Questions to Ask (Veteran Voices)
Questions to Ask (Veteran Voices)
Transcript
Whenever I was trying to break through some of the difficulties of finding the right-fit college, I started talking to people that had been to university before. I first reached out to one of my officers. He was a captain. And I was asking him for a recommendation letter for a program that was helping veterans.
And whenever he knew that I was interested in it, he asked me just like a brief question of like, what are you looking for? I told him I didn't really know. And he started having a small correspondence with me. And the more I asked, the more he would answer. And so I started leaning on him a little bit for guidance, as far as-- what was your experience with school? What should I look at?
I was also fortunate enough to be working around a bunch of-- I was working at the embassies at the time. So there were interns there that were going to schools at the time. There was also people that had been through university. I made friends with a couple of the development workers that were in Liberia at the time. And it turned out that they were more than glad to sit down with the young marine and tell him about what he doesn't know.
Whenever I went to another country after that, the interns that were at the embassy, we became friends with them and started just asking them questions. And in fact, the one told me about a program for veterans at a school. And it was great. So I started looking into that. After, we had a couple beers. And she said, oh, I have a bunch of friends back at the school that were exactly where you were. And they go to school with me. They're doing just fine. It's like, cool. Put me in touch with one of them.
So I guess I started near me, picking out the random people that I knew had been to school. And then before I knew it, I was just in touch with veterans at schools. And I was asking them. And every single person I reached out-- every veteran I reached out to at every school took the time and answered me.
And I've found that's a common trend, that the veterans at all these schools are more than happy to lend an ear and answer questions and help you out. They've all been through the same process-- it's not an easy one-- and just kind of break it down in the same language that you know in the Marine Corps, in the military. Ultimately, that's what helped me decide where I was going to go.
I would Google different forums and just ask Google questions, and see what different campus recruiters and admissions officers were expressing about student veterans. And that helped me encourage myself to continue with the process. And the constant drafting of the personal essays-- because you have to perfect them-- and just everything that went with that-- just don't sell yourself short.
And whenever he knew that I was interested in it, he asked me just like a brief question of like, what are you looking for? I told him I didn't really know. And he started having a small correspondence with me. And the more I asked, the more he would answer. And so I started leaning on him a little bit for guidance, as far as-- what was your experience with school? What should I look at?
I was also fortunate enough to be working around a bunch of-- I was working at the embassies at the time. So there were interns there that were going to schools at the time. There was also people that had been through university. I made friends with a couple of the development workers that were in Liberia at the time. And it turned out that they were more than glad to sit down with the young marine and tell him about what he doesn't know.
Whenever I went to another country after that, the interns that were at the embassy, we became friends with them and started just asking them questions. And in fact, the one told me about a program for veterans at a school. And it was great. So I started looking into that. After, we had a couple beers. And she said, oh, I have a bunch of friends back at the school that were exactly where you were. And they go to school with me. They're doing just fine. It's like, cool. Put me in touch with one of them.
So I guess I started near me, picking out the random people that I knew had been to school. And then before I knew it, I was just in touch with veterans at schools. And I was asking them. And every single person I reached out-- every veteran I reached out to at every school took the time and answered me.
And I've found that's a common trend, that the veterans at all these schools are more than happy to lend an ear and answer questions and help you out. They've all been through the same process-- it's not an easy one-- and just kind of break it down in the same language that you know in the Marine Corps, in the military. Ultimately, that's what helped me decide where I was going to go.
I would Google different forums and just ask Google questions, and see what different campus recruiters and admissions officers were expressing about student veterans. And that helped me encourage myself to continue with the process. And the constant drafting of the personal essays-- because you have to perfect them-- and just everything that went with that-- just don't sell yourself short.