National
Guard representatives took time out of their busy schedules to
come to Eli Whitney and speak to our Career Development Classes
about the worth and cost of a college education. Sgt. Michael McKenney spoke about how further education after high school can increase the money earned per year by more than 60%, a large amount of money over a lifetime. He also spoke about the cost of college or trade school and asked students how they were planning on paying for their continued education. Some students knew their parents or grandparents would pay for college, other students were planning to take out loans, and still others were planning to go to school part-time and work to pay as they went along. Students asked Sgt. McKenney if it was true that the National Guard would pay a student’s tuition. While the benefits offered by the National Guard was not Sgt. McKenney main point during his lecture he spoke about how the National Guard will pay part of a student’s
tuition and how some school will give a student a reduced tuition
cost if the school is informed that the student has signed up
for the National Guard.
Sgt.
Jerome Agaran spoke about his experience in the military and
how the National Guard helped him pay for college. Specialist
Dennis Ryder attributed joining the military and the National
Guard to his growth from a headstrong youth to a responsible
adult.All 3 Guardsmen agreed that salaries of people who had
earned college degrees where double to those of people who did
not have college degrees and emphasized that the National Guard
strongly encourages its members to go on to further training
whether through a regular college degree or a trade college degree.
At
the end of the presentation, each student was given a book called Fast
Track,
a guide to paying for your college education, from the National
Guard. The book covers information such as how to select
a college, how much does it cost, how to apply to colleges, what
to take to get into college, and how to pick a major and plan
your career. The
book then goes on to explain in more detail how the National
Guard can help pay for college and other Guard benefits. Fast
Track also
covers non-military sources of financial aid such as grants,
work-study, and loans.
It was an interesting and informative session, where the students were asked to stop and think about what their plans for the future may be. |
