Meet Our Scholars

Melissa Stroh
Melissa knew she needed to go back to school to provide for her family. Her father was an attorney and she wanted to follow in his footsteps. But the reality of moving to Moscow to attend the University of Idaho Law School was out of the question, since Eric’s community-based care required him to stay in Coeur d’Alene.
» More of Melissa's Story

Mark Olson, Veteran and College of Business and Economics student
A Saving Grace
“Operation Education has single-handedly saved me,” says Olson. “I literally was down to the last $12 in the bank; I couldn’t buy books. Operation Education gave me some money to put on my Vandal Card to buy books. It was the helping hand I needed.”
» Mark Olson's story

Chase Clark of Blackfoot, Idaho
Chase joined the Idaho Army National Guard after high school and spent a year in Iraq. His service left him with severe back injuries, but he was determined to go to college and was awarded an Operation Education Scholarship
"Operation Education is more than a scholarship - it's a support web. I can go out there and take risks, and it's going to be okay. I can focus on my education and not worry about how it's going to happen."
» Landscape Architecture Major, Class of 2010

Bart Gutke, Bob Woodruff Foundation Scholar
During his second deployment Bart was traveling through darkness in a military vehicle in western Iraq at 50 mph when the vehicle fell 30 feet
“I never in a million years thought that was the way I would get hurt,” said Gutke. Gutke hopes the Operation Education Scholarship program will bring awareness to the private battles soldiers face at home.
» Resource Recreation and Tourism Major