WEST POINT DUO NAMED GATES SCHOLARS – Feb. 10, 2009

WEST POINT, N.Y. –Senior Jon Chachula and 2nd Lt. Zachary Watson were named Gates Scholars today.  West Point has had 12 Gates scholars named since the program began in 2001.

The Gates Cambridge Trust awarded 37 scholarships to American students to pursue Masters or Ph. D. degrees at the University of Cambridge from October 2009.

For the October 2009 entry, 752 students from the United States applied for a Gates and 101 were shortlisted and attended an interview.

Chachula, of Dayton, Ohio, is an International Relations and Spanish double major.  He plans on reading for a Masters in Philosophy in International Relations at Cambridge.  The future Infantry officer is an avid endurance sport participant and has, since his time at West Point visited 15 countries on three continents.

Watson, a 2008 West Point graduate, just completed his Military Intelligence Basic Officer’s Leadership Course at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and has been assigned as a Platoon Leader and Assistant Intelligence Officer for the 357th Air and Missile Defense Detachment in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

The former Economics and Arabic major will study toward a Masters in Philosophy in Economics at Cambridge.  Watson, of Colleyville, Texas, led the first Study Abroad program to the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

About West Point
West Point, The U.S. Military Academy, is a four-year co-educational federal undergraduate liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. The world's preeminent leader development institution, it was founded in 1802 as America's first college of engineering. Its mission remains constant-to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army. For more information, go to www.westpoint.edu