Photo By 1st Lt. Ashley Childress | Spc. Dewit Baye, a finance specialist in the 828th Finance Detachment, 213th Regional...... read more read more
Spc. Dewit Baye serves as a finance specialist with the 828th Finance Detachment, 213th Regional Support Group, Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
Baye, a native of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, applied to the Diversity Visa Lottery Program and was one of 50,000 immigrants randomly selected for a United States green card. In 2014 he moved to the U.S. when he was 21-years old.
Having worked as a teacher in Ethiopia, Baye desired to teach again in the U.S. However, with no family or connections in the country and very little money, he said he could not afford college.
A year after he moved to the U.S., he heard a radio advertisement for the Army National Guard while working as a cashier at a convenient store, in Philadelphia. He became interested in the education benefits the Guard has to offer and soon joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
Now, a resident of Philadelphia, Baye attends Philadelphia Community College where he is studying for a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
He said his military service not only provides financial aid for college, but his military schooling also helped him learn about technology crucial to his education. As a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard he is exposed to diverse cultures that he had not experienced previously, he said.
As a Soldier in the Guard he also said he enjoys a sense of community that had been lacking before he joined.
“I don’t have family here so I didn’t have relationships, and when I first arrived here I just struggled by myself” said Baye, “Now that is different.”
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2018 08:57 |
| Story ID: | 280334 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US |
| Hometown: | ADDIS ABABA, ET |
| Hometown: | PHILADELPHIA, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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