Scholarship is ‘Extremely Helpful’

Frank Vizza served in the Navy for four years, the majority of which was spent as a corpsman at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia. He also served aboard the USS Dewey.

Vizza's family has a rich military history. His uncle and brother-in-law have served, as well as his grandfather, who served on the USS Hercules during World War II.

Now, Vizza is working on his Master of Social Work degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He says the VFW's "Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship" was "extremely helpful" in his pursuit of this degree.

Furthermore, this is not the first time Vizza has been awarded the scholarship - he previously received it in the spring of 2023 after learning about the program through the Military Veteran Services Center at UNLV.

The decision to pursue social work was based on Vizza's own experiences in the Navy.

"Being a corpsman, sometimes sailors would come in to vent their fears and frustrations due to their superiors," he said.

Once he graduates, Vizza plans to work as a resiliency counselor in the Navy's Fleet and Family Support Program. His goal is to "help service members who are struggling to help them get through difficult times," he says.

"Being in the military was an integral part of me and I want very much to be in that environment again and be in a position to help military," Vizza added.

Thanks to the scholarship, Vizza will be participating in a practicum this fall at U.S. VETS, Las Vegas, to learn about therapy provided to veterans.

"It means a lot to me to continue my mission," he concluded.

For more information on VFW's "Help A Hero Scholarship," visit https://www.VFW.org/Scholarships.

This article is featured in the 2024 July/August issue of VFW Checkpoint. This article was submitted by Natalie Goldman, a student at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland.

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