Two Culver Academies rowers have been awarded a scholarship honoring Culver Military Academy graduate and Marine 1st Lt. Andrew K. Stern '98, who was killed in Iraq in 2004 while shielding fellow Marines from an incoming improvised explosive device.
Culver Girls Academy senior Logan Brabant (Pleasanton, CA) and CMA first classman Grant Price (Noblesville, IN) were named recipients of the 1st Lt. Andrew K. Stern Scholarship and Rowing Award.
The scholarship and rowing awards are presented annually to a senior and a first classman on the rowing team who best exemplify five character traits Stern demonstrated throughout his life: dedication, integrity, honesty, respect and joyfulness.
Stern was a four-year Culver cadet in Battery C, served as Artillery battalion commander and was a four-year rower and co-captain of Culver's crew team his senior year.
After graduating from Culver, Stern studied, rowed and coached at the University of Tennessee. Upon graduation in 2002, Stern was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps.
On Sept. 16, 2004, Stern was killed in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, after positioning his tank between an incoming improvised explosive device and a road construction platoon, shielding his fellow Marines from the blast at the cost of his own life. He was 24 years old.
The awards were presented during the annual Andrew Stern Memorial Service Ceremony on Sept. 16, where members of the Culver rowing teams gathered to remember Stern's life and legacy.
Coach Nathan Walker said Price exemplifies Stern's legacy through quiet strength, selflessness and purpose across campus.
Price serves as Second-in-Command of Battery A and Battalion Head Cannoneer, while also mentoring underclassmen.
"He brings an unfailing, contagious positivity," Walker said. "He lifts up his teammates, regardless of boat or class year, embodying the dedication, integrity and joyfulness that defined Andrew Stern."
Coach Kerry Hassall said Brabant embodies all of these qualities in a way that has made a lasting impact on the team.
"She does what she believes is right, and she holds herself and those around her to a high standard," Hassall said. "She sets the example through her own actions, and she understands that leadership is about more than a title. It's an act of service and it's about the people she leads."
Walker also reflected on how Stern's legacy continues to connect with the rowers who know him only through stories.
"Andrew just isn't a name in a speech. He's a real cadet that lived your lives. That walked Culver's campus. That had the same fears and dreams that you have right now. He tore open blisters when he was rowing out on Lake Max. He came in and consoled his fellow teammates. He had highs and lows with this sport," Walker said. "As we're going out there today and through the rest of the week, and having these moments together in practices, remember that. Let's live that and let's experience the whole breadth of this wonderful existence that he himself loved."
