Submitted by Great Oaks.
Live Oaks Career Campus’ JROTC instructor Cpt. David Pollauf has been pushing his cadets to apply for Army scholarships for the last several years. His dedication and their hard work have paid off. Since 2015, students at Live Oaks have been offered almost $340,000 in scholarships from the Army. Combined with students who participate in the JROTC program through Milford High School, that number jumps to over $1 million.
One senior receiving a scholarship is Austin Pritchard who is in the Heavy Equipment Operations and Maintenance program at Live Oaks. He is receiving an advance designee Army ROTC scholarship and will be attending Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and majoring in criminal justice. He decided to major in criminal justice for the same reason he decided to attend Great Oaks: “I wanted a fall back plan.”
The Army ROTC scholarship covers tuition for three to four years and includes a $1,200 yearly stipend for books and a $420 monthly stipend for expenses. Cpt. Pollauf says that not all the cadets accept the scholarship, but once they are selected, they have 30 days to make their decision.
Austin will graduate as a commissioned officer and hopes to serve in infantry or aviation. He officially enlisted on Nov. 23, 2020. He believes that the JROTC program at Live Oaks gave him the advantage he needed to get his scholarship. He was able to score a 23 on his ACT, obtain 25 JROTC medals in orienteering, athletics, and academics.
Austin’s twin brother Alex also attends Live Oaks in the IT Academy, continuing a family tradition.
During his senior year Austin as participated in 10 raider meets including the U.S. Army National Raider Championships where their unit placed fourth their first time competing at that level. He also became their battalion XO (executive officer) and received Colonel Brauer’s Military Officer JROTC Service Medal.
The 20-21 school year has seen the second highest number of offers since 2015, according to Cpt. Pollauf.