Why FourBlock and Columbia University
Why FourBlock and Columbia University
Transcript
FourBlock is a nonprofit organization that bridges the gap between transitioning veterans and the business community. As I was transitioning out of the Marine Corps, I often found that employers did not fully value and understand my military experiences and the value that I could bring to an organization. I struggled quite a bit and was rejected from dozens of companies. I saw that a lot of veterans were having the same struggles that I was experiencing, so I founded FourBlock in order to provide the support network, education, and resources needed for veterans to fully realize their potential as they transition into new careers.
The name FourBlock captures the difficulties of this transition. On the eve of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Marine Corps Commandant General Charles Krulak predicted that service members would be deployed to highly populated areas and challenged to transition between environments of peace, crisis, and combat within a very short period of time. He called this phenomenon the Three Block War.
Service members operating in Iraq and Afghanistan found themselves in this very predicament, oftentimes providing humanitarian assistance on one city block, dealing with a civil disturbance on the next, and engaging in combat operations on yet a third. But what happens after this third blog? Post 9/11 veterans are incredibly capable at dealing with the difficult challenges posed by the Three Block War, yet they are typically not prepared to successfully transition to the fourth and final block, which is returning home and beginning new, meaningful careers.
FourBlock exists to enable veterans to successfully navigate this final block. We know that veterans can be tremendous assets to a company and to a community. FourBlock provides the training and the tools for them to do so. Over the last five years, FourBlock has taught over 2,000 transitioning veterans in 20 cities across the United States and the program continues to grow.
Now Columbia University has had a very, very long history of supporting military and transitioning veterans as well. The university commissioned more Navy ensigns during World War II than the Naval Academy. And after the war, the university created the School of General Studies, in large part to support the incredible number of returning veterans seeking to go to school on the very first GI bill.
After September 11, 2001, when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, the dean and the vice dean of the School of General Studies wanted to do their part in the war effort to support transitioning veterans in accessing higher education. They traveled the country to various military bases to identify high potential veterans for enrollment at the school.
Today, there are over 475 formerly enlisted service members pursuing undergraduate degrees at Columbia University. More than every Ivy League school combined by a multiple of 4, and there are over 700 veterans enrolled university wide. And the valedictorian for the May 2017 graduating class was a former Marine Corps Sergeant, the first veteran valedictorian in recent memory.
So because of the incredible support and the successes that Columbia University has had supporting veterans, the university created a National Center of Excellence called the Center for Veterans Transition and Integration to support other colleges, organizations, and companies nationwide in their veteran transition programming. Columbia and FourBlock have been partners in supporting veterans in transition for many years. This course is the next step in that collaboration.
The name FourBlock captures the difficulties of this transition. On the eve of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Marine Corps Commandant General Charles Krulak predicted that service members would be deployed to highly populated areas and challenged to transition between environments of peace, crisis, and combat within a very short period of time. He called this phenomenon the Three Block War.
Service members operating in Iraq and Afghanistan found themselves in this very predicament, oftentimes providing humanitarian assistance on one city block, dealing with a civil disturbance on the next, and engaging in combat operations on yet a third. But what happens after this third blog? Post 9/11 veterans are incredibly capable at dealing with the difficult challenges posed by the Three Block War, yet they are typically not prepared to successfully transition to the fourth and final block, which is returning home and beginning new, meaningful careers.
FourBlock exists to enable veterans to successfully navigate this final block. We know that veterans can be tremendous assets to a company and to a community. FourBlock provides the training and the tools for them to do so. Over the last five years, FourBlock has taught over 2,000 transitioning veterans in 20 cities across the United States and the program continues to grow.
Now Columbia University has had a very, very long history of supporting military and transitioning veterans as well. The university commissioned more Navy ensigns during World War II than the Naval Academy. And after the war, the university created the School of General Studies, in large part to support the incredible number of returning veterans seeking to go to school on the very first GI bill.
After September 11, 2001, when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, the dean and the vice dean of the School of General Studies wanted to do their part in the war effort to support transitioning veterans in accessing higher education. They traveled the country to various military bases to identify high potential veterans for enrollment at the school.
Today, there are over 475 formerly enlisted service members pursuing undergraduate degrees at Columbia University. More than every Ivy League school combined by a multiple of 4, and there are over 700 veterans enrolled university wide. And the valedictorian for the May 2017 graduating class was a former Marine Corps Sergeant, the first veteran valedictorian in recent memory.
So because of the incredible support and the successes that Columbia University has had supporting veterans, the university created a National Center of Excellence called the Center for Veterans Transition and Integration to support other colleges, organizations, and companies nationwide in their veteran transition programming. Columbia and FourBlock have been partners in supporting veterans in transition for many years. This course is the next step in that collaboration.