Air Force Academy Cadet Wins Prestigious Scholarship

COLORADO SPRINGS- An Air Force Academy Cadet has been awarded one of 60 Truman Scholarships for 2010.

According to a U.S. Air Force Press Release:

Cadet 2nd Class Jennifer Bandi of Winchester, Mass., is a junior at the Academy majoring in political science. A member of the Academy’s Scholar’s Program, she has completed several international immersion trips and research endeavors focusing on African studies to include HIV/AIDS research in Namibia and Botswana as well as a current project on the origin of conflict through US AFRICOM. An accomplished linguist and athlete she will receive a minor in French and is a member of the varsity women’s basketball team.

Bandi attributes the greatest influence to her success to her parents for, “their constant example of faithfulness and perseverance even in the toughest situations.”

After graduating from the Academy in May of 2011, Bandi will attend graduate school and study international relations and public policy in Sub-Saharan Africa to help develop solutions to alleviate the HIV/AIDS crisis in that region. Following her graduate studies Bandi will serve in the Air Force, and hopes to become an intelligence officer.

The Truman Scholarship is a memorial to Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, and began in 1977. Selection for the scholarship emphasizes a commitment to public service and requires candidates to present a policy proposal directed toward a particular issue in society.

Bandi is the Academy’s 16th recipient of a Truman Scholarship.

“C2C Jennifer Bandi is well deserving of this prestigious scholarship as she has excelled in our academic, athletic and leadership programs,” said Brig. Gen. Dana Born, the Academy’s dean of the faculty. “Her involvement in the Academy’s Scholars Program, language and cultural immersion programs, and her independent study on HIV/AIDS in Africa demonstrate her commitment to excellence and to making a difference through her service.”