OSU student wins Armed Forces distinguished award for service
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The award is given to a young AFCEA member who shows a record of superior technical achievement and going “above and beyond” at the local chapter level. A member must first be selected by his or her local chapter and then picked by the AFCEA regional vice presidents. Winners are recognized annually at the AFCEA West Conference in San Diego, Calif.
“I am extremely proud to be recognized by my chapter and the AFCEA Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Region,” said Alvarez, a master’s student in OSU’s telecommunications program. “I have benefitted enormously from my membership, so to me this award indicates that the organization feels I contributed back and have helped others benefit as well.”
The AFCEA is a non-profit organization serving the military, government, industry and academia. Its mission is to advance professional knowledge and relationships in the fields of communications, internet technology, intelligence and global security. The Young AFCEAN program is designed to grow professionals under the age of 40. Alvarez is a member of the Oklahoma City chapter, which has 195 members and participates in numerous service activities throughout the year.
Alvarez said her connections to the AFCEA and OSU are closely related. She said she entered the Air Force as a second lieutenant in 2007 after graduating with a computer science degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She said she was often asked when she would begin pursuing her master’s degree, but she could not find a school that fit her well. Through the AFCEA, she said she learned about the master’s in telecommunications program at OSU.
“This program was exactly what I was looking for: distance learning tied in to traditional classroom sessions, military tuition discounts and an optional information assurance concentration,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez was accepted to OSU in the fall of 2008 and was deployed to Iraq in January of 2009. She said even her introductory course applied to her job in Iraq and she has continued taking online courses throughout her deployment.
“With the help of very understanding professors and staff, I am now three classes away from graduation,” Alvarez said. “I plan to use my degree to help me succeed in the Air Force’s new culture of cyberspace awareness and dominance. When my military career is over, I will feel confident entering the civilian IT industry with a strong and applicable academic background.”