|
Featured Resources
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Your Great Uncle Sam
Mom and dad may really want you go to college, but for many students, nobody in the family is as helpful as their Uncle Sam. To those who are willing to serve their country, the military offers educational opportunities—and scholarship money that will blow you away.
The key is deciding which branch of the service is right for you, and which educational opportunity best meets your needs. Students looking to the military to help provide an education should first draw up a battle plan. The government has several options to help both students and the military reach their objectives.
You can:
•Enlist right out of high school.
•Join a ROTC program in college.
•Attend a military academy.
•Join the National Guard.
Each option has its strengths and its drawbacks. Enlisting out of high school helps give direction to the directionally impaired. You can learn about military science while putting money in your pocket. However, those who enlist out of high school go into the military as a fresh recruit, the lowest rung on the ladder, and a commitment of several years. Joining a ROTC program can mean some terrific college scholarships. It also allows you to take a unique course of study along with any major that you choose.
Upon graduation, students become commissioned military officers. This program does require a commitment to serve. Applying to a military academy is for the student looking for a military career. These academies are extremely selective, making admission difficult for those who did not excel in high school. However, those who do attend receive training that is invaluable for their lives as military personnel.
Going National Guard allows you to maintain civilian life, as you are only require to serve one weekend a month and two weeks a year. This option also lands students a great deal of scholarship money. The National Guard takes direction from the Governor and the President. They are called upon in war and in time of civil unrest.
Sgt. First Class Ed Vorbach said he is jealous of the young men and women who enter the Army National Guard today. Increased funding through the GI Bill has presented excellent educational opportunities to those who will dedicate one weekend a month and two weeks a year to their country. “It just keeps getting to be a better deal,” says Vorbach. “If an individual is looking for a way to pay for college and wants to serve his/her country, then there’s no better way.”
A commitment to the Guard can mean 75 percent to full tuition coverage, $9,100 from the Montgomery GI Bill to help with college expenses, about $7,500 in pay over four years and up to an $8,000 signing bonus if the candidate possesses a desired job skill. For First Lt. Wes Moore, military education started early.
When his father passed away while Moore was a child, his mother began looking for a high school that would help her raise her son with structure and positive role models. Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA, was the answer. “Valley Forge gives you a little capsule of the experience you will see in the military,” says Moore. “One great thing about attending is not only are you commissioned early, you gain real leadership experience.”
His academic prowess at Valley Forge afforded Moore an academic scholarship to Johns Hopkins University, where he received his bachelor’s in international relations while serving the Army National Guard in military intelligence. Moore says he would recommend going Guard, because it allows applicants to continue their civilian lives while serving their country. “I think it allows you to be very diverse in what you do,” Moore says. “You also get a chance to go to college or get work experience while you serve.”
The military offers educational opportunities that extend well beyond the classroom setting. Like the other branches of the military, the Navy offers ROTC and other educational programs for its candidates.
Commander Mark Monti says a great deal of his learning has happened during his experiences in the Navy. “The Navy provides you with a great opportunity to gain leadership and management skills right out of college,” says Monti, who has served on six different ships. “I don’t know of too many jobs that within months you can travel the Pacific and Mediter-ranean,” he says. “That’s an experience you can’t really get in the private sector.”
For Capt. Andrew J. Taliercio, the job of the Airforce ROTC program is to develop the student into a better person, not just a better soldier. “We’re there not only to create a military person ... We’re there to sharpen and hone their maturity,” says Taliercio.
To accomplish this goal, ROTC creates a team atmosphere that helps motivate students to achieve success in both their college classes and the ROTC program. “You are receiving the intangible benefits of being part of a group of people. Like a fraternity or sorority, the support one receives in the Air Force will carry them throughout their life,” says Taliercio. The Air Force has offered him benefits beyond all of his expectations. “Everytime I move to a new job in the Air Force, it’s a whole new thing,” says Taliercio. “I feel like there is nothing in this world I can’t do.”
Websites: These Websites will help you research military opportunities: www.afoats.af.mil www.usafa.af.mil www.airforce-experience.com www.1800goguard.com www.history.navy.mil/ www.acusd.edu/~nrotc/ www.nps.navy.mil/ www.navy.mil/ www.armyrotc.com Article provided by 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Featured Schools
|
|
|
|
