Yellow Ribbon Initiative Makes Vets' Dreams a Reality
West Haven, Conn., August 24, 2010 - In August of 2006, Nolan Epperson and Lucas Campbell were submerged in a nuclear submarine working 80-100 hours a week as sonar technicians. The two Navy servicemen had become best friends, sharing their dreams of a better life and making a "pact" that they would both someday pursue a college education. At the time, they had no idea they would both end up in Connecticut to begin full-time college careers at the University of New Haven (UNH) four years later.
This fall, thanks to the post-9/11 G.I. Bill and expanded veteran student services at UNH, Epperson and Campbell will bring their collective enthusiasm and their intellectual individuality to their first classes, joining 50 other veterans taking advantage of the Yellow Ribbon initiative at UNH.
All new university students experience some degree of apprehension when faced with unfamiliar surroundings, academic challenges and new peers, but any degree of trepidation shared by Epperson and Campbell is allayed by the fact that they're diving in together, and will offer each other the same support and encouragement they shared in the Navy. And, as they have in the past, they also will hold each other's "feet to the fire" when the going gets tough.
Campbell notes that when either of them considered staying in the service the other would quickly remind him of their shared pact, and point out the long-term gains versus a few short-term benefits. "Leaving the Navy was a tough decision for both of us," Epperson adds. "For someone with a high school diploma the pay is good and the benefits are the best you can get, so it's easy to rationalize staying in." He quickly points out, however, that his goal of acquiring bachelor's and master's degrees in business management, and ultimately a doctorate, will serve him far better in the long term.
"You can have all the experience in the world, but if you don't have a degree your resume ends up at the bottom of the pile," Campbell says. "And if you do get a job it's very hard to advance; without a degree you've created a ceiling for yourself." Both agree that if weren't for the passing of the post-9/11 G.I. Bill, it's unlikely either of them would be able to pursue their dreams.
The post-9/11 G.I. Bill has been called the most comprehensive educational benefit package since the original Montgomery G.I. Bill created after World War II. The new bill is increasing the numbers of veterans attending universities and colleges across the United States to a level not seen since the late 1940s, with over two million veterans or active duty military estimated to qualify for the new benefits. According to Jill Stone, director of Adult, Graduate and Veteran Student Services at UNH, the inclusion of the Yellow Ribbon initiative in the G.I Bill has paved the way to higher education for a multitude of veterans who otherwise might not otherwise have access. The Yellow Ribbon initiative is a supplemental benefit for qualifying post-9/11 recipients that assists students in meeting tuition and fee costs at private institutions.
Campbell says that the Yellow Ribbon initiative will enable him to acquire a bachelor's degree in computer science and an MBA in just a few short but academically intense years. "With the old G.I. bill, it would have taken me 8 to 10 years just to get a bachelor's degree, going to school part time while working full time to support myself."
In retrospect, both Epperson and Campbell agree that, ultimately, their circuitous career and education paths have proven beneficial. "Neither of us was mature or focused enough right out of high school," Epperson says. "Today, we can bring to UNH a global perspective fused with military discipline and a lot of technical experience, and combine all that with a liberal arts education; I call that a recipe for success."
UNH is greatly expanding veteran student services for current and prospective students who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. "What makes the UNH Veterans Services program truly exceptional," says Stone, "is our ability to link to other veteran's services in West Haven, including the VA Connecticut Hospital, and the New Haven Vet Center.
The UNH Veterans Student Services initiative also includes a newly formed veteran's student group, veteran faculty liaisons, and a recently updated web site, http://www.newhaven.edu/veterans, which gives veterans easy access to the Veterans Administration benefits application, links to campus and community support services, and leads veteran students through the admissions process. Plans for the 2010-11 academic year include more campus-wide events to bring the entire UNH veterans community (faculty, staff and students) together, including an upcoming Veterans Homecoming tailgate, as well as the development of a workshop series to specifically support the transition of veterans to college.
A leader in experiential education, the University of New Haven provides its students with a valuable combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. Founded in 1920, UNH is a private comprehensive university with an 80-acre main campus. The University has an enrollment of more than 5,700; approximately 1,700 graduate students and more than 4,000 undergraduates, 70 percent of whom reside in university housing. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, the Tagliatela College of Engineering and University College. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.