Enid High grad earns $2,000 DECA scholarship Published June 19, 2015 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Vance Commissary awarded a $2,000 scholarship to a graduate of Enid High School during a ceremony June 18 at the commissary. Mariah Wagner, who recently finished her second year at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, is the daughter of a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. Wagner is working on her degree in kinesiology and plans to eventually attend Oklahoma University and complete a degree in physical therapy, she said. Wagner is maintaining a 3.888 grade point average and has earned six scholarships to support her schooling for next semester. She earned her DECA scholarship by writing an essay about an influential woman from World War II. Wagner wrote her essay about Joan Clark, an English cryptanalyst and numismatist best known for her work as a code breaker at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, working on the Enigma Machine. Wagner was joined by her mother, sister and stepfather to accept the award from Sheila Gilbert, the Vance Commissary director, and Col. Christopher Daniels, the 71st Mission Support Group commander. The Scholarships for Military Children Program is funded by manufacturers and suppliers that provide products and services for commissaries around the globe. "We're excited to report that the scholarship program continues to be a success in helping military families defray the cost of education," said Defense Commissary Agency director and chief executive officer Joseph H. Jeu. "We're proud to be associated with a program that has awarded 8,012 scholarships totaling more than $12.5 million since its inception in 2001." Scholarship Managers, a professional scholarship firm, selects the winners based on academic merit, participation in extracurricular and volunteer activities, and the quality of their essays. Recipients are notified by letter. The full list of scholarship recipients and sponsoring business partners can be found online at http://www.militaryscholar.org. Nearly every one of the Defense Commissary Agency's stores will announce a local winner; many commissaries will announce multiple winners. The Scholarships for Military Children program is administered by Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization responsible for building comfort homes near military medical centers. The foundation bears all costs of the program so that every dollar donated goes for scholarships. The general public has the opportunity to donate to the program through the military scholar website. (Contributing report from Defense Commissary Agency and Tech. Sgt. James Bolinger)