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Military Child of the Year® Award

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Military Child of the Year® 2020 Semifinalists

By Operation Homefront

January 14, 2020

Ninety-five military children have advanced as semifinalists in Operation Homefront’s 2020 Military Child of the Year® Award program

This year marks the 12th anniversary of this special event as the nation’s premier celebration of the achievements of America’s military children, reflecting the positive impact they’ve made on their families, schools, and communities. The Military Child of the Year® Award is a lifelong source of pride for the recipients. Participating in the program provides them with amazing opportunities to meet senior military leaders, elected officials, celebrities, and other remarkable military children.

The following are all the 2020 Military Child of the Year® Award semifinalists by service branch. Semifinalists for the 2020 Military Child of the Year® Award for Innovation are also designated:

Army

Jonathan Bailon, 17, Corpus Christi, Texas

Abigail Birano, 16, Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

Jordan Daugherty, 18, Alexandria, Va. Daugherty is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Military Child of the Year Award for Innovation.

Lauryn Dixon, 17, Cabot, Ark.

Peyton Faulk, 17, Lansing, Kan.

Coralynn Fisher, 14, Stafford, Va.

Ashley Gorrell, 16, Fort Polk, La.

Morgan Kim, 15, Richmond Hill, Ga.

Fionnuala Mahoney, 18, Bethesda, Md.

Amara Park, 18, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Olivia Starz, 16, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Austin Theroux, 17, Cranston, R.I.

Anna Torres, 16, Fort Riley, Kan.

Anna Turlington, 16, Cecilia, Ky.

Devin Woods, 17, Bel Air, Md.

Marine Corps

Aubriannah Aittama, 14, New Bern, N.C.

Lee Balderaz Jr., 17, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Niklas Cooper, 16, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Dean Fecteau, 18, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Hunter Galvin, 17, Holly Ridge, N.C.

Clyde Harris, 17, Oceanside, Ca.

Payton Jeffers, 17, Holly Ridge, N.C.

Harmony Jones, 14, East Garrison, Calif.

Jason Morrison II, 17, Maysville, N.C.

Iain Nicol, 13, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Abigail Paquin, 17, Tarawa Terrace, N.C.

Ethan Perdew, 17, MCAS Iwakuni, Japan

Gabrielle Ryder, 17, Smithsburg, Md. Ryder is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Military Child of the Year Award for Innovation.

Justin Skillings, 13, Tarawa Terrace, N.C.

Michayla Wittner, 16, Jacksonville, N.C.

Navy

Michael Archie, 18, Pensacola, Fla.

Catherine Besachio, 17, Norfolk, Va.

Danielle Bilotta, 18, Albuquerque, N.M.

Chloe Cullen, 17, Petaluma, Calif. Cullen is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Military Child of the Year Award for Innovation

Logan DeLisle, 17, Beavercreek, Ohio

Nai’a Freeman, 17, Cathlamet, Wash.

Wester Gapasangra, 16, Honolulu, Hawaii

Sawyer Getschman, 17, RAF Molesworth, England

John Grady, 18, Chula Vista, Calif.

Jalen Hines, 17, St Johns, Fla.

Kaitlin Howard, 16, MCAS Iwakuni, Japan

Kainath Kamil, 16, Oceanside, Calif. Kamil is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Military Child of the Year Award for Innovation

Katherine Kennedy, 17, Crozet, Va.

Miryam Smith, 17, Virginia Beach, Va.

Lauryn Williams, 18, St Johns, Fla.

Air Force

Lance Almand, 16, Southlake, Texas

Kabryni Bruening, 17, Sembach, Germany

Audrey Camper, 15, Talofofo, Guam

Marina Cardoso, 15, Minot AFB, N.D.

Jessop Collins, 17, Bedford, Mass.

Brianna Cooley, 14, Bossier City, La.

Taylor Curro, 17, Carrollton, Va.

Merideth Curwen, 17, Tokyo, Japan

Samantha Grab, 18, O’Fallon, Ill.

Rachel Kent, 18, Ramstein Air Base, Germany

Jordyn McNeal, 13, Apollo Beach, Fla.

Taylor Sandlin, 17, Cedar Park, Texas

Jacob Taylor, 17, Tucson, Ariz.

Brian Thompson, 17, Bel Air, Md.

Stephen Wolf, 13, Xenia, Ohio

Coast Guard

Alexis Blyth, 18, Santa Rita, Guam

Liam Cooper, 17, Port Jefferson, N.Y.

Pierce Corson, 17, Virginia Beach, Va.

Jade Davis, 16, Alexandria, Va.

Callie Graziani, 17, Virginia Beach, Va.

Ethan Hunt, 18, Key West, Fla.

Veronica Kavanaght, 16, Orlando, Fla.

John (Jack) Kennedy, 17, Grangeville, Idaho

Kimberly Locke, 17, La Plata, Md.

Hennessy Martinez, 17, San Deigo, Calif.

Kaytlyn Meyer, 17, Owensboro, Ky.

Evelyn Nutt, 16, Ketchikan, Alaska

Tucker Pullen, 17, Bahrain

Tyler Schultz, 17, Forestdale, Mass.

Giavanna Vinciguerra, 14, Palmetto Bay, Fla.

National Guard

Logan Carter, 18, Clinton, Mo.

Bethany Chacon, 17, Albuquerque, N.M.

James Chattaway, 13, Stanton, Calif.

Olivia Chiancone, 17, Winterville, N.C.

Easton Christainsen, 16, Pleasant Grove, Utah

Maya Faulds, 16, Barnegat, N.J.

Victoria Fillipi, 18, Anthon, Iowa

Hannah Grau, 14, Virginia Beach, Va.

Anna Harris, 18, Warrior, Ala.

Audrey Hartgraves, 14, League City, Texas

Gavin Holland, 18, White House, Tenn.

Kristina Lee, 18, Galion, Ohio

Maycie Madsen, 18, Richfield, Utah

Allison Roper, 16, Morganton, N.C. Roper is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Military Child of the Year Award for Innovation

Noah Sherman, 17, Acworth, Ga.

Military Child of the Year® Award for Innovation

Shaylee Barber, 17, Clinton, Utah, Air Force

Chloe Cullen, 17, Petaluma, Calif., Navy

Jordan Daughterty, 18, Alexandria, Va., Army

Denitsa Dimitrova, 17, Virginia Beach, Va., Army

Kainath Kamil, 16, Oceanside, Calif., Navy

Hannah Lipschutz, 17, Charleston, S.C., National Guard

Kaileen Myers, 17, Virginia Beach, Va., Navy

Clairissa Nivens, 17, Chillicothe, Mo., National Guard

Allison Roper, 16, Morganton, N.C., National Guard

Gabrielle Ryder, 17, Smithsburg, Md., Marine Corps

Thirty-five finalists will be selected in February 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.

Six Military Child of the Year® Award recipients will represent each branch of the armed forces — the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and National Guard — 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 presented by Booz Allen Hamilton. This award goes to a military child who has designed a bold and creative solution to address a local, regional, or global challenge. The Military Child of the Year Award for Innovation recipient will work directly with a team at the BAH firm, developing a plan to help scale the recipient’s project — drawing on technology and strategic thinking.

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