Fort Polk military spouse awarded college scholarship from Corvias
Published 3:30 pm Thursday, September 15, 2022
The wife of an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Polk has been awarded a scholarship from Corvias to pursue a degree in legal studies.
Kathryn Driskell is one of 17 military spouses selected by Corvias, the property manager of housing at Fort Polk and several other military installations, to receive a one-time scholarship of $5,000.
The scholarship was awarded by Corvias Foundation, a private foundation created by Corvias’ chairman John Picerne to support education opportunities for military families.
Driskell, 37, is currently pursuing her degree with the American Public University. As a military spouse with three children at home, she said she set a goal for herself recently to continue her own education. Since making that decision, she has earned a 3.9 grade point average and has made the dean’s list three times in the past two years.
“Military spouses are just like any other spouse. Our spouse just goes away for longer time periods. People ask me how I do it, and I say that I’ve never known anything else. I want to show my children that no matter your age, you can start over. You can do anything you put your mind to. Buckle down and just do it,” Driskell stated.
The scholarship funds can be used by recipients for expenses associated with receiving their degrees, including transportation to class, childcare, school fees and more.
Corvias Foundation’s executive director Maria Montalvo said the foundation recognizes the challenges military families face and has strived to support and empower those family members.
“Military spouses in particular face incredibly high unemployment rates and wage gaps. Frequent moves, deployments, childcare needs and more are obstacles that all contribute to their career challenges. We established this scholarship program to combat these hardships and help military spouses earn a degree that will help provide for their families and their own professional future,” Montalvo stated.
This year marks the 16th consecutive year the Corvias Foundation has provided scholarships to military spouses, having awarded more than $15 million to more than 500 military dependents in that time.
