Warrior-Scholar Project Provides Education for Veterans
By June 12, 2018 0 655
•America is always looking for ways to help its military veterans — and education can provide one of the best.
The Warrior-Scholar Project, headquartered in Washington, D.C., gives active veterans the opportunity to make a successful transition from military life to a life where they can attend and complete an education at a four-year institution.
One way to get these aspiring academics comfortable in an educational environment is by putting them in academic workshops or “boot camps” that last one or two weeks. These academic experiences take place at a number of colleges and universities. This year, the host campuses include Georgetown University, Amherst College, MIT and Yale University, but the list covers a large selection of universities.
“Because veterans are non-traditional students with unique experiences distinguishing them from their college peers, WSP also uses the boot camps to help prepare participants for the emotional and cultural adaptations required to succeed in a higher education setting,” said Joanna Borelli of Shortt Communications, LLC.
The program started at Yale University in 2012, but plans to include more veterans in the program is in the mix as the program continues to grow. The Warrior-Scholar Project has a solid liberal arts curriculum as in traditional programs, but the curriculum has a particular focus on teaching students how to read actively instead of passively, through a technique that is called “Ninja Reading.”
WSP also has a scientific curriculum, but that specific curriculum has only been taught at four universities: Yale University, MIT, University of Arizona and University of Oklahoma. In keeping with the times, the curriculum is a STEM curriculum. WSP says that the relationship between military service members and the scientific community is a particularly good match.
The goal of these programs is to give enlisted veterans the encouragement to pursue higher education at four-year universities with particularly good reputations and complete their time at those schools with success.
Enlisted veterans are encouraged to apply for this program. The application is free of charge. The most recent Georgetown University WSP takes place June 9 and runs through June 17.