Dr. Olivia Hooker Scholarship

The NNOA Dr. Olivia J. Hooker STEM Scholarship

In February 1945, Dr. Olivia J. Hooker became the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard when she enlisted in the Coast Guard’s female military corps, Semper Paratus, Always Ready (SPARs). She was discharged in June 1946 as a Yeoman Second Class and went on to earn a master’s degree in Psychology from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Rochester. In 1963, Dr. Hooker became Associate Professor of Psychology at New York’s Fordham University and served as the Director of Psychology at the Kennedy Child Study Center in the Bronx until her official retirement in 2002. Even after her retirement at the age of 87, she remained active in the community as a consultant in the areas of education and mental health, as a founder of the Tulsa Race Riot Commission (supporting legislative efforts to obtain restitution for ~300 African American victims of the infamous 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre) and as a volunteer
for the Coast Guard Auxiliary and local civic organizations until her passing in November 2018.

Dr Olivia Hooker has had many personal and professional accomplishments throughout her life but her charity and love for humanity were extraordinary. There are boundless stories of lives touched by her work, her outreach across communities and her advocacy for the voiceless and for the forgotten. As a small child, Dr Hooker suffered greatly from the tragic events of the Tulsa Massacre yet went on to serve her country honorably as a Coast Guardsman and later as a psychologist and civil rights activist. To continue Dr Hooker’s legacy of charity and excellence, the National Naval Officers Association (NNOA) Dr Olivia J. Hooker STEM Scholarship was created.

This annual program seeks to reward determined persons in the Enlisted Corps who have overcome major challenges in their lives while striving to pursue their educational and professional goals. These individuals are also making significant impacts in the lives of others and in their communities. This is a Chapter wide STEM Program offered to enlisted persons in the Sea Services interested in joining the Officer Corps.

The scholarship program will provide award(s) in the amount of $500 per recipient.

The scholarship is open to enlisted men and women in the sea services who meet the following requirements:

• Must have, at minimum, a completed high school education or GED by the 2020-2021 academic year
• Must plan to enroll (or may currently be enrolled) in undergraduate study at an accredited Minority Serving
  Institution (MSI) for the entire 2020-2021 academic year
  • Full time (12+hr) enrollment is not required
  • An acceptance letter or proof of completed application is required
• Must have attained a cumulative GPA (GPA) of 2.5 or above in high school or in college
• Must exhibit a strong commitment to helping others in their community
• Must be a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States
• Must intend on pursuing (or currently pursuing) a STEM degree
• Must provide proof of service
• In addition to the above, each interested individual must complete a 500-word essay on either of the following:
  • Describe what the word “Charity” means to them; how it applies to their own efforts to improve the lives
    of others and how they envision using their college education to better the communities we live in.
    Answer the question; can excellence exist without charity?
  • Discuss how Dr. Hooker’s life reflects their own upbringing, educational pursuits, challenges and/or
    achievements. In what ways is she an inspiration to their own goals? Or, in what ways is the student a
    trailblazer in their family, or community?