How We Choose (Veteran Voices)
How We Choose (Veteran Voices)
Transcript
It's not that different from leaving the military, in my opinion. You know, for a lot of people, things happen that change their lives dramatically. And so now, you're presented with a new situation. You got to figure out how to get from the old situation to the new one or an intermediate situation, which, you know, I think college is an intermediate situation. Right? It's an intermediate step between where you were and where you want to go. And so you have to figure out what the intermediate step is. Because you're never going to be able to go directly from one situation to another without some sort of intermediate step. So you know, if you can figure out what the intermediate step is, and whether or not you're going to be OK during that step, I think it's probably a good path to follow.
And as far as the crash, yeah, it was a bad thing for a lot of people. And for a while, it was really bad for me. But ultimately, for me anyway, it wound up being a blessing in disguise.
So a big challenge I hear about from veterans is the culture skills gap between the military and college. They think that going to college is going to be so different. They'll feel out of place. They'll kind of be pushed outside of their comfort zone or where they want to be.
And I would say that's the entire point. That's the reason you're going to school, right? I mean, there's a reason you're leaving the military. There's a reason you're choosing to return to school. There's a reason you're not choosing to return to school. And recognizing that the culture is a big part of that, that it's not going to be the same is very key. You have to be in the mindset to do it, right? You need to come around to the idea that different doesn't mean worse.
So I mean, to that same point, skills are important. So when you're in the military, being punctual, being hardworking, you know, all of that is extremely important. And when you go to college, you have to realize that-- or you should realize that those skills are equally as important.
You might think-- well, like I did. You know, I hadn't written a serious academic paper in years, you know? Maybe not one as serious as I'm going to in my entire life. But what I do know is how to work hard. I know how to manage my time effectively. I know how to ask for help. And those are all really important, for me personally, in kind of getting through the rigors of academic life and not being afraid. I would say that that was a big part of it too.
Being in the military, like, failure is an obstacle. Right? It's not an option. You keep moving until you succeed. So definitely part of my academic journey was hitting barriers, and moving around them, and trying to keep going.
And as far as the crash, yeah, it was a bad thing for a lot of people. And for a while, it was really bad for me. But ultimately, for me anyway, it wound up being a blessing in disguise.
So a big challenge I hear about from veterans is the culture skills gap between the military and college. They think that going to college is going to be so different. They'll feel out of place. They'll kind of be pushed outside of their comfort zone or where they want to be.
And I would say that's the entire point. That's the reason you're going to school, right? I mean, there's a reason you're leaving the military. There's a reason you're choosing to return to school. There's a reason you're not choosing to return to school. And recognizing that the culture is a big part of that, that it's not going to be the same is very key. You have to be in the mindset to do it, right? You need to come around to the idea that different doesn't mean worse.
So I mean, to that same point, skills are important. So when you're in the military, being punctual, being hardworking, you know, all of that is extremely important. And when you go to college, you have to realize that-- or you should realize that those skills are equally as important.
You might think-- well, like I did. You know, I hadn't written a serious academic paper in years, you know? Maybe not one as serious as I'm going to in my entire life. But what I do know is how to work hard. I know how to manage my time effectively. I know how to ask for help. And those are all really important, for me personally, in kind of getting through the rigors of academic life and not being afraid. I would say that that was a big part of it too.
Being in the military, like, failure is an obstacle. Right? It's not an option. You keep moving until you succeed. So definitely part of my academic journey was hitting barriers, and moving around them, and trying to keep going.