Westover Alumna Receives Character Does Matter Scholarship

Julia Davis, a member of Westover School’s Class of 2013, has been awarded a Character Does Matter Scholarship by the Travis Manion Foundation in recognition of her outstanding community service. She was one of four students to receive their scholarships recently at the 2013 “If Not Me, Then Who …” Gala in Philadelphia.

As a community service representative during her senior year at Westover, Ms. Davis delivered a Character Does Matter presentation at a class meeting. In her presentation, she shared the story of her cousin Chief Petty Officer Brian R. Bill, a highly accomplished Navy SEAL from Stamford, his fallen SEAL teammates, and other troops killed in action with Bill on August 6, 2011, in Afghanistan.

Ms. Davis and her classmates later completed community service projects, creating and fundraising for care packages and letters to send to troops in Afghanistan, as well as a walk to support Multiple Sclerosis research and treatment.

A freshman at the University of Connecticut, Ms. Davis plans a career in the United States Navy. She is the daughter of Joanne and Thomas Davis, who reside in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown.

Headquartered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the Travis Manion Foundation is a qualified 501©(3) non-profit organization that was created in 2007 by the Manion family after 1st Lt. Travis Manion was killed in Fallujah, Iraq, as he drew enemy fire away from his wounded comrades. The Travis Manion Foundation empowers veterans and families of the fallen to achieve their goals and to help build a nation of heroes in which character, leadership, and service are in action every day.

Westover is a selective boarding and day school in Middlebury, Connecticut, with 205 students in grades 9-12 from 17 states and 20 countries. The School offers its students more than 20 Advanced Placement courses as well as signature programs in science, engineering, art history, and music.