• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Military Training Helps Veterans Achieve in Classroom: On Region's Campuses, Vets Are Good Models for Other Students

Posted on: Monday, 27 February 2006, 12:01 CST

By Beth L. Jokinen, The Lima News, Ohio

Feb. 26--LIMA -- A few years ago, a 10- or 15-page paper would have been overwhelming for Collin Northrup.

"I would think, 'Oh no, I'm going to be out here writing this and it's going to take me a week to do it,'" the OSU-Lima accounting student from Columbus said.

Today, the 25-year-old just breaks it down and before he knows it, he's done. It's a quality he picked up from the Marine Corps.

"As soon as something like that comes up, I systematically break it down into tiny little chunks," he said. "You get through the first hurdle and then the second hurdle, and then your project is almost finished and that's it. It's not just something that applies to the classroom, but everyday life."

Colleges and universities around the region are seeing veterans in their classes. They are taking advantage of getting a free education in return for their service to the country.

Campuses are seeing those serving in the National Guard and Reserve, and others who have previously been on active duty. Whether they served in wartime or not, school officials said they love having them in class.

"This is pretty easy stuff compared to what they've done in the past, so they actually do the work," said OSU-Lima Assistant Dean Roger Nimps. "That is a good model for other students."

Nimps had Northrup in an American history class last quarter. Northrup, who joined the Marine Corps Reserve in the summer of 2004, was one of four veterans in the class.

"I always know when we have veterans because they bring a seriousness and comfort level at the same time," Nimps said, saying they willingly talk in class and are comfortable expressing their ideas. "They have the courage to be wrong. It breeds a better class because everyone feels more comfortable talking and knowing they can say things and disagree with the professor."

Northrup agrees he's not shy about speaking up in classs, noticing the difference between someone like himself and a student coming to college right out of high school.

"They haven't had a chance to live on their own or form an opinion," he said. "For guys like us who have been out, seen a lot of things, done a lot of things, speaking up in class really doesn't bother us as much."

"I think school can be really intimidating for kids coming out of high school," added classmate Geoff Doute, 30, of Lima. "First of all, you have to have a lot of self-discipline."

Doute, who is an English major at OSU-Lima planning to go to law school, was a submariner in the Navy from 1994 to 1998. He specifically was a radioman, handling communications. He described the training intense.

"Stuff that would probably take about two years in a classroom, you have to learn in six months," said Doute, who said the discipline he learned in the Navy helps him today. "I look at classes and think, if this is as tough as it gets, I'm on easy street."

There are additional challenges a military person has in class. For Northrup, it was knowing he could be deployed and have to leave school at any time. It almost happened to him last year.

It did happen to Rob Erford, of Miller City, who had to leave Rhodes State College while deployed to the Middle East for five months. He returned in October and then had to finish his classes. He'll graduate after next quarter from Rhodes' electronic engineering program.

"It was tough, but the school was a real help to me," he said. "I really didn't think about it. I knew it was something that could happen when I signed up. You just have to adapt and overcome."

Erford, 22, has been in the Air National Guard since August 2001. He's trained in avionics, specifically working on F-16s. A lot of the equipment he has worked on in the military is the same he works on in class.

"I have the background, and it has really helped me stand out," he said.

Erford, who has also been deployed to Southwest Asia, takes school very seriously, saying being in the military has solidified his decision to go to college, and has made him more eager to go to class.

"It has showed me that getting the most qualifications helps one when competing for a job or promotion or whatever in life," he said. "I understand how important it is to have a good education for getting an occupation that I desire."

Jessica Geiger-Hayes, 26, knew she wouldn't do well in college if she went immediately after graduating from Elida High School. Instead the saxophone player joined the Marines, where she played in the band. She was in for four years, and is now finishing her fourth year at OSU-Lima.

"I knew I was not mature enough then. I knew I would not want to do what I needed to do, to be in class. It would be downhill from there," she said. "Now, I know why I'm here. I'm here to go to school, to get a degree and get good grades."

Geiger-Hayes, who is OSULima's student board of trustees member, is studying biology and will transfer to the University of Findlay's pharmacy program in August. She credits the discipline and sense of pride stressed in the military as preparing her to be successful in college.

"The military teaches you that when you start something, you need to finish it," she said. "My maturity level has changed. I work to achieve. That came from the discipline."

The veterans admit that one draw to the military is the tution assistance. Erford was not sure he would go to college when he first joined the Guard.

"I had the free tuition, so I thought I have to use this," he said.

The GI Bill, officially known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was signed into law by President Roosevelt in June 1944. It was designed to provide greater opportunities to returning war veterans of World War II.

The GI Bill is a topic Nimps covers in his American history classes. He said people weren't in favor of the bill at first, many believing that the soldiers would not do well in college.

"People found out that these guys did pretty well," Nimps said. "It really did redefine higher education in the United States."

Other GI Bills were enacted during the Korean War and during and following the Vietnam War. The Montgomery GI Bill for active-duty veterans was passed by Congress in 1984. A Selected Reserve program is for those serving in the Reserve or National Guard.

Dennis Douglas, acting director of education service with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said along with colleges and university programs, the GI Bill often can be used for other types of training and apprenticeships.

To take part in the active duty Montgomery GI Bill, individuals must sign on when they enlist, agreeing to have their pay reduced $100 a month for 12 months. That money is nonrefundable. Veterans have 10 years to use the benefit after they are discharged, and can receive 36 monthly installments, to be used anytime within the 10 years.

Douglass said about 95 percent of those going into the military elect to participate in the program. That was between 55 percent and 75 percent when the Montgomery GI Bill was first established in 1984.

"By the 1990s, it hit 90 percent and it has been over 90 percent ever since," he said.

Individuals do not have to pay into the Selected Reserve program, but the payment for school is also significantly less. A Reserve full-time student receives $297 a month, compared to $1,034 under the active-duty program. A Reserve or National Guard member has 14 years to utilize the program. A new program was recently started for Reserve or National Guard personnel who are activated.

Geiger-Hayes says tuition assistance has made a big difference.

"It has been great," she said. "The other nice thing is that I still qualified for grants, so I had extra money to live on."

Doute said the GI Bill pushes him to take school seriously and gives him the time to do other things on campus.

"It gives me time to reinvest in school," said Doute, who has started a school newspaper. He hasn't missed a day of class yet this school year.

Nimps recognizes Doute's hard work, as well as the work ethic he sees from other veterans. He says sometimes students get worn out by the end of a quarter and their work really shows it. Not true for the veterans he's had in class.

"I sometimes get wimpy efforts on exams, but Geoff gave me the best final exam I have read in a long, long time," he said. "He carried it through to the end and I really appreciated that."

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Lima News, Ohio

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Lima News

More News in this Category