Massapequa Student Earns Coveted Military Scholarship

MASSAPEQUA, NY — Massapequa High School senior Michael Augello has two strong interests: serving his country and getting a college education. Thanks to a grant from the United States Marine Corps, he will get to do both.

Augello received a full scholarship, valued at $180,000, to attend San Diego State University in the fall while also learning to become a military officer. He was presented with his NROTC scholarship by Staff Sgt. Diego Albino, from the Marine Corps recruiting station in Hicksville, during a small ceremony outside of the school on June 10. Augello was joined by family members as well as Principal Barbara Lowell and guidance counselors Tracy Munson and Matt McCauley.

“It’s very competitive,” Staff Sgt. Albino said of the scholarship, which only about 10 students in New York received this year. “A lot of people apply for it; few get it.”

To be eligible, Augello had to score at least 1000 on his SATs and 74 on the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery. He also had to get letters of recommendation, write an essay and take a physical fitness test, which consisted of a timed three-mile run and completing as many crunches and pull-ups as he could in three minutes. In an interview, he was asked questions about integrity and leadership.

On June 25, just four days after graduating from Massapequa High School, Augello will leave for one month of military training in Great Lakes, Illinois. After a few weeks back at home, he will head to San Diego in mid-August. While he will mostly live the next four years as a regular college student, Augello will have military obligations including special courses and a few nights of training every week. Each summer he will also spend three weeks at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.

“I always wanted to be in the military,” he said. “I have a love for my country and I want to serve for something greater than myself. To be able to go to college on a full scholarship and be able to serve my country is one of the greatest accomplishments, if not the greatest accomplishment, of my life.”

When Augello graduates in four years, he will be a second lieutenant and assume a leadership role in the Marines. At San Diego, he will major in criminal justice with the hope of becoming a lawyer for the Marine Corps in the future.

Augello already has a head start, having taken the law classes offered at Massapequa High School and participating in the annual Law Day event featuring mock court cases. He was also a member of the varsity wrestling team from eighth through 10th grade, and has worked at Calda Pizza since ninth grade. His education began in kindergarten at Birch Lane Elementary School.

One aspect about joining the Marine Corps that particularly stands out for Augello is the ability to see the world. He is especially interested in traveling to Japan.