Foundaiton of the
United States Secret Service Association

The Trustees of the Foundation of the United States Secret Service Association are pleased to announce the Secret Service September 11th Scholarship Program.

September 11, 2001, was a date of historic importance to our nation and the Secret Service. Several hundred Secret Service personnel risked all to perform the Secret Service mission and keep our nation safe. It has been well documented that those who participated in the response or the recovery efforts to the 9/11 attacks in New York, Shanksville, PA, and the Pentagon were exposed to several toxins.

As of 2021, according to the National Institute of Health, cancer rates among responders in New York alone were 1000 times greater than the rest of the New York City population, with an expectation that the rate will continue to climb. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34550060/)

This scholarship program was initiated in order to support the children and grandchildren of those 9/11 USSS responders whose life expectancy has been diminished due to their exposure during their service to our nation.

The USSSA Member must have maintained USSSA membership for at least one consecutive year immediately prior to the application deadline.

Julie Cross was appointed a United States Secret Service Special Agent in 1979 at the San Diego Field Office. Her next assignment was in the Los Angles Field Office in 1980, when three days in, she died in the line of duty during a confrontation with two armed assailants during a counterfeit surveillance. Julie was the first female Secret Service Special Agent to be killed in the line of duty.

The Julie Cross Memorial Scholarship is open to women seeking a career in law enforcement or related field (undergrad or grad programs) who are friends or family of USSSA members.

In honor of a humble man and dedicated colleague, the Trustees of the Foundation of the United States Secret Service Association are pleased to announce the continuation of the Ron Shurer Memorial scholarship for the 2023-2024 school year.

Special Agent Ron Shurer was a man who lived a life of service. Upon graduation from college in early 2001, Ron planned to enter Marine OCS, but was rejected due to complications from a cycling accident he had as a teenager. He then decided to enter graduate school at Washington State University and was there during the attacks of September 11, 2001. Seeing how events were unfolding across the world, he again felt the call to service. He enlisted in the US Army in 2002 and went on to earn the coveted Green Beret as a Special Forces Medic.

During his second deployment to Afghanistan with 3rd Special Forces Group, he was involved in the Battle of Shok Valley on April 6, 2008. Ron fought his way up a mountain to get wounded teammates who had come under heavy enemy fire and provided medical treatment to many soldiers during the six-hour battle on the side of a sheer mountain. For his heroic efforts that day, he received the Silver Star, which was upgraded in 2018 to the Medal of Honor.

After leaving the military in 2009, Ron joined the United States Secret Service so he could continue to serve our country. Ron served as a Special Agent in the Phoenix Field Office before earning a sport on the Counter Assault Team, where he served from 2014 until he died due to cancer in 2020. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

In his own words: "I think everyone would benefit from finding some way to serve at some level - whether it's the military, law enforcement or just helping out in their communities. Everyone should be part of something bigger than themselves. I've been fortunate to find that service in the military and now the Secret Service."

Open to children (undergrad or voc/tec students) of a USSS employee who died while employed by the USSS, who were under the age of 18, or 18-23 and currently enrolled in school at the time of death. USSS employee did not have to be a USSSA Member at time of death.