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NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
CENTRAL SECURITY SERVICE

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MARYLAND 20755-6000

NSA PRESS RELEASE
22 Oct 2009
For further information contact:
NSA Public and Media Affairs, 301-688-6524

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NSA RECEIVES HIGHEST HONOR FROM INDEPENDENT COLLEGE FUND

The National Security Agency (NSA) accepted the Independent College Fund (I- Fund) of Maryland’s highest honor, the Leadership Award, at the "Evening of Excellence," ceremony held at The Belvedere in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 21. NSA received the award for its central and vital role in the I-Fund’s National Security Scholars Program (NSSP), a program that awards scholarships to students attending its 10 colleges and universities in Maryland.

The Leadership Award is given annually to an individual or organization whose leadership efforts made an extraordinary difference in Maryland. In the past year, NSA, one of the largest employers in Maryland, demonstrated its commitment to quality of independent higher education, a key criterion for the award, by contributing $45,000 to the I-Fund’s NSSP.

Each year 10 "NSA Leadership Scholars" are handpicked by their respective college presidents after a screening and interview process. The scholars receive $5,000 scholarships after they receive their security clearances. Many of the scholars seek opportunities for paid internships with private industry and government partners, such as NSA. Students who qualify for the NSSP typically major in accounting, engineering, computer science, history, information systems, languages, mathematics, physics, economics, and political science. While most of these students take their skills into industry after graduation, NSA’s hope is that they bring their knowledge to the Agency.

Last year’s Leadership Award recipient, Chet Burrell, CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, presented the award to NSA’s Jonathan Miller, deputy associate director of human resources. The ceremony will air on CNN in the near future.

Contacts:

For more information, please contact NSA Media and Public Affairs at nsapao@nsa.gov.