Four Earn Folds of Honor Scholarships, Marking a Military Milestone for Moravian University

Four military-connected students at Moravian University received the Folds of Honor Scholarship this year. At the same time, Moravian’s military population has more than doubled in the past four years. 

As Moravian University’s military-connected student population continues to grow, so does the effort to ensure that those students have access to the financial support they deserve. For Tanya Nalesnik, Moravian’s director of Veteran and Military Services, that mission is paying off. 

For the 2025–26 academic year, four Moravian students received the Folds of Honor Scholarship, which covers educational costs for spouses or dependents of fallen or disabled service members and first responders around the nation. That’s up from previous years, when there was usually only one recipient per academic year at Moravian, says Nalesnik. 

“To jump to four is pretty impressive,” she says. “I have been pushing students to apply for scholarships as they are coming in and seeking alternative funding. Every opportunity matters to support our veterans and military-connected students.”

This year’s recipients—Kylie Dowd ’26, Adryel Singleton ’28, Ariana Tercero ’28, and Alexandria Vaux G’27—received a combined $8,500 toward their education at Moravian University. 

For those interested in applying for the Folds of Honor Scholarship for the 2026–27 academic year, applications are being accepted through March 31, via the Folds of Honor website. Recipients will be notified by the end of July. 

 “These opportunities have been fantastic résumé builders, and I feel a lot more confident in my ability to succeed in my postgraduate career.” 

Kylie Dowd ’26

For Dowd, an environmental science major with a minor in Spanish, the scholarship has expanded experiential learning opportunities. 

“Receiving this scholarship and honor has allowed me to feel more comfortable searching for and accepting unpaid research and educational opportunities that I might not have been able to accept if I hadn’t had this scholarship,” Dowd says. “These opportunities have been fantastic résumé builders, and I feel a lot more confident in my ability to succeed in my postgraduate career.” 

After graduation in May, Dowd hopes to continue on to graduate school, where she plans to study marine conservation. Her father is a veteran of the US Army and served during Desert Storm. 

“I applied for this scholarship because my dad worked so hard during his time in the military, and he has taken such good care of me, despite any hardships he faced after the military,” Dowd says. “I feel as though I owe it to him to work hard myself and apply for scholarships such as Folds of Honor.” 

Both of Singleton’s parents served in the US Army. He found out about the scholarship through Nalesnik, who encouraged him to apply. Singleton says Moravian’s military community is a close-knit group, which has helped him feel welcome on campus. 

“I have found that Tanya’s door is always open, literally and figuratively,” Singleton says. “From my experience here at Moravian, it’s clear that the military and veteran services provided should be something the university prides itself on. I have never felt unwelcome or bothersome in any way, which makes coming forward with issues and worries a lot easier.” 

The success of the scholarship at Moravian also mirrors a broader trend on campus. The university’s military population has more than doubled since the 2020–21 school year, growing from 74 students to 156 this year, Nalesnik says. The population includes veterans, members of the National Guard, and ROTC students. It also includes military-connected students, or those who have a spouse or parent who served in the military. 

Nalesnik has been at Moravian for two years, and while she can’t point to a single reason for the increase, she has made it a priority to educate students about funding opportunities available to them.

One option is Chapter 35, or the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) program. It provides up to 45 months of education and training benefits to eligible spouses and children of veterans who are disabled due to service-related conditions or who died on active duty, but the program doesn’t cover the full cost of a student’s tuition, Nalesnik says.

That’s where supplemental scholarships such as Folds of Honor come in. Identifying as military connected is a crucial first step. 

“We’ve had students in the past apply and not specify that they are military connected,” Nalesnik says. “When that happens, I don’t have the ability to step in and help them find these resources.” 

Moravian University is also a Yellow Ribbon school—an institution of higher education that partners with the Department of Veterans Affairs to help cover tuition costs for Post-9/11 GI Bill beneficiaries whose costs exceed the standard payment. 

For Nalesnik, the growth in Moravian’s military population and the success of scholarship applicants signals progress—one student, one application, and one opportunity at a time. —Christina Tatu

Ranked as the 39th Best College for Veterans in 2024 according to U.S. News & World Report, Moravian University is committed to providing access and support for veteran and military-connected students. Learn more at moravian.edu/veterans.