Academy cadet earns scholarship to study at Oxford

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Cortchie Welch
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) --  A U.S. Air Force Academy cadet recently earned a top-level scholarship to Exeter College at Oxford University in England for two years of graduate study.

Cadet 1st Class Bradford Waldie garnered the Alberta Bart Holaday Scholarship and will study abroad to earn a master's degree in philosophy in development studies after he graduates from the Academy in May.

"The Holaday Scholarship is one of the greatest honors I've received in my entire life," said Cadet Waldie, a foreign area studies and humanities double major. "The scholarship has been and will continue to be one of the most beneficial and significant contributions made to the cadet wing."

"The scholarship and Mr. Holaday's example of generosity deepened my desire to spend my life in service to others," Cadet Waldie said. "Since my sophomore year I hoped to someday study at Oxford and the Holaday scholarship will allow me to fulfill that dream."

Dr. Kenneth Lavin, the Academy's director of Graduate Studies Programs, said Cadet Waldie is a top scholar and very engaged in the world.

"Cadet Waldie will be one of the top leaders of the Air Force in the future who will have a tremendous impact in shaping our force," Doctor Lavin said.

The cadet's area of study will include a combination of history, economics, politics and anthropology in an effort to understand the process of change and managing change in developing countries.

"I see a growing need for officers who understand how to encourage stability and development in third world nations," he said. "Oxford's development studies program is, in my opinion, the best program in the world to gain that knowledge and experience."

Cadet Waldie said the scholarship will help him gain the understanding and experience he needs to help transform future military operations. After graduate school, Cadet Waldie said he plans to attend pilot training.

"In the long term, I would like to eventually serve as a defense attaché in either the Chinese Embassy or an embassy in sub-Saharan Africa," said Cadet Waldie, also a Truman Scholarship recipient. "I can only hope that the knowledge and experience I gain at Oxford will enable me to someday provide opportunities to others as well."

The Holaday Scholarship is an annual scholarship that allows one cadet who competes for, but does not receive, a Rhodes Scholarship, to do graduate work at Oxford. The scholarship funds two years of graduate study for a master's degree in any field.

Bart Holaday and his wife, Lynn, established the scholarship in honor of his mom. Mr. Holaday is a 1965 graduate of the Academy.