SSU's Jacquelynn Palazola Honored by Governor

The following was submitted by Gov. Patrick's Office.

Editor's Note: On Thursday, Gov. Patrick honored Jacquelynn Palazola, a student at , at the annual “29 Who Shine” Awards at the State House.

Jacquelynn Palazola

Beverly, MA

Communications major; biology minor

Jacquelynn Palazola combines exemplary academic achievement with public service, earning a degree while serving as an active member of the Air Force Reserves.

An outstanding Salem State University student with a 3.86 GPA, Jacquelynn has worked tirelessly to promote the needs of student veterans. She was the keynote speaker at the 2011 "Women are Veterans, Too" conference at the State House in Boston. She also interned last fall with the Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services (DVS), where she worked to establish a student veterans council that will assist the state in addressing the issues and concerns of student veterans. Jacquelynn continued working as a DVS volunteer on the project well after her internship through school had ended.

In fall 2011, the Chief's Council at Westover Air Force Base presented Jacquelynn a $500 scholarship for her award-winning essay, "What it means to be a member of the Air Force Reserves." She was honored as the Air Force Air Transportation Proficiency School’s distinguished graduate in spring 2010.

She was the only woman in her graduating class from the Air Force Fire Academy.

Jacquelynn was deployed to Iraq and the United Arab Emirates in response to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. As a military member and military spouse, she has been stationed across the globe and taken classes throughout the course of her travels.  She is only the second person in her family to go to college.

Jacquelynn has juggled military, civic and academic responsibilities with her duties as a mother. She gave birth to her second child just a week after spring classes ended at Salem State, and started one of her internships a few weeks later. Jacquelynn is a communications major with a concentration in public relations, and a minor in biology. She is slated for redeployment in September, 2012.