Hailey Clark

McDaniel College
2 College Hill
Westminster, MD 21157
717-608-7836
hnc001@mcdaniel.edu
19 February 2015
Dear Mr. William Chapman and Mrs. Lucy Grace Chapman,
Hello Mr. and Mrs. Chapman! My name is Hailey Clark, and I am currently a freshman at
McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. I would like to take some time to thank you
personally for granting me The William P. Grace Memorial Scholarship Fund and tell you a little
bit about myself.
I am an alumna of Cedar Cliff High School located in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, and I
could not be happier to be at McDaniel currently! I come from a large family in a small town, so
McDaniels small campus feels like home to me. Choosing McDaniel was easy, but the process
was definitely an interesting one!
I started looking for colleges my sophomore year of high school - I am a first generation
college student, so my parents and I wanted to prepare as early as possible. At the time, I was
enrolled in my high schools junior reserve officer training corps program, or JROTC, and I
knew I wanted to join the military. My Army Instructor, Colonel Frank Hancock, wanted me to
go to West Point, and at first, I thought I wanted that too. However, I continued to look at seven
other colleges for the next year or so based on which colleges had my intended major, molecular
biology and genetics. I finally found McDaniel, and once I visited campus, I fell in love.
Up to and slightly beyond this point in my college search, I had not considered ROTC. It
was not until my senior year of high school when I finally realized that ROTC would be the
perfect balance of military and education. Reflecting on the colleges I had visited, I was
disappointed because I did not think that McDaniel had an ROTC program. I could not have
been more wrong! Not only is there an amazing ROTC program, but McDaniel is also the host
school for the area. The campus, the professors, the atmosphere - it was exactly what I was
looking for in a college, and exactly what I needed.
Since coming to McDaniel, I have become very active with the ROTC program, piano
lessons, the Rotaract Club, and I am also a member and leader on the Relay for Life committee. I
am currently taking jazz piano lessons, and they are so exciting! Ive only taken classical lessons
growing up, so taking jazz piano lessons is not only new and exciting, but I love that I can
further my musical education as well. I was one of the founding members of the Rotaract Club
this past semester, and I am currently in the process of pitching my own ideas for community
service on a local level. As for the Relay for Life committee, I am one of three people in charge
of the luminaria, which is an important and symbolic piece of the event. It holds much meaning
for me personally, and I am proud to be a part of it.

Once I graduate, I will commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army with
a degree in molecular biology, and I am so excited. I hope that my experiences in college as a
part of both the civilian student body and as a cadet among the ROTC family will make me a
great soldier. Earning The William P. Grace Memorial Scholarship Fund has alleviated some of
my financial struggle when coming to college, and I could not be more grateful. I would like to
personally thank you for assisting me on this journey, because not only will it help me through
college, but the effects will extend far beyond my college graduation.
Sincerely,

Hailey N. Clark