{"id":502365,"date":"2025-06-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=502365"},"modified":"2025-06-30T09:34:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T09:34:44","slug":"usag-bavaria-recognizes-22-military-academic-achievement-award-recipients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=502365","title":{"rendered":"USAG Bavaria recognizes 22 Military Academic Achievement Award recipients"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"editor-image single\">\n<figure class=\"photo cur-photo\">\n          <span class=\"centered-image\"><br \/>\n            <span class=\"img-container\"><br \/>\n              <a class=\"rich-text-img-link\" href=\"https:\/\/api.army.mil\/e2\/c\/images\/2025\/06\/30\/af37b0ba\/original.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>              <\/a><br \/>\n                          <\/span><br \/>\n          <\/span><figcaption>\n                        <span class=\"image-caption\"><br \/>\n              <span class=\"caption-text\"><br \/>\n                The U. S. Army Bavaria Education Center recognized 22 students for their outstanding academic performance and success amidst the demands of their military life during a ceremony June 24, 2025, at the Tower View Conference Center.<br \/>\n                <span class=\"caption-author\"> (Photo Credit: Natalie Simmel)<\/span><br \/>\n              <\/span><br \/>\n              <a href=\"https:\/\/api.army.mil\/e2\/c\/images\/2025\/06\/30\/af37b0ba\/original.jpg\" title=\"View original\" target=\"_blank\">VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a><br \/>\n            <\/span><br \/>\n          <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>TOWER BARRACKS, Germany \u2013 The U. S. Army Bavaria Education Center recognized 22 students for their outstanding academic performance and success amidst the demands of their military life during a ceremony June 24, 2025, at the Tower View Conference Center.<\/p>\n<p>Recipients of the Military Academic Achievements Awards were nominated by members of the local community or Europe-contracted schools, those who saw firsthand the positive impact these individuals have made.<\/p>\n<p>From 130 submissions only those 22 were selected to be recognized and celebrated for their unwavering commitment to excellence, both in their studies and their service to the community.<\/p>\n<p>Dwayne D. Key II, deputy to the garrison commander, was the keynote speaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am so very proud of you all,\u201d he said to the recipients. \u201cYou have not only met the challenge of pursuing education while simultaneously meeting the demands of your profession, you have exceeded all expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Military Academic Achievement Award recipients consisted of 17 service members and five civilians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, as you continue in your professional careers, I urge you to keep striving,\u201d he said. \u201cYour successes mean a lot, but it\u2019s your determination \u2013 your drive \u2013 that will lead to a better future, a stronger military, a more effective warfighter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have proven you can do great things, and, while I expect greater things yet from you, more than anything it is you who should hold yourself to a high standard going forward,\u201d Key continued. \u201cTake pride in your accomplishments and take even greater pride in your work going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During his remarks Key quoted the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, underlining he success of the students:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing in this world can take the place of persistence.Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the recipients was Sgt.1st Class William Theodore Faucett with 7th Army Training Command (Inspector General Office). Faucett was recognized during the event for his Associate of Art in Interdisciplinary Studies. He is currently working on his bachelor degree in the same field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy four children are my driving force,\u201d Faucett said. \u201cI want to be an example for them. I always tell them to push and do well in school and it&#8217;s kind of hard for me to say that if I&#8217;m not doing it myself. So now they see things like this ceremony and me getting honors in school, and it&#8217;s my reason to tell them, \u2018Hey, if I can do it you can too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One piece of advice he has for fellow students or community members thinking about pursuing an additional educational career is not to procrastinate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust start,\u201d Faucett said. \u201cSlow and steady wins the race, one class at a time. You will get it done, but you have to start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cpl. Kwaku Adjei Fri Owusu iterated that thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust start and the rest will follow,\u201d Owusu said. \u201cStart with one class at a time and little by little, tortoise steps, one day you realize you&#8217;ll be done with a degree and you&#8217;ll be happy for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Owusu is with the106th Finance Battalion and he pursued a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity Management and Policy.<\/p>\n<p>Mackenzie Sleigh, education services specialist, spoke about how important the event is:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is important to honor community members as well as our service members, because they are over here in Europe, away from home, balancing the life of working full time, being a parent, having to take care of things while maybe their service member is deployed or training or in the field. They are dealing with just the daily struggles of being away from home while on top of that, they&#8217;re also working towards their degree.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re working towards something that&#8217;s bigger than themselves and that&#8217;s for themselves, for their future,&#8221; Sleigh continued. &#8220;So this is really, this event is such an important opportunity for us to take a moment and celebrate all their hard work and recognition for that sacrifice that they&#8217;re making.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For community members thinking about pursuing additional education, Sleigh has the following advice:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think people refrain from pursuing their education because they have so many questions about how to get started and the whole process feels so overwhelming. So come visit your local Education Center and we will break it down one step at a time and we can also help you kind of walk you through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the USAG Bavaria Education Centers visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/home.army.mil\/bavaria\/edcenter\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/home.army.mil\/bavaria\/edcenter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here is the list of the recognized individuals:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSgt. Azeez Ahmed<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSpc. Guillermo Alvarado<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSgt. Roland Banny<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tBritanni Dahmer<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tEmily Deadmond<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSpc. Shung Dizayee<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSgt. 1st Class William Faucett<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tStaff Sgt. David Galkin<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSpc. Sebastian Gesto Pena<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSgt. 1st Class Sh\u2019Kendra Hightower<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSgt. Angelica Huitron Yanez<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSgt. 1st Class Margarita Hurtado<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSgt. Travis Johnson<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tStaff Sgt. Matthew Kibble<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tStaff Sgt. Travis Knight<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\t1st Sgt. Matthew LaRiviere<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tCpl. Kwaku Adjei Fri Owusu<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tCapt. Steven Prater<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tCamille Solak<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tDaryl Steffen<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tWisteria Usera<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSpc. Kymanni Weston<\/p>\n<p>For pictures of the event visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/s\/aHBqjCjusB\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/flic.kr\/s\/aHBqjCjusB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To watch the AFN FB live recording visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/19V58BwA56\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/19V58BwA56\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"editor-image single\">\n<figure class=\"photo cur-photo\">\n          <span class=\"centered-image\"><br \/>\n            <span class=\"img-container\"><br \/>\n              <a class=\"rich-text-img-link\" href=\"https:\/\/api.army.mil\/e2\/c\/images\/2025\/06\/30\/2e1f765b\/original.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"USAG Bavaria recognizes 22 Military Academic Achievement Award recipients\" src=\"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/size0-full-368.jpg\" \/><br \/>\n              <\/a><br \/>\n                          <\/span><br \/>\n          <\/span><figcaption>\n                        <span class=\"image-caption\"><br \/>\n              <span class=\"caption-text\"><br \/>\n                The USAG Bavaria Education center team during the Military Academic Achievement Award Ceremony, June 24, at the Tower View Conference Center.<br \/>\n                <span class=\"caption-author\"> (Photo Credit: Simmel, Natalie Ms CIV DEU IMCOM)<\/span><br \/>\n              <\/span><br \/>\n              <a href=\"https:\/\/api.army.mil\/e2\/c\/images\/2025\/06\/30\/2e1f765b\/original.jpg\" title=\"View original\" target=\"_blank\">VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a><br \/>\n            <\/span><br \/>\n          <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U. S. Army Bavaria Education Center recognized 22 students for their outstanding academic performance and success amidst the demands of their military life during a ceremony June 24, 2025, at the Tower View Conference Center. (Photo Credit: Natalie Simmel) VIEW ORIGINAL TOWER BARRACKS, Germany \u2013 The U. S. Army Bavaria Education Center recognized 22 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502367,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-502365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=502365"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":502370,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502365\/revisions\/502370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/502367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=502365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=502365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=502365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}