Rebecca Berndt receives History Department Presidential Scholar Award

Rebecca Berndt, a WMU History Department student, received the Presidential Scholar award in History at the 25th Presidential Scholars Convocation on March 22, 2005.

Perseverance and service have been hallmarks of Rebecca's personal and academic life. She was a standout on her high school cross-country and track teams, despite an accident in which she fractured a vertebra and broke her back in five places. After high school, this nontraditional-age student from Dorr, Michigan, joined the Army reserves and headed to boot camp. When Rebecca returned to civilian life, she worked in a deli and grocery store for a year, then completed the final phase of her military training as a combat medic, receiving an EMT degree with honors. She enrolled at WMU to become a history teacher, earning several academic honors along the way. Rebecca was scheduled to graduate in 2004, but was sent to Afghanistan as a medic for nine months and will receive her diploma in April.