Shane Mathew

COLD SPRING, Ky. — Shane Mathew, of Coral Springs, Florida, has spent a total of 669 hours spanning a four-year period volunteering at the Miami VA Medical Center, and now he’s $20,000 ahead on his life dream of becoming a physician.

The 19-year-old is the recipient of DAV’s Jesse Brown Memorial Youth Scholarship, which is awarded annually to top youth volunteers in DAV’s Voluntary Services program. The scholarship is open to volunteers 21 or younger who have contributed a minimum of 100 hours of volunteer service credited through DAV or DAV Auxiliary.

The scholarship will be presented Aug. 1 at DAV’s 95th National Convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta.

“Shane is a remarkable young man and very deserving of this scholarship,” said DAV National Director of Voluntary Services John Kleindienst. “His compassion for veterans speaks volumes to his character. He is a fixture at his local VA clinic, and veterans often ask for him by name when they are undergoing treatment. He is already in a pre-med program at the University of Florida, is an elected leader in several student honor societies and has brought other volunteers to the clinic. But, he still manages to dedicate what little spare time he has to caring for the veterans in his community who’ve sacrificed for our way of life.”

“Shane is an exceptional young person with a great future ahead of him,” said DAV National Adjutant Marc Burgess. “He truly honors veterans with the same esteem and kindness the VA employees at the Miami clinic do and has a devout eagerness to serve veterans. He has my appreciation, my respect, and I believe he is well on his way to becoming a gifted doctor.”

 

Other scholarship winners include:

Maria Bower, of Valrico, Fla. – $15,000

Jack You, of Pittsburgh – $10,000

Brandon Bemis, of Conway, Ark. – $7,500

Ally Jacobs, of Carleton, Mich. – $7,500

Olivia Schomer, of St. Cloud, Minn. – $5,000

Kaylee Dawn Leeman, of North Easton, Mass. – $5,000

Sydney Long, of Lincoln, Neb. – $5,000