Veteran Derek Auguste was well versed in being a soldier in the U.S. Army. But being a student was an entirely different beast.
“My experience of higher education was difficult,” said Auguste, who enrolled at the University of Miami in his late 30s. “It just felt like it was so much effort and work and I was so anxious because I was afraid that I was going to fall behind and things of that nature. And that’s how I did college before I did this program.”
The program Auguste is referring to is the Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP), a D.C.-based non-profit that helps active-duty and veteran students pursue or transition into higher education.
Every summer, the organization runs 1- to 2-week “bootcamps” for these students – hosted at a number of U.S. colleges and universities – wherein it teaches them various skills – such as academic reading, writing and studying – and helps accustom them to the typical college environment.
“During these immersive experiences, the veterans are able to basically get a dry run at what it would be like to be at a college campus,” said WSP Program Manager Dilia Introini, a veteran Marine who attended the program in 2016 at age 31.
In those one to two weeks, applicants admitted to the program are placed in cohorts of approximately 15 to 22 fellow military-affiliated students and attend classes at host institutions.
“All they were responsible for was to get there. Whether they have to fly or drive, that was entirely up to them,” said Auguste, who is now WSP’s alumni engagement & outreach fellow. “But once they arrived on campus, everything for that week was covered and paid for by Warrior-Scholar Project, so tuition, books, room and board, meals for that entire week were provided for by Warrior-Scholar Project.”
