Broadneck Student Heads To Bootcamp With Candice Antwine Award

Ana Rosas, a graduating senior from Broadneck High School, is going on the adventure of a lifetime and she couldn’t be happier.

She is the cadet chief petty officer in her Junior Navy ROTC unit at Annapolis High School as part of a magnet program that accepts students from other schools across the county. Rosas also serves as head unit translator, supply lead officer, and recruiting officer, and she will soon enter 10 weeks of Army training bootcamp, followed by up to another 10 weeks of personal training.

To help ease the burden of personal expenses during this time, Rosas will have a $1,500 scholarship from the Candace C.W. Antwine Military Service Award.

“I was at work when I received the call that I had won the scholarship. I was so excited, but I had to keep it together,” Rosas recalled. “During my break, it really hit me, and I just started uncontrollably crying. I think the award was acknowledgement that (going into the Army) was really happening and that I was on the right path.”

The caller delivering the good news was Board of Education (BOE) member Dana Schallheim, who represents District 5. Schallheim was a friend and colleague of Antwine, who died in 2021.

“Ana’s commitment to serving others is truly inspiring,” said Schallheim, noting that Rosas is the eldest child of Mexican emigrants and the first in her family to graduate from high school. “The honor she learned from her parents and her courageousness to enter military services will set her up wonderfully for a lifetime of service to others and her country.”

The Army will provide Rosas a bootcamp stipend, but the military does not cover all expenses. The Candace C.W. Antwine Military Service Award, established in 2022, assists awardees with initial expenses related to enlisting, including basic training supplies, and aims to remove financial barriers to military service.

Schallheim remembers Antwine as a deeply committed voice for children in need and for military families throughout Anne Arundel County. The BOE established the Candace C.W. Antwine Military Service Award to continue her lifetime of service to her country and community.

“Elevating our students who elect to enlist to serve our country in the military after graduation is just as important as recognizing our students who choose college or a trade school, yet the Candace C.W. Antwine Military Service Award (may be) the only award of its type in the country,” Schallheim said when the inaugural award was announced in 2022. “Our job is to set our students up for success no matter the path they select after graduation.”

Military service has been a goal of Rosas since she was a young girl. She vividly remembers seeing her Marine cousin, Polo Cariño, in uniform for the first time and experiencing with the entire family the sheer joy and pride of his military service career choice.

For the last three years Rosas has been part of an ROTC unit at Annapolis High School. She feels the guidance and support she received there only solidified her desire to serve in the U.S. military.

“I love my unit, and I am going to miss them so much,” Rosas added. “I’ve grown so much personally, (and) learned morals, ethics and camaraderie. This is something I want for the rest of my life in the Army.”

Rosas learned of the Candice Antwine award through Commander Eddie Lusane. She relied on his guidance, along with Chief Eric Watson and Pamela Fica, a Broadneck High School guidance counselor, because as the eldest child, neither she nor her parents knew about the recruitment or scholarship processes.

She is not afraid of hard work and has learned determination from her parents, who started their own masonry construction company. It’s probably not a coincidence that her ASVAB score (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a standardized test that reveals areas of strength or ability in language, science and math) determined her top strengths would be as a horizontal construction engineer, mechanic or medical logistic specialist.

“I love this country and appreciate having the opportunities that I had and will have with the option to take risks,” Rosas said. “I don’t take that for granted because I know a lot of children don’t have what I do.”

Rosas is the oldest of Ana Alberto and Guillermo Rosas’ four children. They reside in Arnold.

The Candace C.W. Antwine Military Service Award is made possible solely by the generosity of the community. Donations of any amount can be made at www.antwine.givesmart.com.