West Point Graduate to Address Class of 2023 for Lawnside Scholarship Club
Saturday, May 27, 2023
LAWNSIDE, New Jersey (May 25, 2023) -- Jasmine Walker Motupalli, the only Lawnside woman appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, will speak virtually during the Lawnside Scholarship Club’s 2023 Salute to Graduating Seniors Awards Celebration, June 3, at 6 p.m. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube.com/@
The 2002 alumna of Haddon Heights High School was the highest ranking Lawnside graduate and received the Scholarship Club’s top award in that year. Her talk will touch on her commitment after 9/11, Lawnside and her military career.
Now based in Colorado, she considers Lawnside her hometown even though life and the military have taken her all over the world. She praised the borough’s people and has supported the Club.
“The way the community rallies behind its children, particularly as they transition into adulthood, is nothing short of inspirational. Having been on the receiving end of that support 20 years ago, I can say it’s invaluable,” she said.
Major Motupalli graduated from West Point in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in operations research and was commissioned a second lieutenant as an Army intelligence officer. After retiring from the military, she worked in a variety of data analysis roles and recently founded the Data Love Co., a customer intelligence consulting firm.
Her numerous awards include the prestigious General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal and Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Medals.
She returned to her alma mater as assistant professor of Systems Engineering and also worked as associate director of its Center for Leadership in Diversity and STEM. As a volunteer, she serves on the board of the Minority Business Advisory Council of Denver, the board of the Colorado Department of Veterans and Military Affairs and has worked on the problem of homelessness among veterans.
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The Lawnside Scholarship Club is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization that provides intellectual encouragement by presenting scholarships to Lawnside graduating seniors and administering awards for community groups. It was founded in 1945 when it gave a $50 scholarship. Today, it awards more than $14,000 annually.