Photo By Stephenie Wade | Air Force veterans and couple Laurie and Chris Boros display their Master of Science...... read more read more
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SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – A U.S. Transportation Command employee and his wife earned master’s degrees together recently using a Veterans Administration benefit that applies to civilians.
U.S. Air Force veterans Christopher and Laurie Boros both earned a Master of Science in Leadership from Trident University International in October 2020, paid for through the Post-9/11 GI Bill, or Chapter 33. Chris is a Global Heavyweight Service Program manager in USTRANSCOM’S Strategic Plans, Policy, and Logistics directorate, and Laurie works in secondary education. They met while serving in the same squadron and both retired after serving 20 years. Each of them used their Montgomery GI Bill for a bachelor’s degree, yet neither knew they qualified for the Chapter 33 benefit as well until a few years ago.
When Chris started working at USTRANSCOM in January 2018, his supervisor sat him down for a feedback session. Learning that Chris had a bachelor’s degree in Management from Park University, Parkville, Missouri, the supervisor recommended he continue his education in pursuing a master’s. That conversation led to Chris looking into options. He said though he knew an advanced degree would benefit him, he first had to find a way to pay for it.
“I used up all my Montgomery GI Bill entitlement on my undergraduate degree and was not yet familiar with tuition assistance for civilians,” said Chris, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, who lives with Laurie and their sons in O’Fallon, Illinois.
Laurie, meanwhile, had completed her bachelor’s of science in Business Management at TUI, a private for-profit online university based in Cypress, California.
“She called a VA counselor to see how much time she had left on her GI Bill entitlement,” Chris explained, and said as they talked, the counselor mentioned Chapter 33 for the couple.
What neither Boros realized was when the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, also known as the “Forever GI Bill,” was signed into law on Aug. 16, 2017, one of its significant changes to Veterans’ education benefits included the elimination of the 15-year time limit to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) for those whose last discharge or release from active duty is on or after Jan. 1, 2013, per the VA’s website.
“I applied for it and was shocked when I received 24 additional months of educational benefits. My wife was also approved, so we both entered into an 18-month fast track program with Trident University,” said Chris.
The Forever GI Bill also now includes Independent Study at Technical Schools and Non-Institutions of Higher Learning Study (e.g., online learning) at non-IHLs. The non-IHLs must be area career and technical education schools that provide postsecondary level education or postsecondary vocational institutions.
The online learning at TUI was a tough program, Chris said, with no breaks between classes and writing what equates to one paper per week. Though he said he definitely felt burnt out at times, having his spouse in each of his classes helped him stay focused and energized. He added that being a role model to his sons also motivated him to finish.
“I remember my oldest son, a high school senior at the time, asking me during our first class why we were so worried about our grades and working so hard on our papers. I told him, ‘We both take great pride in our work and believe in working hard at whatever we do,’” said Chris.
“We knew he was watching us closely,” Chris continued about his son. “My wife and I agreed that we needed to at least graduate with honors so we could use the old, ‘If we can do it, you can do it’ with two boys who were close to being college students themselves.”
True to their agreement, after 18 months of hard work the two Boros graduated summa cum laude, or “with highest honors,” meaning a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 or above.
“It was a long road, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat,” said Chris.
For more information on education benefits, civilian employees should contact their directorate’s Manpower and Personnel department, a local VA representative or visit www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/post-9-11/.
| Date Taken: | 02.03.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2021 17:15 |
| Story ID: | 388638 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 286 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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