Battle Internship Awarded to Shelby Staib & Daniela Voloh

Mike Battle, a former James Madison University football player, has created a scholarship that is awarded to two student-athletes every year. This $2,500 stipend allows the student-athletes an opportunity to experience a summer internship with some financial relief.

Mike Battle is a proud James Madison University Alumni who will do anything and everything to give back to the foundation that influenced him the most.

The 2022 Battle Scholarship winners are Shelby Staib of track & field and Daniela Voloh of women's tennis. These two outstanding student-athletes are enhancing their professional skills, while gaining work experience in their industry.

This past summer, Staib accepted an internship position with Lockheed Martin Space as a financial analyst in Denver, Colorado. In this role, she worked on the Orion Program within Commercial Civil Space. This opening has allowed Staib the experience to grow as a person and professionally.

The impact this internship had on Staib was indeed one for the books. During a conversation with Staib, she highlighted all of the cool projects she was able to tackle.

"Artemis 1, an unmanned space flight to orbit the moon, is planned to launch any day now, and it is expected to be followed by Artemis 2 in 2024 to take the first woman and person of color to the moon's surface. In my role, I analyzed audit data driven metrics to pinpoint areas of financial risk and opportunities for improvement," Staib said. "I also built an analysis tool that identified areas of high risk in our budget and forecast alignment that supported proactive levels of effort management for the Orion Program.

We asked how this Battle Scholarship aided her success in such a prestigious company, and she said, "The generosity of the Battle family made it possible for me to move completely across the country and find housing for a summer of invaluable learning opportunities. Every experience provides room to grow as a person and as a professional. I strove to be a helping hand and to take advantage of every moment to learn something new. "

Staib is headed into her senior year here at JMU seeking a career in the computer information systems and finance industry.

Voloh accepted an internship with Ernst & Young. This opportunity helped her capture real world experience in both their assurance and tax department. Voloh is forever thankful for this scholarship as it assisted in many ways.

"The Battle Scholarship provided by Dukes LEAD greatly impacted my internship experience because it enabled me to relocate to a brand-new city and pushed me outside of my comfort zone," Voloh said. "Without the scholarship, I would have not been able to move to Boston and build my professional network."

The day-to-day operations of this internship consisted of working with various task force teams to prepare paperwork for clients. Furthermore, Voloh worked on a wide variety of projects from account testing to tax preparation.

These two individuals exemplify what it means to be a student-athlete. They are forever thankful for the Battle family and the scholarship they were awarded.

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