Age – 54

Hometown – Savannah, GA

Branch of Service – Coast Guard

University enrolled to or attending/ Or education goals if not enrolled – not enrolled (previous BA Theatre’ from UDC ’98)

Did the VUB program have a positive impact on your academic journey? It is now having a positive impact. I appreciate the knowledge bank of resources I haven’t received since I was discharged 30 years ago. I had given up on the VA being available to help unique veterans like myself. VUB is filling the void. It’s late coming but it finally has arrived.

In what other ways was VUB helpful to you? Networking professionally but also socially. I was a very lonely veteran in DC. Being artsy and a veteran left me alienated in ways because most vets are not artists. Most artists are not vets. And most artists as well as the community really don’t value either identity or culture.

What would you say to a fellow veteran who is considering going back to or starting school? I definitely would suggest counseling with VUB before making costly mistakes with your funding and your time.

Would you recommend they work with VUB? If yes, how and why? Of course. Curtis talked me out of wasting my funding going down a road that would require additional funding and time that I couldn’t afford to risk for my age. I appreciated the truth. I look for guidance that understands the reality of what veterans face while still finding resources to keep hope alive and abundant.