Texas A&M Welcomes Back Warrior-Scholar Project This Weekend

Texas A&M University, a host institution of the Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP), is welcoming back the national nonprofit to its College Station campus on Saturday.

WSP hosts immersive academic boot camps at no cost to enlisted veterans at some of America’s top colleges and universities. WSP is set to host a two-week academic boot camp at Texas A&M for 15 students from June 15-30. Student veterans attending the Texas A&M boot camp will reside in campus housing and attend lectures in various classrooms and facilities.

Through its unique programming, WSP guides veterans through their transition from the military and helps them develop the skills necessary to successfully complete four-year undergraduate programs. In-kind support from Texas A&M and investments made by foundations, corporations and private donors cover the entire cost of the program for participants.

The organization recently announced Maura C. Sullivan as its chief executive officer. Sullivan is a former U.S. Marine Corps officer and assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs with leadership experience spanning the military, government, private and nonprofit sectors.

“We are incredibly proud and excited to host another Warrior-Scholar Project academic boot camp at Texas A&M in 2019,” Sullivan said. “The program at Texas A&M engages veterans at an all-too-critical transition point, addresses veterans’ misperceptions about college and builds their confidence through an intense academic reorientation.”

Since 2017, 34 veterans have attended WSP at Texas A&M.

“I had previously been in college and felt like I was sliding backwards the entire time while in the military,” Texas A&M WSP alumnus Jonathan Strathdee said. “It was discouraging to know I was going to have to redo all the things I had already done academically, but it was reassuring to be surrounded by students in the same boat. Warrior-Scholar Project helped me get back into the mindset of what school was like and transition from the military to higher education.”

WSP launched its first program at Yale University in 2012 with nine participants. Since then, the program has expanded to encompass 18 of America’s top schools and will serve 275 veterans at boot camps across the country in 2019. In addition to Texas A&M, WSP graduates have gone on to enroll at institutions including Georgetown, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, Yale and Stanford.

“Under the leadership of Col. Jerry Smith since 2012, our Veterans Resource and Support Center has continued to blaze a path of excellence on behalf of our veterans,” Texas A&M Vice President for the Division of Student Affairs Daniel J. Pugh said. “Our continued partnership with the Warrior-Scholar Project is indicative of this excellence and we are pleased to serve those who have served our great nation. I am truly thankful for the WSP’s partnership and their commitment to the warrior-scholars who stand ready to exemplify their values on our campus.”

Each boot camp is run by WSP staff with a team of WSP alumni student veterans and is taught by university professors and graduate students. An intensive syllabus guides participants as they learn how to frame their ideas in an academic context, think critically, and formulate scholarly arguments. WSP officials say with the right educational support and access to top-tier universities, veterans can become the next generation of civic and business leaders.

Learn more about Warrior-Scholar Project on the organization’s website.

About Warrior-Scholar Project

Warrior-Scholar Project empowers enlisted veterans and service members to excel at four-year universities. Through intensive and immersive one- to two-week academic boot camps, participants gain skills required for success and support for the cultural shift from the military to higher education at top-tier schools. Throughout this free program, students are housed on campus, and engage in challenging discussions with accomplished professors, receiving tailored instruction on key skills like analytical reading and college-level writing. Warrior-Scholar Project is a national nonprofit with programs at public and private colleges and universities across the country. For more information, visit them online.