DoDEA Americas Students Military Child of the Year Semifinalists

Six students attending the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Americas region schools have advanced as semifinalists in Operation Homefront's 2020 Military Child of the Year Award program.

There were four students from Lejeune High School and two students from Brewster Middle School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina was selected. A total of ninety-five military children have advanced as semifinalists. In February, thirty-five finalists will be selected by a panel of judges chosen by Operation Homefront's senior leadership and Booz Allen Hamilton, a global technology and management consulting firm. The final seven award recipients will be announced in March and will travel to Washington, D.C. to be recognized at a gala on April 2, during which senior leaders from each branch of service will present the awards. They'll also each receive $10,000, a laptop, and other donated gifts.

Operation Homefront sponsors the Military Child of the Year program annually. The program recognizes seven outstanding young people ages 13 to 18. Six of them will represent a branch of the armed forces for their scholarship, volunteerism, leadership, extracurricular involvement, and other criteria while facing the challenges of military family life. The seventh award is the Military Child of the Year Award for Innovation.

The following are the 2020 Military Child of the Year Award semifinalists from Camp Lejeune:

Marine Corps

Lee Balderaz Jr., Lejeune High School	Niklas Cooper, Lejeune High School	Dean Fecteau, Lejeune High School
Abigail Paquin, Lejeune High School	Justin Skillings, Brewster Middle School	Iain Nicol, Brewster Middle School