2026 Annelle M. Martell Order of the Sea Turtle Scholarship

This Scholarship was set up to honor Annelle Martell’s legacy by supporting other military spouses in their pursuit of education. Annelle never allowed the struggles of being an “Army Wife” limit her in her pursuit of a better life for her family. She always stood strong, continually saying “Don’t tell me I can’t!" 

Why the Order of the Sea Turtle? This stems from Annelle’s love of the ocean and the fact that Sea Turtles symbolize longevity, wisdom, patience and endurance. Annelle never let the challenges of military life or her Type-1 Diabetes slow her down; she always made time to volunteer and support other military spouses and families.

Annelle married SPC Martell in 1993 and a few months later moved to Germany in a home off base. It was her first time in a foreign country in a village where there were no other Americans living at the time, yet she quickly learned some German and made friends with the elderly woman that was renting the house. A few years later she gave birth to her daughter Taylor and 10 days later her husband was deployed. She had a newborn, was living in a foreign country, her husband was deployed, and she still made a point to support other spouses. She held the home front down in every way. Early on she proved her strength and endurance.

Over the 20 years to follow she continued to support many families through the Family Readiness Group and on a personal level - supplying meals when people were sick, sitting with people in difficult times of hardship or loss, and assisting with childcare and transportation. Annelle made her home a safe place for those struggling or needing affection, and had the foresight to know what people needed, always showing up.

Annelle held down the home-front through Drill Sergeant duty and several more deployments (was the Chief of Operations in the Martell household for sure!). Annelle handled the purchasing of homes and cars with a knack for finding and negotiating just what she wanted and made every duty station move over the years seamless, being the glue for her family. All this was a testament to the patience and wisdom she gained over the years.

Annelle passed peacefully at home on 19 September 2025 from Lymphoma Brain cancer. Though she didn’t get the longevity of the Sea Turtle, her longevity will be in her continued support to other military spouses through this scholarship.

“Make Good Choices!”
(Annelle’s Favorite Quote any Time You Parted Ways.)

Thank you for checking out the Annelle M. Martell Order of the Sea Turtle Scholarship Program. We would love to help you pursue your educational goals with continued education.

Check the eligibility requirements and apply today!

Annelle M. Martell Order of the Sea Turtle Scholarship Program awards scholarships annually to spouses of Standard Members of the MPRA. The spouses of a deceased member (active at time of death) are also eligible.

Students must be enrolled, or planning to enroll, in an accredited college, university, trade school, technical school, or vocational-technical school in the upcoming academic year.

• Must be a spouse of an active Standard Member. The spouses of a deceased member (active at time of death) are also eligible.

• Must be attending or planning to attend an accredited college, university, trade school, technical school, or vocational-technical school based in the United States and all its territories.

• Previous recipients of the organization’s other scholarships are eligible to apply.

• The organization’s paid staff and their spouses are eligible to apply for the scholarship. There is no conflict of interest in their application as the organization utilizes a third-party scholarship management company that directly receives and evaluates the applications.

• U.S. citizenship is not required

The personal statement submitted will be reviewed for AI generated content and plagiarism. An applicant may be disqualified if any is identified. 90% of the work needs to be the applicant's original content.

TOPIC: What are some of the challenges you have overcome as a military spouse and how have you used your experiences to help others in the military community?  What are your career aspirations and how will this scholarship help achieve your goals?

The essay must be 500 words or less.