Serving Those Who Serve
Holly Petraeus '74, P'04, speaks to students during a recent class visit, one of the many ways she stays connected to Dickinson.
Holly Petraeus '74, P'04, Helps Military Families Afford Transformational Education Through Scholarship at Dickinson
by Matt Getty
For Holly Petraeus '74, P'04, creating the Hollister and David Petraeus Scholarship, which helps military families afford a Dickinson education, is all about family.
“It's motivated by my own family's experience,” she explains. “I grew up in a military family that valued education very much. My father used to quote his father who said, 'I won't leave you rich, but I will leave you educated.' And that's really what he dedicated his money to."
And when Petraeus thinks about family, she also thinks about the wider military community.
“I look at the military as my extended family, all of them, because we have that commonality of experience,” she says.
That’s why she and her husband, Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus P'04, established the scholarship fund. Each year, it awards a scholarship to a student from a military family, with first preference going to children of currently serving, full-time, active-duty servicemembers.
“I think students from active-duty families have a lot to offer Dickinson,” says Petraeus. “Those are the kids who spent their whole lives moving, so they're very resilient. They're used to walking into new situations.”
The scholarship builds on Petraeus’s long career of advocacy for military families and veterans. At the Better Business Bureau, she developed a nationwide military consumer education and advocacy program, BBB Military Line. In addition to advocating for legislation like the HAVEN Act, which provides support for veterans facing bankruptcy, Petraeus also served as the first head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. During her tenure, she helped return millions of dollars to servicemembers, veterans and their families from companies that had broken the law.
These efforts have earned her the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Colonel Roger H. C. Donlon Patriot Award. She also was honored by Dickinson, along with her husband, with the college’s inaugural President’s Award, which is given each year to individuals who “lead lives of service, forge new paths in their respective fields, contribute meaningfully to the betterment of the world and inspire future generations.”
But the accolades mean less to Petraeus than the potential to make a difference for someone today the same way Dickinson made a difference in her life.
"I'm a great example of how a Dickinson education can prepare students for anything,” she explains. “I was able to do things that weren’t in my remotest thoughts as far as a career, and that’s because of the liberal-arts education I got here. Now, I hope I can do the same thing for students who might not even be able to consider Dickinson without a scholarship like this."
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Published May 21, 2025