Women in defense marks 25th anniversary of scholarship program.

• Position: NDIA News

National Defense Industrial Association affiliate Women In Defense is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the HORIZONS scholarship program.

When Women In Defense was founded in the 1980s, its leaders reali7ed that for women to reach the upper echelons of defense industry or any national security-related profession, they had to have the education in the required subject matter areas. To meet that need, WID leaders established the HORIZONS Foundation of Women In Defense. Incorporated in June 1988, it was designed to support the entry and advancement of women professionals in the defense arena, particularly in science and engineering disciplines.

Jeanne Trapani, an engineering major at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., received the first scholarship, which was $500.

When WID merged with the National Defense Industrial Association in 2004, the HORIZONS Foundation was dissolved with operations moving into the WID organization, thus making it possible for all donated funds to be applied to scholarships, not to overhead.

"The early leaders of WID were certainly far-sighted. They recognized the critical need for women to get education so they could get ahead. And they focused on science and engineering education long before anyone ever heard of STEM studies--sci-ence, technology, engineering, math. So WID was very much in the vanguard," said WID national president Tricia Ward, who is with Booz Allen Hamilton.

Since 1990, the organization has awarded 116 scholarships worth more than $180,000. For the 2012-2013 academic year, it awarded six scholarships for a total of $30,000.

Selection criteria has expanded to include a broader base of studies leading to careers related to U.S. national security and defense interests. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are rising juniors and above, including graduate level, and have a grade point average of at least a 3.25. Students preparing to enter the work force and those already working in national security and defense fields are encouraged to apply.

"The caliber of applicants changed dramatically after the terrorist attacks of 9/11," said WID staff director Jane Patrick Casey. "Applicants are more serious, and more young people understand what a career in national security means. These young women mean business, and they want to make a difference."

Subjects of study have also changed and are often more specialized than in the early days of the program, Casey said. Recent recipients...