Those Who Serve
Three servicemembers tell how they fit voluntary education into their lives.
By Diana McGonigle
Peter Lewis is a very busy MC2. MC is the Mass Communications Specialist rate, which is a combination of the journalist, photographer, lithographer and draftsman rate. “Being that we have the jobs of four previous rates, we have quite a few duties, including writing stories of military interest, taking photographs for shipboard use and press release, designing and maintaining the ship’s internal and external Websites, recording and broadcasting military events, designing and producing any printed material required [pamphlets, flyers, banners, etc] and creating various plaques and labels from wood, metal, Plexiglas and other materials,” he said.
Lewis has taken several online classes at Thomas Edison State College(TESC). He is working on a bachelor’s in natural sciences and mathematics. He needed just one more class, Nutrition 201 to finish his B.A. in February.
“I chose TESC because they are very military-friendly,” Lewis said. “The college accepts a greater number of transfer credits than any other school I have looked at. They also have a very low residency requirement [only 18 hours for a bachelor’s]. This combination enabled me to apply my military schooling, in-rate knowledge, CLEP/DANTES tests and classes taken at other colleges towards a bachelor’s, and only have to take six classes through TESC. Also, you can complete your degree entirely through online classes, which is a tremendous plus for someone who may deploy at any given time.”
Eric Villavicencio is the leading petty officer, Shop 930, Special Tools, in Hawaii. He works with nuclear tools decontamination and processing.
He attends classes in a guided study format for Thomas Edison State College—last semester, technical writing, and in February, principles of finance. He is working on a Bachelor of Science in applied science and technology: nuclear engineering. He chose TESC for the same reason Lewis picked it: They gave him the most units for military experience and prior college.
Chief Petty Officer Michael Wells is stationed at Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center in Norfolk, Va. He is a student at Strayer University, taking classes for his master’s in information systems. “I take usually a mixture of classes each quarter. Wells said. “I like the instructors of my courses at the Virginia Beach campus. Right now I’m taking an independent study class at the Chesapeake campus. And I’ve taken online courses before.”
Wells chose Strayer because he likes the instructor of his courses when he can get him. “The fact that they have two campuses right here in the Hampton Roads area is a definite plus,” he said. “When I got to my command, there were several other civil service [employees] interested in taking a master’s level course and one of them recommended Strayer. So I did some research on them and I liked their programs. Their motto is ‘We Fit Your Life,’ and they certainly seem to. They focus on mainly young adults; they understand issues—people with families, you know, those kinds of issues. So that’s why I went to Strayer. To top that off, when I was talking to my dad, before I had signed up for courses. He said, ‘Wow, I used to go to Strayer when it was in D.C.,’ which was apparently the predecessor of Strayer University. My dad said he attended there and he liked it, so that was the final seal of approval.”
Villavicencio said that his classes haven’t helped him professionally or personally so far, “although it looks good when I go up for military evaluations for promotions,” he said
Lewis said that he likes to learn and that every class he’s taken has helped him professionally. “Being the ESO [educational services officer] for my division, taking classes has given me an insight that I can pass on to servicemembers that come to me with questions about college,” Lewis continued. “I can give my people a first-hand account of the colleges and classes that I have attended. I can recommend a course of study to someone that has questions. Being in college helps a great deal when advising someone else on the pursuit of a degree.”
Lewis also said that his ship enables anyone enrolled in classes to have internet access while deployed. Going underway has not hampered his education in any way.
Unlike Lewis, Villavicencio found study difficult. “Absolutely, with maintenance, training and military duties, it is very difficult to manage the time and space considerations and often the lack of e-mail,” he stated. He had to drop out of a technical writing and a statistics class.
Wells said that he has taken classes while on deployment—not through Strayer. “…that’s a little more difficult also, because there is really never a break when you’re at sea on deployment because you’re always on the go,” he added.
“Sometimes…you know it’s all a matter of scheduling,” he said. “If you have more work-related issues come up and can’t devote the time to your studies, things get a little hectic. But I’ve managed to pull it out every time. Probably based on the fact that I’m on shore duty now makes it a lot easier.”
The three men differ on the level of support they have used while taking classes.
“There is a wonderful woman in Hawaii named Maria Marte that has given me a lot of sound advice,” Lewis said. She helped me enroll, and mapped out a plan from start to finish for me to gain a degree. She is always available to help me, and even though I transferred to Guam over a year ago, she has continued to answer every question I have been able to come up with. I don’t think it would be possible to be supported any better.”
Villavicencio speaks to each class advisor whenever he has difficulty with a topic or conflict with his military schedule.
Wells said “They have advisors at the college. But I knew what I wanted, I read their degree plans and I knew what the prereqs were and what I would have to take, so I pretty much go in and say, ‘Hey, I’m ready for this class.’”
MAE asked if there was anything they would do differently in their school careers.
Villavicencio said that he should have started this process sooner.
“If I had known that getting a degree was this easy, I would have enrolled in college a lot earlier in my career,” said Lewis
Wells laughed and said “Like work on it a little bit harder. Once I got started going to college back in ’95, it took me 11 years to get my bachelor’s. I wasn’t a prolific student, if you will. I took courses here and there, mainly when I was on shore duty. I took some when I was at sea, but I would work on it a little sooner, a little more stringently to finish my bachelor’s up earlier. It would have allowed me to finish my master’s before I retired.”
Wells retires in about five months. He hopes to find work in his field of study. “I haven’t found a job yet, but that’s the industry I’ve worked in, that’s what I do for the military—I’m an electronics technician. That’s what I’ve done for the past 20 years.
All three men have advice for anyone contemplating college. “If you have any desire to get a degree, then pursue it,” Lewis said. “There will always be a program that will fit your needs and schedule, and there are college advisors that will help you every step of the way. A degree will give you not only an education, but a sense of accomplishment. It will help your career, as it looks great on an evaluation, and the military is now giving advancement points for degrees, and it can help you get into an officer’s program. There really is no reason not to take classes.”
Villavicencio agreed. “Keep it up; it will pay off in the end,” he stated. It’s all up to yourself—inform your chain of command and stay dedicated and motivated.”
“I would say, ‘Do it,’” Wells added. “Too many times a soldier or sailor, when they get to a shore command or a place where they can have some down time.” There’s always the desire ‘Yeah, I should take some classes,’ but thinking and putting into action are two different things sometimes. So, just encourage everyone if you’ve got the time, it’s a wonderful benefit that’s granted to military folks, through the tuition assistance program, and a lot of people don’t take advantage of it and they should. So I would say to anybody, if you’re thinking of doing it, just do it.” ♦