Superintendent Arntzen Holds Prestigious NROTC Scholarship Awards Ceremony

HELENA, MT - Office of Public Instruction Superintendent Elsie Arntzen was joined by CDR John Hiltz, United States Navy Commanding Office, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Pacific Northwest Wednesday to present two Montana high school students with Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Scholarships. Each student received a $230,000 scholarship to go towards tuition, books, food, lodging, and stipends.

The NROTC Scholarship is a highly sought-after full ride scholarship. Applicants must meet rigid requirements in a highly competitive process. This class of recipients includes Claire Downing a Senior at Helena High School and Logan Vandenburg a Senior at Hamilton High School. Claire will be attending Vanderbilt University and Logan is weighing several competing offers.

'It is my honor to celebrate Claire and Logan in this tremendous achievement,' said Superintendent Arntzen. 'I continue to be inspired and incredibly proud as we see more Montana students seeking futures in specific service-oriented fields. These younger generations are in the process of building our future and we must take every opportunity to elevate them.'

'It was a tremendous honor to award full Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarships to two of Montana's brightest students,' said Commander John Hiltz. 'Logan Vandenburg and Claire Downing, and the United States Navy stands ready to offer similar exciting opportunities to all those who want to answer their nation's call to serve. We thank the Superintendent and the Montana legislature for making this day possible and look forward to bringing education and technical training to more of Montanan's students. Our Navy is strong thanks to the efforts of Montana's educators in producing such exemplary scholar-athletes as Logan and Claire. I will be proud to serve alongside them!'

Representative Marta Bertoglio, U.S. Air Force Reserve Veteran, shared, 'Claire is a hardworking young woman who will bring her skills to bear in her new adventure as an ROTC student at Vanderbilt and eventually as an Army officer. I have great confidence she will be an exceptional leader in our armed force.'

'Logan is a bright young man with the qualities necessary to do well at whatever college he chooses to attend and will go on to be a fine military officer,' said Representative David Bedey, retired Army Colonel and West Point professor.

Recipients are chosen by an officer board that evaluates the scholar, athlete, and leader credentials of each candidate. Only a small fraction of applicants are awarded the scholarship. According to ROTC Consulting, only 1,500 of over 5,000 applicants received scholarships in 2018-2019. Future applicants may visit www.netc.navy.mil for scholarship application information.

Photo Links:

http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Images/Downing_Navy.jpg?ver=2021-04-09-154829-247

http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Images/Vandenurg_Navy.jpg?ver=2021-04-09-154828-840

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Contact:

Sarah Swanson, Chief of Staff, 406-475-2037

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