“Being the first daughter and high school graduate of immigrant parents, my hunger for success became more than just hopes and dreams, it became who I was,” said Shoua Webb in her application to the VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” program. Shoua enlisted in the U.S. Navy after realizing college preparatory programs, volunteer work, grants and scholarships wouldn’t be enough to pay for her expensive college tuition.
Shoua’s naval service and experiences while stationed aboard the USS John Stennis gave her hope of one day going to school and being able to achieve her career goals. Leadership and professionalism, two skills she attributes to gaining exclusively through her military service, have given her the tools she’s needed to remain focused on finishing her education after leaving the Navy.
Since separating, she’s been able to use those same skills to network with other veterans while she completes her undergraduate studies in Criminal Justice at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. Shoua, like so many other veterans, continues to find ways to give back even after her military service is complete.
Armed with her degree, she hopes to blend her criminal justice training and her love of the television show Criminal Minds to fulfill her ultimate goal of working for the government as a profiler or as part of a terrorism task force. Her Navy experiences helped her understand how vital combating terrorism is to the safety of our nation. She was able to see its importance and realized she could make a difference while trying to protect the American way of life at the same time.
After learning she was selected as a recipient of a $5,000 Help A Hero Scholarship, she couldn’t believe it. Shoua explained, “Words cannot describe how I felt. Tuition is so expensive these days … anything that can help is great! This scholarship came at a time when I needed it the most.”
The Help A Hero Scholarship program was created to award service members and veterans with academic scholarships in the hopes of easing their transition back to civilian life without incurring a large amount of student loan debt. Since the program’s inception in 2013, over 130 service members and veterans have been awarded over $500,000 in scholarships. Click here to find out more about the program!