Institute

Mercyhurst College intelligence studies students have won two of five scholarships from the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) intended for students who have distinguished themselves in pursuit of academic degrees in global security, intelligence studies and/or foreign languages.

Sophomore JoEllen Marsh won in the undergraduate category and will receive $2,250. Sandra Larson won in the graduate category and will receive $5,000.

Intelligence studies faculty Kristan Wheaton, J.D., said AFCEA is a prestigious, technically focused organization and to have Mercyhurst students win in both the undergraduate and graduate categories is a significant accomplishment.

According to the AFCEA scholarship announcement, Marsh holds a 4.0 GPA. Besides working on a Department of Defense contract as a Mercyhurst student, she has written about the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in the intelligence community. She has also illustrated the application of using a “wiki” in collaborative intelligence analysis. She is a member of the National Security Club, Mercyhurst Concert Choir, Ultimate Frisbee Intramural Club and the Mercyhurst Green Team.

Larson is a second year graduate student in Mercyhurst’s applied intelligence master’s degree program and carries a 3.9 GPA. She intends to continue her education in pursuit of a Ph.D. Larson would also like to learn Ukrainian and Arabic, combining her foreign language abilities with her analytic education as a member of the intelligence community in the national security realm.