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                         April 26, 2002

Three cadets named East-West Center Fellows

Story and photos by Jim Fox
Staff Writer

The East-West Center at the University of Hawaii named three members of the U.S. Military Academy’s Bicentennial Class as East-West Graduate Degree Fellows April 1.

Cadets 1st Class David Chang, John Finch and Kent Justice are the 14th, 15th and 16th cadets selected since the academy started nominating cadets for the honor in 1990.

Two of them will begin working on master’s degrees at the University of Hawaii during the 2002-2003 academic year in August.

Finch hails from Lawrence, Kan. and is a Chinese and East Asian Studies major here.

The 22-year-old future military intelligence officer will attend the Center for Chinese Studies at UH where he will pursue a master’s degree in Chinese anthropology, politics and language.

Finch, who also enjoys playing guitar and enjoys weight-lifting in his spare time, said he was pretty excited to learn he had won right after returning from spring break.

"It was a nice surprise," the current 2nd Regiment supply officer said. "I’m not all that smart or much of a physical specimen," Finch said, "so I couldn’t have earned the scholarship without help from my classmates, especially in my company, my teachers here at the academy and my parents. Everyone has been supportive since day one."

Finch plans on attending his officer basic course at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. in the summer of 2004.

Chang said he felt honored to be chosen as an East-West Fellow.

"It is a great feeling knowing that I will not only be getting an education for myself, but for the Army as well," the future military intelligence officer said.

The Sacramento, Calif. native, like Finch, will also attend his officer basic course at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. during the summer of 2004.

Chang hopes to some day use his East-West studies as a Foreign Area Officer.

"I foresee Asia having an important role in the future and I would like to use my language skills," to help his country the cadet brigade information systems officer said.

The future military intelligence officer from Mesquite, Texas, will study Urban and Regional planning during his two

years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

"I feel very honored and fortunate," Justice said about being selected as an East-West Fellow.

"I know it is not common for a West Point graduate to directly enter graduate studies. However, I hope to take full advantage of this opportunity."

The current academic officer for cadet company G-1 said he would likely request Korea as his first duty assignment.

"I hope that the interaction with Asian scholars and the education itself will qualify me someday to act as a Foreign Area Officer for a nation in East Asia," Justice said.

Justice will delay his entry to UH until January 2003 while he attends Ranger School and Airborne School this summer. He expects to attend his officer basic course at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. in January 2005.

The Eisenhower Administration and Congress founded the East-West Center through bipartisan effort in 1960 to serve as a national education and research institution, according to the center’s Web site.

The East-West Center "works to promote better relations and understanding between the United States and the nations and peoples of Asia and the Pacific through cooperative study, training and research."

Principal funding for the public, non-profit institution comes from the U.S. government, but individuals, private agencies, corporations and more than 20 governments from Asia and the Pacific provide additional support. Originally part of the University of Hawaii, the center became an independent institution in 1975 with an international board of governors.