By Rachel Engel
Note: Rachel Engel’s husband Justin Engel is an active duty Air
Force member who was recently deployed to Afghanistan.
Many students must learn to balance work, classes, study time and
family responsibilities while attending college. But a large number
of students are also military service members and must learn to
balance each of those responsibilities, along with the extra tasks
that come with their individual job.
“The job comes before school, so there may be times you have to
sacrifice study time for work,” Air Force active duty member, Scott
Dehorty said. “It takes forward thinking due to military exercises,
inspections, and deployments.”
Even those military reservists, whose military involvement is
limited to one weekend a month, have trouble making school their
number one priority.
“It seems like every time I have a big assignment coming up I have
drill that weekend,” Army reservist, David Freeman, said. “Although
it doesn’t interfere as much as being active duty does.”
Besides the every day hurdles, military members also face being
deployed or being sent to a different duty station in the midst of a
semester.
“I could have graduated last year if I wouldn’t have served a tour
in Iraq,” Freeman said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of what
I and all the other service men and women have done. It’s just hard
knowing you could be mobilized at any time.”
The military does offer tuition assistance for members trying to
pursue their education in conjunction with serving their country.
“It may take longer than the average student, but tuition is 100%
covered,” Dehorty said. “If anything, earning a degree while serving
is easier because the military encourages education.”
Freeman agrees. “Along with tuition assistance, you can also use
your Montgomery GI Bill,” Freeman said. “I don’t know many college
students that get that kind of help.”
Military spouses pursuing their education also have a different
outlook and perspective than an average college student.
“My husband’s job duties could pull him away from the house at any
hour of the day or night, so we try to make the most of every
minute,” military spouse Delight Dehorty said. “When faced with the
choice to do homework or spend time with my husband, my husband wins
every time and my coursework will suffer for it.”
Because military life is so unpredictable, it can be a challenge for
many military spouses to focus on themselves.
“It is so easy to just focus on your spouse and when he will be home
and where he will be going next that you can lose your own personal
desires, dreams, and goals,” Delight said.
Even simple tasks, such as completing required classes for
individual degrees can be difficult for the spouse of a service
member.
“One of the issues I have come across is making sure my credits
transfer if we move,” military spouse, Kelly Miller, said. “In many
degree fields, once you finish your basics and begin your degree,
every college requires different classes. This is very stressful
because being a military spouse you move a lot and usually with very
little notice.”
Many spouses worry that their military member will be stationed
somewhere without a college located in town.
“If you don’t move to a town with a college or university, then you
are left with the daunting task of finding an accredited college or
university online and learning to navigate the online process,”
Delight said.
For the most part, military spouses face the same challenges as
other college students.
“The military doesn’t make going to college difficult, being married
doesn’t make going to college difficult; life is just life and
sometimes one day is harder than the previous day,” Delight said.
Whether serving in the military, or being married to someone who
serves, the ability to “go with the flow” is very useful.
“It’s just a process of adapting and adjusting to changes,” Miller
said.
