For example, Tulane University's SoPA cybersecurity and homeland security programs are particularly popular with veterans. During their service, veterans in these programs have discovered their technical and strategic skills, and they desire to continue service through protection. These programs offer the opportunity to do this alongside veterans and others with similar passions. Family and friends are a core part of a veteran's support network.
Since family and friends have supported these folks through challenges writ large, their influence on veterans is significant. Therefore, it is highly likely that veterans would use this support network in their discovery process and will be significantly impacted by their input.
In these cases, family and friends could provide help with research online, phone calls, emails , completing applications and, perhaps most importantly, with assistance in the form of talking things through.
For veterans who prefer to consider things themselves, family and friends could provide basic encouragement, unqualified support of the veteran's chosen direction, and space for a veteran to consider their true passion and its alignment with education.
Finally, family and friends who have not served may have developed personal networks in the community that a military veteran might not have been able to.
Family and friends can offer connection to these informal networks for conversations with students, faculty, and staff of universities around education planning. Veterans come from a hardline structure that the military provides, where tasks are regimented and closely choreographed to completion.
Often, university assignments come with parameters and a due date, but rely on a student's capacity for self-direction and personal motivation to complete. In these cases, this fundamental difference in approach and follow-through creates a significant challenge to veterans. I have seen veterans overcome these challenges through leveraging of new relationships and resources to keep on track. Ofttimes these could be other veterans enrolled in courses as part of a cohort.
For example, in a course I recently taught, several veterans quickly connected and communicated around assignments and assessments. By reaching out to those in class with a shared background, they formed an impromptu support structure. This structure was extremely effective in finding success in the class though study sessions, discussions around research, and approach to assignments. Ralph Russo is the director of the Tulane University School of Professional Advancement applied computing program, where he is focused on keeping learning delivery and the applied computing curriculum on pace with cutting-edge technology, security, and industry advancement.
Russo also holds the title of professor of practice. He created and delivered the first graduate and undergraduate cybersecurity courses at Tulane in , and has taught in both the homeland security and applied computing programs. Russo is a nationally-recognized subject matter expert on technology in the homeland security and public safety domains. He has also consulted for multiple federal, state, and local jurisdictions to successfully guide the development, deployment, and adoption of IT systems for security and public safety.
Russo retired from the NYPD in Of note, Mr. As an entrepreneur, he has co-owned two startup technology firms. These small businesses focused on delivering secure solutions to businesses handling personal data, and on creating, marketing, and delivering software for police officers seeking to advance their careers.
Navy hospital corpsman from In addition to field medical training with the U. Marines, I was a surgical technician assisting surgeons in the operating theater. Since this was during some of the most aggressive fighting in Vietnam, I had the privilege of taking care of many young, wounded soldiers and sailors.
Being only 20 years old myself in , it was an opportunity to grow up fast. I joined the military as essentially an adolescent, and left much more mature than when I entered. Military service is a wake-up call with regard to the importance of training and education.
Many veterans recognize that they will need more education to reach their goals and take a no-nonsense, mature view of how that education is delivered, and what it can offer. By the time they get out of the service, most veterans are adult learners. Consequently, they should be looking for a college that understands the needs of adult learners, a school that is experienced with veteran students, and one that can support the adult veteran and their family.
Military experience teaches service members to appreciate teamwork, a sense of purpose, and service. These are the sort of qualities they should look for in an institution of higher learning. The GI Bill was an important inducement for me to return to college and medical school.
Being from a working-class family, I needed both that and the availability of school loans to finance my medical education. I have met very few military service members who could not excel in a college education. The maturity, sense of purpose, determination, and work ethic that one learns as a result of military service can be used to make any veteran successful in their educational pursuits. At American University of Antigua College of Medicine, we welcome veterans and encourage their pursuit of the dream of becoming successful physicians.
Most important is to recognize that there is assistance out there for our veterans. A simple web search will reveal, for example, that there are 8 states that provide free tuition for veterans, the VA has a great deal of information on veteran educational benefits.
Find out if the colleges you are interested in have experience with veteran students. If they do, the transition will be much easier. Family and social support is crucial for our veterans, especially those returning from overseas assignments in areas of combat. Again, the VA is a great place to find out about how to support veterans reintegration into civilian life. When entering undergraduate institutions, veterans are faced with very different expectations than other students.
Veterans are typically more mature, and often driven by clear plans for their education and career goals.
It is sometimes difficult for them to integrate into the typical college social scene. Seeking out other veterans and mature students can often help in that integration. This resulted in earning credits that transferred to my college of choice.
Nowadays, active-duty personnel can often take online courses and may take courses on college campuses when they are close enough to their duty station. I think this helps tremendously with building confidence and preparing them for full-time college work. Robert Mallin is the university provost at American University of Antigua College of Medicine AUA , a Caribbean medical school dedicated to creating future generations of physicians that serve the communities they represent.
Mallin graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in and finished a residency in family medicine at the same institution in He was a tenured professor at the Medical University of South Carolina and a staff physician in hospitals throughout South Carolina.
I always knew I would go in the military because it has been something my family has done for generations. I started off with my first duty station at Fort Sherman in Panama. The 3 rd of the 7 th special forces put on a jungle jump school on Ft. Sherman and I was fortunate enough to attend. I was then reassigned to recruiting duty where I was eventually medically retired. I attended college courses as I could while on active duty.
With multiple deployments is was difficult to keep a regular college schedule, but time was available to get a semester in every once in a while. I did not always see the importance of college as a youth, but when I would see officers that were college graduates come and take charge of a man platoon and lead troops from the start of their career, I began to see the weight and importance of a college education.
The driving force for me to return to school was a desire to learn. While on a patrol in Panama City, we were coming out of a shanty town and there was a little girl playing in a sewer-infested drainage ditch.
As we crossed over a foot bridge, she picked up a saucepan full of ditch water and poured it into her mouth then stood there like a pretty statue and spewed a little stream of water out. I have never felt such gratitude in my life and I hoped that somehow our actions in Panama would make her life so much better. The community of veterans is pretty important to the new person coming into the world of education. They can help new students with paperwork and scheduling, which is invaluable.
The GI Bill opens the door for many veterans who otherwise would not be able to afford the expenses involved in higher education. Choose a school that you can afford if cost is a barrier.
If you believe that you aren't smart enough because you are just an infantryman or other crawl-in-the-mud MOS, just remember that those schools exist under the flag that you own a part of.
Being a veteran gives you a clear path to get things done and an education is one that should be very clear. Do not cross bridges that are not there. School is not just for the ultra-smart, school is for those who know how to work hard and achieve. You are all of that!
There are tests that will help you start at the appropriate level that you need to start your educational journey. I took every remedial and introductory math class there was to take before I could get into college-level algebra.
I used the tutoring center daily. Being a veteran, I knew how to put in the long hours and persevere. College is not easy, but veterans know how to deal with that so don't be afraid to fail. Most likely, you will succeed. Find colleges that have a major that fits what you most want to do. Do not pick something that sounds like it will make the most money or would be good in any economy, pick something you really want to do and follow your dream. Visit the college in-person and get to know people in the veteran's office and find out what they are like.
Meet with professors and see how much they care and how into teaching they are. If family will treat school like a long deployment, it will help because when your veteran goes to school, they are in school day and night. If not actually in class, they are in the library or doing homework at home. Give them a quiet place to study where interruptions are minimal. Be understanding if they cannot attend normal functions because papers are due the next day.
Be encouraging and curios. Dinner time is a great time to ask how their studies are going. They do have to eat and dinner is time to sit and socialize with the family and catch up on things. I went from being one of the most important people on the battlefield to being the dumb old guy that asked way too many questions. The kids just out of high school knew all the formulas and answers and I knew very little.
How were you able to overcome them? I was able to recruit help by forming study groups and taking charge of discussions that included the smart kid. I always respected abilities and realizing that I had as much ability as the next guy, just not the earlier opportunity to learn the immediate subject, made a big difference.
We are all on different learning levels even in the same class in the same degree plan. I took great advantage of tutoring. Every chance I got, I would sit down with a tutor.
One day the tutor asked me if I wanted to join the honors society. I laughed and said "No, that is just for those with a high GPA. I also participated in counseling with the VA.
I thought that tutoring was getting me through school, when actually it was earning the highest GPA I ever had. The counseling was fantastic and focusing. I not only survived school, but I thrived on it. For the first time in my life, I enjoyed school. While serving in the U. Andy was also an instructor in urban combat and a master fitness trainer at the Jungle Operations Training Center in Panama. After many deployments, Andy was medically retired. His uniform hangs in the closet with two meritorious service medals among other commendations, but the one above them all is the combat infantryman's badge.
Andy joined Mesalands Community College in as director of wind energy technology. He earned a bachelor of science in technology and engineering education, as well as a master's degree in engineering and technology. He has worked summers as a wind farm consultant and construction worker building commercial-scale wind farms. I joined the United States Marine Corps at age 17 after completing a semester of college. During my military career, I took college courses only sporadically due to the demanding operational requirements of my job.
I have always been a non-traditional student, balancing my career and academics simultaneously. A sense of community is extremely important, both on- and off-campus. Select a university with community involvement opportunities and strategic partners to strengthen the outreach.
The GI Bill is extremely influential as it helps to alleviate the financial burden associated with attending college. A veteran's affairs office can assist in this regard as well, by helping to find and interpret the applicable programs available. I would advise a veteran to visit a college campus like Rutgers and engage with other student veterans who are currently attending that school.
You will be able to feel, in an academic setting, the camaraderie once experienced in the military. I would recommend assessing the college's student veteran outreach, and the support that is available to this unique population. In addition, I would have the university evaluate your military experience. Family and friends need to support the veteran as they would any student entering academia for the first time. There will be many long nights of studying and completing homework assignments. However, the end result will be beneficial.
As veterans, we have served to help others, and this is a unique opportunity to invest in our own human capital. During his 21 years of service, he deployed to several countries including Haiti and Somalia, where he assisted in humanitarian efforts. Wil joined Prudential Financial in and worked in Staffing Organization and Diversity Recruiting for one year before moving into his current role in Veterans Initiatives.
I started working with veterans at Endicott College in We had several students who had to stop classes due to feeling suicidal. These were my brightest, funniest, and most engaged students — but they were struggling. Veterans Affairs reported in that the rate of suicide among male veterans was 37 per , This number has slowly gone up over the years.
Both of my grandfathers served in the military, and they both committed suicide. With my brother and father also being veterans, I felt genuinely dedicated to making a difference. Endicott College has a long tradition of serving veterans and military students and I knew there was something more that we could do to serve our students and help support their transition to civilian life.
This project coordinates VA services for Endicott College veterans — social work, academic support, and peer tutoring. In , we founded a veterans club to bring more community to this group of students; they became a chapter of the Student Veterans of America in We also began a VA work study in as a way to integrate more opportunities for our veteran students to earn money while being full-time students.
Additionally, this will be the second year we run a 3 credit class that helps military students translate their military leadership skills to the academic setting.
Wylie, the President of Endicott College, was serving veterans long before I got to the college. I've been honored to continue these programs through the Van Loan School at Endicott, and to build on them by adding additional academic support.
Every year she spends at least an hour with me, letting us know where our school can go next to serve veterans. Active-duty servicemembers are eligible for M ilitary Tuition Assistance , the most common form of military financial aid assistance.
If someone in the military has served long enough, they may become eligible for GI Bill benefits. However, these benefits have a few limitations for those on active-duty.
The GI Bill is more likely to come into play during active reserve duty when members of the military can use the GI Bill for on-site classes. The GI Bill is also popular among veteran students. In addition, all or part of any unused GI Bill education benefits can be gifted to a spouse as long as the request is completed while the servicemember is an active member of the armed forces.
These financial perks are motivators for active-duty servicemembers to enroll in college, Spittler says. Another financial boost can come from increased rank and pay. Perseverance and dedication are key characteristics of successful students. A few of them still stand out in her memory. She recalls advising an online military student who was deployed overseas. She also told him his options in case he needed to drop a class. Wherever he was serving, the time difference was significant, and the student would stay up late in order to call Spittler during her office hours if he needed to speak to her.
His ability to focus on difficult coursework while deployed really captured her attention and she praised him for his efforts. Finally, he arrived at his capstone project, which is the last course in a National University program. She was surprised to find out that he had moved through so many military zones and had been under so much stress as he completed his courses. It was no small thing to transition from one country to another and then to transition home.
The turmoil of military zones is very challenging, explains Spittler. The intense focus that his schoolwork required became one of the things that kept this student going. She recalls telling him that his amazing story really touched her heart. Spittler explains that a few of the more common National programs known to help military students advance in their careers include information technology management, cybersecurity, and leadership programs.
This means you can attend college full or part time and even have time to work another part-time job on top of receiving your monthly Guard paycheck. Your test scores determine your MOS which can include everything from aviation to mechanical to administrative duties. The most significant benefit of joining the National Guard is eligibility for education benefits.
These benefits include the Montgomery GI Bill, which will help with tuition, and the Montgomery GI Bill Kicker, which covers additional college expenses, such as books and housing. And did you know that many colleges and universities award academic credit for Guard service and training? The National Guard is a great place to start planning for your future.
0コメント