2018 recipients of the Louis DeJoy and Aldona Z. Woś Family Foundation Scholarship.
Four incoming IWP students are the recipients of the prestigious Louis DeJoy and Aldona Z. Woś Family Foundation Scholarship.
This scholarship was established at IWP in 2017 thanks to the generosity of Louis DeJoy and Amb. Aldona Woś. Through a $1 million gift, they made possible scholarship funds for IWP students for ten years. The Louis DeJoy and Aldona Z. Woś Family Foundation Scholarship provides up to full tuition per semester for recent college graduates who demonstrate significant academic, professional, or personal achievement, as well as a history of leadership and an overall potential to succeed in IWP’s rigorous course of study.
The first recipients of this scholarship were Helen Lamm and Isaac Brocato in 2017. The 2018 recipients of this scholarship are Emily, Gabrielle, Jennifer, and Christopher.
Emily
Awarded $50,000
Pursuing a Master of Arts in Statecraft and National Security Affairs
“From the moment I visited IWP, the atmosphere, faculty backgrounds, and academic curriculum convinced me to attend IWP, and, thanks to the both of you, I am able to enroll this upcoming fall.”
Emily is from Buffalo, New York and graduated with a B.A. in Intelligence Studies from Mercyhurst University in 2016. She was a member and captain for both Mercyhurst’s Field Hockey and Lacrosse teams, and she received the Senior Female Scholar Athlete award. Emily was a member of Phi Sigma Iota International Honor Society for Foreign Language and was a mentor for the Autism Initiative program her senior year. Currently, Emily works for the Department of Defense (DoD) and will be pursuing an M.A. in Statecraft and National Security Affairs at IWP. Alongside her current full-time position, within the last year, she decided to coach a girl’s club lacrosse team in Northern Virginia. This job has given her the opportunity to not only help girls with their stick skills, but to give back to the sport that has helped Emily grow into the person she is today.
Gabrielle
Awarded $25,000
Pursuing a Master of Arts in Strategic Intelligence Studies
“I hope to honor the investment that the DeJoy Woś Foundation has made in me, and am very grateful for their support which makes my attendance here a reality.”
Gabrielle is from Fairfax, Virginia and graduated cum laude from George Mason University with a B.A. in Government and International Politics in 2017. Her senior honors thesis focused on the need for a continued U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula. Gabrielle is a recipient of the National Security Education Program’s David L. Boren Scholarship and recently completed an academic fellowship with the John Jay Institute in Philadelphia, PA.
At IWP, Gabrielle will be pursuing an M.A. in Strategic Intelligence Studies, and she intends to use her time at the Institute to deepen her understanding of Asia Pacific security issues.
Jennifer
Awarded $25,000
Pursuing a Master of Arts in Statecraft and National Security Affairs
“I am honored by the good faith and generosity of the DeJoy-Woś family. Over the next two years of study and in work beyond, I hope to demonstrate my gratitude for this gift through dedication and excellence in the national security field.”
Jennifer is from Chicago, IL. She graduated cum laude from Villanova University in 2016 with a B.A. in History and Humanities. She was the Undergraduate President for the Matthew J. Ryan Center’s Undergraduate Fellows program, an organization dedicated to the study of free institutions and the public good. She is also an alumna of the Alexander Hamilton Institute’s Washington Program on National Security. Jennifer has lived and worked in Prague, Czech Republic, where she conducted research on the Velvet Revolution in conjunction with Villanova University’s Office of Education Abroad.
At IWP, Jennifer is pursuing an M.A. in Statecraft and National Security Affairs. After graduation, she intends to pursue a career with the State Department.
Christopher
Awarded $25,000
Pursuing a Master of Arts in Statecraft and National Security Affairs
“I am very grateful to the DeJoy-Woś family for contributing to our education as scholarship recipients. They have clearly served the country, and their investment in our IWP education will enable us to follow in their footsteps.”
From a young age, Christopher had a passion for classical literature, poetry, and especially canonical philosophy. This adventure-seeking in letters led to international travel and language learning, where he studied Arabic and Persian in the Middle East and Central Asia, and French, Italian, and Spanish in Europe.
His interest in foreign cultures and philosophy led him to study political science and economics at Brown University and the London School of Economics, and engage in the political economy by working for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Chamber of Tajikistan. While he appreciated the strategic side of trade in policy making, he wanted to get deeper into analyzing the organization of firms on the business side, particularly across cultures, so he worked as a management consultant in Munich, Germany.
After some time in Europe, Christopher returned home to spend time with family and engage locally, working for his mayor’s campaign and for the Economic Development Council. Again, he felt fortunate to be where trade and policy intersected, running a policy-making committee comprised of executives representing a range of industries from multinational corporations to regional small and medium enterprises. “I’m looking forward to merging my background in the international political economy with security and diplomacy at IWP,” he said.
At IWP, Christopher will be studying for a Master’s in Statecraft and National Security Studies. As his interest for international travel, cultural immersion, and systems analysis began in canonical philosophy, he is particularly looking forward to courses such as American Founding Principles and Foreign Policy, Geography and Strategy, and Economics for Foreign Policy Makers.
He comments: “I believe that IWP will provide a platform to pursue my academic interests and develop a professional network that will add new and interesting dimensions to my prior work, with a focus on security and diplomacy.”
IWP is grateful for this scholarship and for all the contributions of The Louis DeJoy and Aldona Woś Family Foundation.