University of Maryland Veterans Housing Scholarship

Nhi Vu is currently a junior majoring in Information Systems.She’s the first in her family to attend college and to enlist in the military. Nhi is fascinated by how data travels around the world, how it is protected, and how it supports organizations globally.

Daniel Ruilova Rodriguez is a Junior at Maryland University. He is pursuing studies on a Bachelor of Public Health Science degree. Daniel is the first immigrant in his family to enlist in the U.S. Army and start college. His work as an Operating Room Specialist helped him to discover his love of medicine and motivated him to help those in need. Becoming an ER/Surgical Physician Assistant will help Daniel fulfill his ultimate dream of significantly impacting civilian and military communities. 

Gail Schnell is a US Army OEF/Afghanistan/Combat Veteran pursuing her EMBA. She is one of the founders and the President of the Warrior Canine Connection Club on campus. Warrior Canine Connection empowers and educates with a therapeutic mission of learning to train service dogs for Veterans. She is interested in global travel, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, and photography. 

Kat Robinson is a freelance horn player and music educator residing in the DMV metro area. Originally from Los Angeles, she is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Horn Performance at the University of Maryland, College Park. She first came to campus as a Masters student pursuing French Horn performance in 2018 and began a Doctorate of Musical Arts in French Horn performance in 2020, and is scheduled to graduate in Spring 2023 with her doctorate. 

She served as the Graduate Assistant Director with the Mighty Sound of Maryland Marching Band from 2019-2022. Kat also acted as a mentor and guide for new students admitted to the School of Music, as well as coaching undergraduates as they prepared to audition for grad school. 

Kat is a member of the US Army Reserves and currently serves as Principal Horn of the 300th Army Band. She performs in the Brass Quintet, Ceremonial Band, and Concert Band and was recently promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant. She currently serves as Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of coordinating logistics for performances and missions for the 300th Army Band. Throughout her thirteen years of service, she has given over 250 performances in parades, military ceremonies, recitals, concerts, and community events across the U.S. Southwestern region. 

Kat Robinson recently premiered Michael Poast’s Color Music Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, with TEMPO, UMD’s student-led new music ensemble. Kat also helped form Hornucopia, an all-female horn quartet composed of UMD graduate students. Hornucopia attended and performed at the 51st International Horn Symposium in Ghent, Belgium. As a freelance musician, she has performed with the Capital Wind Symphony, Capital City Symphony, the Washington Chamber Orchestra, Avanti Orchestra, Santa Barbara Symphony, the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, and Corona Symphony, among others. Finally, Kat's professional teaching career spans a diverse genre of ensembles; including teaching drum and bugle corps, high school marching bands, leading and coaching brass quintet, and teaching private lessons for high school and middle school aged students. 

Kat earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Horn Performance and Instrumental Music Education from California State University Long Beach, Bob Cole Conservatory. She is currently married to her partner Nat, who also serves as a trumpet player in the 300th Army Band, and they are pet parents of their dog, Kylo-Ren, and their cat, Rey.

Jesse Oseafiana is a senior at the University of Maryland. Other than being a scholarship recipient, Jesse is also a student leader with the Southern Management Leadership Program at UMD and also participates and assists in the African Student Association. Jesse’s goal is to graduate with a Computer Science degree, and find a career in DevOps, cyber security, or Software Engineering.

Jair Solis, a native of Texas, is a 3 year veteran of the US Army and is currently a senior majoring in Persian Studies and minoring in Global Terrorism. During his enlistment he served as a Persian linguist and later deployed to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor. He has an Associate's Degree in Persian-Farsi from the Defense Language Institute and hopes to continue his language coursework by studying abroad in Tajikistan this upcoming summer term. After completing his studies he is hoping to work for the Department of Defense in an agency that focuses in countering human trafficking.

Jerome Quenum is a transfer student to the University of Maryland. He is an electrical engineering major and a member of Phi Theta Kappa. Originally from Benin, West Africa, He moved to the United States in 2013. Throughout his journey, he was able to serve as a STEM ambassador, volunteering in middle school and high school engineering outreach programs. He also tutored in various Math and Science center to help fellow students improve their problem-solving skills. As a member of the Society of Physics Students, he presented at the 2015 meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers. He was the treasurer and the president of the Math Club at Montgomery College and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Club. He is currently the Secretary of the Engineering Student Council and the project chair of IEEE at the University of Maryland. As he is also currently serving the U.S. Army reserve, he is participating in the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at the University of Maryland in order to earn a commission as a second lieutenant upon graduation. After completing his bachelor's degree, he will continue serving in the US military while pursuing a doctorate degree in electrical engineering.

Matt Oudiber is an eight year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who started his PhD in Philosophy this fall. A father of two with a third on the way, Matt is married to a Navy veteran. Originally from Michigan (boo!), Matt was deployed five times during his career including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. At his undergraduate institution, Matt was the team leader for PAVE and has been an active volunteer with Disabled American Veterans.

Ryan Scott is currently serving as the TerpVets president while he works on a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology. He is an Army National Guard soldier and is a cadet of the Army ROTC unit here at Maryland. He is a certified personal trainer and a volunteer firefighter. He comes from a long line of veterans including both of his parents, both grandfathers, aunts, uncles and cousins!