The Tailhook Educational Foundation
2021 Scholarships
The Tailhook Educational Foundation (TEF) is a California based 501(C)3 nonprofit organization. TEF’s charter is to educate the public on United States Navy carrier aviation and its importance to our country's national security.
TEF awards over 100 scholarships annually averaging more than $3,000 per grant with our top grant awarded at $15,000 per year. A number of our TEF grants are awarded to students pursuing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math) curriculum. All TEF grants assist Naval Aviation legacy undergraduate students obtain a higher education.
TEF scholarships are only made possible by the continued generosity of our individual and organizational donors. All donations to TEF are deductible as charitable contributions.
The TEF Tax ID is: 33-00487778
In 2021, TEF awarded 116 scholarships to our best and brightest Naval Aviation legacy students.
2021 Scholarships
Alphabetical Order
STAR SCHOLARSHIP, No. 7
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Abigail Powers
Papillion, NE
Creighton University
Sponsored by
Anonymous Donor
CDR CHUCK SWEENEY SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Aidan Walz
Arlington, VA
Harvard College
Sponsored by
Tailhook
LCDR DAVID WOOSTER ‘WOOT’ TAYLOR JR. MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Ainsley Warren
Sandy, UT
Southern Utah University
Sponsored by
His son, CAPT David Wooster Thornhill, USNR(Ret)
THE RAYTHEON COMPANY SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Alexander Ballinger
Leesburg, VA
University of Virginia
Sponsored by
The Raytheon Company
BATTLE OF MIDWAY SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Alexandra Richmond
Kingwood, TX
Oxford College
Sponsored by
Anonymous donor and Tailhook
CVW-2 SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Alvino Castro
Oak Harbor, WA
University of Idaho
Sponsored by
All of Carrier Air Wing Two
USS MIDWAY (CV-41) FOUNDATION; FREEDOM ISN’T FREE SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Andrew Borgie
Coronado, CA
University of Notre Dame
Sponsored by
The USS Midway Foundation
BAE SYSTEMS SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Andrew Kessler
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sponsored by
BAE Electronics
GOLD STAR 3
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Avery Carpenter
Oakton, VA
James Madison University
Sponsored by
Tailhook
STAR SCHOLARSHIP, No. 4
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Avery Smith
Charlotte, NC
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Sponsored by
Anonymous Donor
Captain JEFF ‘KOOCH’ KUSS, BLUE ANGELS, MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Benjamin Davis
La Jolla, CA
University of California, Berkley
Sponsored by
Jon R. Winthrop, Chairman and CEO, The Air Group, Inc., Van Nuys, California
JUNIOR OFFICERS: TIP OF THE SPEAR SCHOLARSHIP
1st Time Scholarship Awardee
Brady Bourgoyne
Humble, TX
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Sponsored by
The 2014 Tailhook reunion attendees
