While Google has become known for offering numerous Google scholarships, they have now joined with the Student Veterans of America organization to offer a Google Student Veterans of America (SVA) scholarships.
Student Veterans of America (SVA) is a non-profit organization that provides veterans with advocacy, support and resources necessary to succeed in higher education and their future careers. This SVA scholarship is available to any student veteran who is pursuing a degree in computer science or a related field in the United States.
Along with the financial reward associated with the scholarship, recipients of the scholarship will also receive an invitation to attend a scholar’s retreat, which is all-expenses paid, at the Googleplex located in Mountain View, California during the summer of 2012.
Google has demonstrated a long history of assisting college students in their pursuit of a computer science education through the availability of scholarship and internship opportunities. The search engine giant first began to offer Google scholarships in 2004. Since that time, Google has provided nearly $9 million in scholarship funds and financial support to some 2,100 students from groups around the world that are historically underrepresented.
The company’s academic scholarship programs are only one part of their worldwide efforts to increase diversity within the technology industry while also investing in what will become the next generation of computer scientists. The mission of Google’s partnership with SVA is to ensure that student veterans within the United States have the necessary support to pursue education and careers in the technology field.
Google’s commitment to assisting military veterans has also extended beyond scholarship opportunities and educational outreach efforts. These efforts have included establishment of the Google Veterans Network, which is one of several employee groups that is dedicated to the support of diversity at Google.
The company has also introduced a job search engine customized for the use of veterans, known as the Veterans Job Bank. The job bank was established in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The overall goal of the Google SVA scholarship is to provide a continuing commitment to the advancement of technology and computing by helping veteran students to excel in their studies and remain active leaders and role models. It is also hoped that the SVA scholarship will help to dismantle barriers that may prevent women and minorities from entering these fields.
The Google-SVA Scholarship program rewards high-caliber student veterans who are working to pursue a degree within the Computer Science field. By identifying high-performing student veterans within this field and rewarding achievement, it is hoped that further study will be encourages.
The program also seeks to improve the retention of student veterans in this field by providing funding for university expenses, including tuition, fees and books. Through the sponsorship of the Annual Scholars’ Retreat, it is hoped that communities of students will be fostered, while providing a positive environment in which student veterans may network with one another as well as with engineers from Google in a fun and relaxing environment.
Up to eight $10,000 Google SVA scholarships will be provided to student veterans through the Google-SVA scholarship program. To be eligible to receive one of the scholarships, students must be currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree or graduate degree in Computer Science or a related field such as computer engineering, software engineering, information systems, applied networking, information technology, electrical engineering or system administration.
The SVA scholarship is only open to sophomores, juniors or seniors. Freshman students are not eligible to apply for the scholarship. Students must be enrolled in a full-time course of study. Students must also have received an honorable discharge or must be currently in good standing with their branch of service in the U.S. military. Applicants will also need to submit a personal statement that details their reasons for applying for the scholarship, the reasons for selecting their major, their professional objectives, their roles as a leader in their SVA chapter or community and any additional community service initiatives they have been involved with. The deadline to apply for the Google SVA scholarship is March 15th.