VA Scholarship Recipient, Kelly Kincheloe

Feb 12, 2025

By Cindy Baugher

Kelly Kincheloe, recent recipient of a Virginia division scholarship through the Police Benevolent Foundation, has her future academic plans all mapped out. After graduating from Kellam High School in June of 2024, she’s now headed to Virginia Tech for the fall semester, a school she chose for several reasons, including the location in Blacksburg, Virginia and for the appeal of the campus. But her primary reason for selecting Virginia Tech was for the animal science program and veterinary college. As Kincheloe puts it, “They have one of the best programs on the east coast for what I want to do.” She has chosen animal and poultry sciences as her major because she’s known for as long as she can remember what she wanted to be. After her undergraduate degree, her plans are to attend vet school to earn her accreditation to become a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

Kelly is all smiles after her graduation ceremony.

Kincheloe was born in Virginia and has lived there her whole life. She grew up in Virginia Beach where playing competitive travel soccer led her to her “best friends in the entire world”. These soccer friends made her youth in Virginia Beach memorable. She says being around them and growing up together was the most special experience of her life.

She also counts her mom and younger sister as her best friends, saying they’ve always been incredibly close. Kincheloe’s 15-year-old sister is a sophomore at Kellam High School. Her mother started out as a 911 dispatcher in Hampton, then went on to become a kindergarten teacher and is now a technology resource teacher. Her dad is an LEO and it’s his membership in the PBA that made Kelly eligible to apply for the scholarship through the PBF.

Kelly and family.

Kincheloe’s high school resume is filled with accomplishments and volunteer efforts, making it easy to see why she was selected for this scholarship. She recounts, “I played club soccer my whole life until junior year, and I played varsity soccer for my high school all four years. My senior year, we were state champions for the Virginia High School League.” She also graduated with honors, an AP Capstone cord and diploma, and an impressive GPA of 4.28. Through the dual enrollment program at Tidewater Community College, Kincheloe also passed the board exam and earned an AVA (Veterinary Assistant) license prior to her high school graduation.

In the midst of excelling at her academic pursuits, she also found time to work and volunteer. She says, “I was a summer camp counselor and then an after-school childcare counselor for the YMCA. I also volunteered for both the VBSPCA and the Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center, which is a city-run shelter that works alongside animal control and the police department.”

When she does find down time, Kincheloe enjoys reading, writing, and drawing. And, of course, she loves playing soccer. Enjoying the horror television miniseries Midnight Mass is a favorite way to spend her free time as well. She calls Mike Flanagan’s production “a standout masterpiece with some of the best written characters and moments that I’ve seen in any media.” She’s such a fan that her two favorite quotes: “We are the cosmos dreaming of itself” and “I am everything, I am all of it, I am that I am,” are actually from the series as well.

Kelly makes a kick on the soccer field.

While these quotes may be thought-provoking and inspiring to her, Kincheloe shares that she considers her mother the greatest influence in her life. She says her mother has “been my best friend and my biggest supporter my entire life, and I wouldn’t be who I am today without her. I’m extremely fortunate and grateful to be her daughter.”

Her father has served in the Hampton Police Division for twenty-one years and has earned his way through multiple roles and ranks. He’s currently a lieutenant and says he enjoys serving the community and helping solve problems and working with people. He calls the benefits provided to the members “invaluable” and says he would “absolutely” recommend PBA membership to a friend or colleague.

Kelly Kincheloe receives a check from Hampton Chapter President Brian Boyd of the Virginia Police Benevolent Association.  Also pictured, is her dad Jeremy(l). Kelly is from Virgina Beach, VA and will be attending Virginia Tech where she will major in animal and poultry sciences.

One such benefit is the opportunity for members’ children and stepchildren to apply for scholarships such as this one. Kelly Kincheloe feels quite appreciative of this particular benefit. In her words, “I’m incredibly grateful. College tuition is obviously expensive, plus I have ambitions to attend veterinary school afterwards which has its own tuition in addition. Any amount helps, and I’m honored that my accomplishments, activities, and hard work in high school were recognized with a scholarship reward.”