| Hila Levy | |
|---|---|
First Lieutenant Hila Levy[note 1] First Puerto Rican awarded a Rhodes scholarship |
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| Born | December 10, 1986 (age 25) Guaynabo, Puerto Rico |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 2008 - present |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
First Lieutenant Hila Levy (born December 10, 1986) is an officer in the United States Air Force who made history in 2007 when she became the first Puerto Rican to be awarded a Rhodes scholarship.[1]
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Levy was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico where she received both her primary and secondary education. In 2004, Levy, who is Jewish,[2] graduated from Saint John’s School in San Juan, Puerto Rico with honors and was named the valedictorian of the Class of 2004 .[3] Levy, who joined the Puerto Rico Wing of the Civil Air Patrol in 2000, reached the rank of Cadet Colonel and was the CAP's National Cadet of the Year in 2004. According to her citation, she earned the award for her outstanding academic performance, strong leadership skills, well-rounded extracurricular activities, and positive community involvement.[4] Levy has stated that her experiences in the Civil Air Patrol served as an influential factor on her decision to apply for an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy and is quoted as saying:[5]
"Being a Civil Air Patrol cadet helped me get to the Air Force Academy and start my way on my dream of becoming an Air Force officer. As a cadet, I was able to help others who see me as a role model, and also find my own role models. I was able to help save lives, learn about and help my community and, basically, just become a better person all around."
Levy received an appointment to attend the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs in Colorado. As a Cadet 1st Class and member of Squadron 9, Levy was 1st in her class. She was among 28 cadets named Dean's Aces and who were honored for their academic achievements in the Fall semester of 2005 at the academy. Levy, who earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average, was one of five cadets that year to be named an Ace twice.[6] On May 28, 2008, Levy earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Biology with 3 foreign language minors: Arabic, French and Spanish. She finished as the top graduate, earning the Outstanding Cadet in the Order of Graduation Award and a spot on the academy's 100-year Honor Roll.[7] She received her Second Lieutenant's commission in the United States Air Force and awards from the Argentine Air Force and the Chilean Air Force for graduating first in her class during the US Air Force Academy Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony.[7]
In 2007, Levy became the first Puerto Rican and the 35th Academy cadet to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. She was awarded the scholarship for the District 13 of Colorado. The Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 under the terms and conditions of the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British born African colonial pioneer.[1]
Levy was planning on using the scholarship to obtain two masters degrees of one year each, the first a Master’s of Science in Global Health Science and the second a Master’s of Science in Medical Anthropology at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, however she was accepted to the Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) in Public Health program (a 3-year degree which grants Oxford's Ph.D. equivalent) starting September 2008, under Oxford's Department of Public Health with Prof. Harold Jaffe as her supervisor.[1]
Early in her first year at Oxford, she transferred to the History Faculty, where she obtained a Master of Studies in Historical Research in 2009 under military historian Dr. Robert Johnson, focusing on the formation of national armies in former French Equatorial Africa. Levy is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Biology at Oxford, focusing on the population genetics of humans in southern Africa (under Dr. Cristian Capelli) and of penguins in the South Atlantic (under Dr. Tom Hart of the Institute of Zoology in London). Levy started her follow-on assignment in September 2010.[8]
Levy joined two other Rhodes Scholarship winners from the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy making it the second consecutive year that the military academies claimed three of only 32 recipients in the United States.[1]
Levy is fluent in Italian, Portuguese, Hebrew, French and Spanish and has published numerous articles related to language in the military and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[1] During her spare time, she provides services as a freelance translator.[7] Levy was promoted to First Lieutenant on May 2010 and, in December of that year, she attended Air Force Intelligence Training at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX.
Levy was honored with a plaque that has her name, squadron name and graduation date, which has been placed in the ballroom balcony of the Academy's hall of honor. The plaque recognizes Levy as the top former CAP cadet in the Class of 2008.[7]
Among the Military and USAFA awards which First Lieutenant Hila Levy earned as a Cadet in the United States Air Force Academy are the following:
Badges
USAFA Badges (Worn only on cadet's uniform)