TUCSON, Ariz. – Elle Rubner, a Catalina Foothills High School senior in Tucson, Ariz., is an intelligent and determined young woman who fully embraces the core values of the Marine Corps, making her a deserved recipient of the $180,000 Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Scholarship, said Marine Capt. Jeffrey Arroyo, the NROTC Program scholarship manager for the state of Arizona.
Arroyo, who is also the executive officer of Marine Corps Recruiting Station Phoenix, will present Rubner with her scholarship May 17 at Recruiting Substation Tucson. Rubner was nominated and selected based on her commitment to the classroom, her community and to physical fitness.
The Marine Corps NROTC scholarship program determines its recipients during two nationally competitive selection periods each year.
This fall, Rubner will be attending Rutgers University in Newark, N.J., where she plans to study cardiology while being actively involved with the university’s NROTC program. During the summer of her junior year she will attend the Marine Officer Candidates Course, return to school to complete her degree, and then receive her commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marines.
Rubner said she loves to be challenged and holds herself to a higher standard than her peers, and has long desired to serve in the military.
“I am determined to be a Marine because of what the Marine Corps stands for,” she said. “I want to be a part of the finest military organization in the world.”
The scholarship program was established in 1932. It came into existence to develop young men and women morally, mentally, and physically, and to instill in them the highest ideals of honor, courage, and commitment. The program educates and trains young men and women for leadership positions in an increasingly technical Marine Corps.
Excelling academically throughout her high school career, Rubner was an honor roll student every semester. She achieved an overall 3.73 GPA and a 1280 combined math and reading score on the SAT, all while taking a full curriculum of advanced placement courses.
Outside the classroom, Rubner plays the alto sax and clarinet. She was a member of her high school band all four years, during which she helped coordinate multiple trips to Hawaii and one to Australia.
Additionally, Rubner was the team manager for her high school wrestling team, a co-founder of a marksmanship program within her local Girl Scouts, and actively involved in a variety of volunteer community service programs.
In all she accumulated more than 150 hours of community service and volunteer work, in addition to being a certified personal trainer at LA Fitness 10-15 hours a week.
As an active athlete throughout high school, Rubner played varsity softball, ran track and field, and did Muay Thai boxing and Jujitsu.
Rubner demonstrated her level of physical fitness in taking the Marine Corps’ physical fitness test, in which she ran three miles in 21 minutes, 37 seconds, completed 91 crunches in two minutes, and a flexed arm hang for 70 seconds. Her combined score was 287 out of 300, which is a 1st class score by Marine standards.
“Elle is a strong, decisive, and capable leader who exudes confidence and command presence,” said Arroyo. “She possesses an outstanding military appearance and bearing, and is going to be successful in whatever occupation she pursues, both in the military and in society.”
For more information about the Marine Corps NROTC scholarship program, visit http://www.marines.com/becoming-a-marine/commissioning-programs/four-year-colleges/nrotc.