About the Joseph and Carolyn McKeon Endowed Scholarship
Kevin S. McKeon '85 established the Joseph and Carolyn McKeon Endowed Scholarship in August 2020 in honor of his parents. The fund provides merit-based undergraduate scholarships for student veterans with a preference for first-generation students. Additional preference is given to students enrolled in the A. James Clark School of Engineering or the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
About Joseph McKeon
The Joseph and Carolyn McKeon Endowed Scholarship was established by Kevin McKeon to provide critical financial support to undergraduate student veterans. Kevin believes that education is the key to solving or mitigating many of our societal problems including poverty and social justice. He wants to help those that can't afford to attend college have the opportunity to do so.
Joseph McKeon, Bio
"As a first generation college student, I realized the difficulty in working multiple jobs while attending school in order to pay tuition and bills. Maintaining good grades was a challenge with limited study time available. Education is such an important thing for all of us and, with the cost of education today, it is nearly impossible to do what I did, earn enough working to pay the tuition and other expenses.
At my last company, I had the privilege of coordinating community service events. Through the United Way, I had the opportunity to meet representatives from Easterseals that focused their efforts on veterans support. After meeting with them, I went to several Easterseals events and was impressed with the work they were doing for the community. I organized staffing for a fundraising event before I retired and I am still working with them in Cincinnati even though I am residing in Utah. Our veterans face a lot of challenges, especially if they saw action during their time in the military. Easterseals opened my eyes to the plight of veterans and I felt obligated to help out. Our government doesn't do enough for these individuals and organizations like Easterseals are trying to fill the gap"
-Kevin McKeon
Meet Our Scholars
Originally from California, Rena moved to Maryland 21 years ago and has been part of the Maryland Army National Guard for the last 17 years. She has found Maryland to be a beautiful state with such ecological diversity. She has absolutely fallen in love with this state and feels truly blessed to pursue and continue her education here.
Rena Crockett (2025-2026 Scholar)
Past Scholars
Tim White (2023-2025 Scholar)
Timothy White is an Electrical Engineering major with a minor in Chinese. He is currently part of the TerpVets leadership team. He has participated in TerpVets activities since he enrolled here at UMD, and has enjoyed being a part of the organization ever since. This group has been instrumental in his transition from active duty to being an effective student.
Michael Pappan (2022-2023 Scholar)
Michael Pappan is a returning senior pursuing his degree in aerospace engineering. He is a member of the Veteran Student Life team. He is actively involved in matching students to tutors in the STEM tutor program. Michael is also a mentor for BATTLE BUDDY program.
Joshua Mitchell (2020-2021 Scholar)
Joshua Mitchell is a senior undergraduate student seeking a degree in Aerospace Engineering. He was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland and he graduated from high school in 2013. He joined the United States Marine Corps on August 5th of that same year and served until August of 2017. During his time in the Marine Corps, Joshua worked as an infantryman, specializing as an Anti-Tank Missile Man. He has deployed to Okinawa, Japan and the Middle East. After his time at UMD, Joshua aspires to start working in the aerospace or defense industry while studying and conducting research in control theory.
How to Apply
For instructions on how to apply for the Joseph and Carolyn McKeon Endowed Scholarship, please contact our office at 301.314.4900 or at sagiving@umd.edu.