Photo By Seaman Imani Daniels | 181101-N-UA653-008: The degree programs offered by Full Sail University were on...... read more read more
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth’s (NMCP) Educational Service Office (ESO) teamed up with the Navy College Office and hosted an education fair on Nov. 1. This opportunity allowed NMCP staff members to talk one-on-one with representatives from 25 colleges nationwide.
“ESO hosted an education fair to allow our Sailors the opportunity to get additional educational information whether they are looking for additional military training, seeking to earn an advanced degree or simply wanting to improve their minds,” said Chief Yeoman Daniel Boyd, NMCP’s ESO leading chief petty officer. “Education is a must for a promising and secure future and a stable life. This event is the second annual education fair that NMCP has hosted since the educational assistance has moved to online as of 1 October 2017.”
The Navy College Offices have closed their doors and everything is done online through the Virtual Education Center. Just because the offices are closing down does not mean that the Navy College is closed.
“We are still open for business and we are transitioning the way we do business, we are doing it virtually,” said Cynthia Moon, the Navy College Program region advisor.
Ashford University, based out of San Diego, has a lot of military students that attend their online programs. Paulette Adams, the military and academic outreach manager says that the university is able to accommodate military students and allow them to complete their degrees.
“We have an entire support system that is dedicated to military students,” Adams said. “We have processes in place to help service members and we understand the unique circumstances they face so we have processes in place to help them in the event they get deployed or have a TDY, things that come up and prevent them from continuing to go to class. We understand the unique challenges that they face and we want to make sure they can be successful.”
Sailors come from different backgrounds, have different upbringings, histories and reasons for joining the Navy. Some join out of high school while others attend college first. This education fair helped each Sailor in their own unique way.
“I can understand why this is important for the people who never went to college because I came in to the military with a Bachelor’s Degree,” said Aviation Structural Mechanic Safety Equipment Airman Sharmauriah Boyd. “Going to something like this is a whole lot better than going by word of mouth, a friend saying this is a good college and you should go.”
One university representative, a retired Command Master Chief, expressed why education fairs are important to service members.
“It’s important for me to not just represent my school, but to make sure that the service members that I talk to understand their benefits, use their benefits, shop around and get the most for their education,” said Jody Yatzor, the veteran education liaison for Strayer University. “It’s all about making sure that our junior Sailors and our troops get the information that they need to make them successful once they take the uniform off because there is life after the Navy.”
“I joined right out of high school so this is a really good way for me to see exactly what is available to me through my different benefits and financial options,” said Hospitalman Recruit Micah Harris. “It shows exactly what I can do given my situation, especially for the nursing program that I’m looking at.”
According to Moon, the schools must have a Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (DoD MOU) approved, meaning they are eligible to receive things like tuition assistance benefits and GI Bill.
Among the 25 colleges were Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Norfolk State University, Troy University and University of Maryland University College (UMUC).
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 11.02.2018 09:40 |
| Story ID: | 298607 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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