97480. Three Officers Named White House Fellows

American Forces Press Service

        WASHINGTON -- Three military officers are among 15 persons 
appointed June 25 by President Clinton to serve as 1997-1998 White 
House Fellows.
        Army Maj. Terrence K. Kelly, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Sean Eugene O'Connor 
and Navy Cmdr. Clifford A. Skelton will spend the next year as full-
time assistants to Cabinet secretaries, executive branch agency heads 
and senior White House staff. The 15 fellows were selected from 
hundreds of applicants nationwide on the basis of early career 
achievements, demonstrated skills, leadership potential and a proven 
commitment to public service.
        Kelly, 37, is an assistant professor of systems engineering at 
the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. A native of New 
Rochelle, N.Y., he participated in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada 
for which he was awarded a Bronze Star. He is a member of Parents for 
Excellence, a group working for academic excellence in public schools 
in Bethlehem, N.Y., and is a volunteer on the Consideration of Others 
Team, which mentors West Point cadets.
        O'Connor, 35, is a surface warfare and shipbuilding analyst in 
the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon. A native 
of Rumson, N.J., he served in Japan and the Persian Gulf and helped 
rescue several hundred refugees from the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 
the Philippines. During his tours, he rebuilt an orphanage in the 
Philippines and entertained handicapped children as part of an Adopt-
A-School program in San Diego.
        Skelton, 41, is commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 105 
at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Fla. A native of Kingsville, Texas, 
he was responsible for the integration of women into one of the Navy's 
first combat aviation squadrons. He is a former lead solo pilot and 
operations officer with the Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration 
team. While with the Blue Angels, he established an affiliation 
between the team and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He is a fundraiser 
and volunteer for the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the 
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
        Previous White House Fellows include retired Army Gen. Colin 
Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. Wesley 
K. Clark, nominated to be Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.
        Also named 1997-1998 White House Fellows are University of 
Minnesota associate professor Amy E. Alving, 34, a member of the Army 
Science Board, the Army secretary's senior scientific advisory board; 
and Matice J. Wright, 32, a business analyst in Bowie, Md., who is a 
graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and was the Navy's 
first African-American female flight officer.
        Other appointees are John C. Burchett, 35, Wayne County, Mich.; 
Brad R. Carson, 30, Tulsa, Okla.; Cheryl L. Dorsey, 33, and Peter 
Rundlet, 31, Washington; Dr. Sanjay Gupta, 28, Ann Arbor, Mich.; 
Francis J. James, 32, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Jon P. Jennings, 34, 
Boston; Jamie Frederic Metzl, 28, Cambridge, Mass.; Jeffrey M. Prieto, 
36, Princeton, N.J.; and Lois A. Scott, 36, Chicago. (White House 
release)

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