Marocchi Memorial Scholarship

The RADM Marocchi Memorial Scholarship provides two awards of $2,500 each, one given to a graduating senior from a Virginia high school, and one given to a Virginia resident attending a college or university in Virginia.

Congratulations to the 2024 winners of the RADM Marocchi Memorial Scholarship.

This year, we had an incredibly competitive pool of applicants. Thanks to the public-private partnership between the Virginia War Memorial and the Virginia War Memorial Foundation, we were able to award scholarships to FOUR Virginian students for the 2024-2025 school year. 

The 2024 recipients of the Marocchi Memorial Scholarship:

2024 High School Recipients:

  • Rudra B. Dave of Chantilly High School in Fairfax County.  He will be participating in the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Virginia.
  • Mikayla Moses of Prince George High School in Prince George.  She will be participating in the Army ROTC program at James Madison University.

2024 College Recipients:

  • Nicolas Dungan is from Mechanicsville and is currently a student in the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Virginia.
  • Justin Whitley is from Mechanicsville and is currently a student in the Army ROTC program at Virginia Tech.

 

Rear Admiral John Marocchi served in the United States Navy for decades, with a career that spanned service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Admiral Marocchi was one of very few Navy officers to complete Army Airborne training, and was a recipient of the Purple Heart and Legion of Merit. He also served for over fifteen years as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Virginia War Memorial. He was a person who used every opportunity to teach those around him, and all were able to benefit from his experience and perceptive view of the world. In his memory, a scholarship has been created to encourage and enable motivated students who plan to enroll or who are already enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at a Virginia school of higher education.

This year, we are pleased to announce that the Marocchi Memorial Scholarship is open to both graduating high school students AND to currently enrolled college students. This scholarship is intended to reward Virginia students who participate in ROTC at a Virginia school, and we are proud to be able to extend this reward to even more students who have chosen to serve.

NOTE: Applicants do NOT need to be JROTC participants in their high schools. All graduating seniors who meet the qualifications are welcome to apply.

For a full biography of Rear Admiral John Marocchi, click here. 

For scholarship requirements and application information, click here.

High School students, apply online here.

College students, apply online here.

Download High School application (PDF)

Download College application (PDF)

Contact Jim Triesler at james.triesler@dvs.virginia.gov with any questions.

Meet the previous recipients of the Marocchi Memorial Scholarship:

2023:

Jenny N. Calderon, George Mason University (Air Force ROTC)
From York High School, York, VA

Edward Barrett McFall, Virginia Tech (Navy ROTC program)
From Warwick High School, Newport News, VA

2022:
Danielle Kruise, Liberty University (Air Force ROTC)
From Hermitage High School, Henrico County

Yanik Alex Brandon, Virginia Tech (Army ROTC)
From Charlottesville High School, Charlottesville

2021:
Reed Jones, Virginia Tech (Army ROTC)
From Abingdon High School, Washington County

2020:
Ava Mister, Christopher Newport University (Army ROTC)
From Lee-Davis High School, Hanover County

Derek Sprincis, University of Virginia (Air Force ROTC)
From Clarke County High School, Clarke County

2019:
Alan Clark, Christopher Newport University (Army ROTC)
From Lake Braddock Secondary School, Fairfax County

Katie Lloyd, Virginia Military Institute (Navy/Marine Option ROTC)
From Caroline High School, Caroline County

2018:
Austin Askew, Virginia Tech (Army ROTC)
From Liberty Christian Academy, Lynchburg

Dakota Jennings, Virginia Commonwealth University (Army ROTC)
From JR Tucker High School, Henrico County