Are you a future sergeant major or sergeant major interested in attaining your master’s degree with no out of pocket cost? The United States Sergeants Major Academy Fellowship is just the program you have been looking for.
The fellowship is a broadening program which selects 20 sergeants major every year to attain a master’s degree in Lifelong Learning and Adult Education from Pennsylvania State University or a degree in Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation from Syracuse University.
“Sergeants major now have a choice to work with world class educators from both of these institutions,” Command Sgt. Maj. David Lee Jr., director, USASMA, said. Lee. Lee is also a graduate from the first Fellowship Cohort.
The 20 sergeants major who are selected will make up a fellowship cohort. Since the program started in 2014, there have been four Cohorts. The fifth one will start this August and applications for the sixth cohort will open in the beginning of April.
An eligible sergeant major who is interested in the program must be able to complete the full fellowship and sign a service obligation. Upon completion of the one year program, the fellows will serve three years as an instructor through USASMA and the NCO Leadership Center of Excellence to develop future sergeants major.
“This program enhances the fellows’ career and does not end it. It makes them better at what they do and gives them the opportunity to continue to give back to the Army. The U.S. Sergeants Major Academy is making today’s sergeants major better for tomorrow through the Fellowship Program,” Lee said.
While the program enhances a fellow’s career it also enhances the NCOL CoE. “These seasoned credentialed professionals will also be able to assist in the instructional design of our curriculum,” Sgt. Maj. Matildo Coppi, Cohort 2, said. Coppi is also a vice chair at USASMA.
The fellowship focuses on growth. Growing new instructors for USASMA, growing the careers of the fellows and growing the future sergeants major they will be educating.
“This is one of the only programs where a senior noncommissioned officer can grow not only personally by obtaining a master’s degree, but professionally to serve as an instructor for USASMA and share our knowledge and experience with future sergeants major,” Sergeant Major Trinket Gack, Cohort 4, said.
Going through the rigor of attaining a master’s degree through this program can be challenging. However, there are systems in place to help the sergeants major be successful not only through the program but throughout their career.
Representatives from both institutions visit their students once a quarter and even though the program is conducted through an online platform through USASMA on Fort Bliss, Texas. Instructors of both Penn State and Syracuse University are only a phone call or email away.
Fellows coming through the program are also assigned a USASMA faculty member as a mentor who can guide them through the process and give a fellow face to face time.
“There is a connection with the university and USASMA you are not by yourself and due to the partnerships with both institutions, we know they are here for us if we need them,” said Sgt. Maj. Dietrick Louis, Cohort 3, said.
The USASMA Fellowship Program utilizes the sergeant’s major experiences and immerses them into the world of teaching and education.
“This program gives the military educator a different way to see education and blending it at the senior level at USASMA to give the future sergeants major different ways to collaborate, to digest the material and to receive it from the subject matter experts,” Lee said.
The tools of education and proper theories are taught to the sergeants major throughout the program, however practical application is attained on the platform. Partnerships are made in the classroom between the fellow and the mentor and these shared experiences help them help each other.
“This is one of the best experiences in my military career, I served as an battalion command sergeant major before and coming here with this kind of staff and this kind of energy, learning from the students as I would facilitate to them has just been phenomenal, we are looking for the best and brightest who want to enhance their career and not end it,” Lee said.
WHO CAN APPLY
Any sergeant major who has less than 25 years of military service, is either Active Component, National Guard, or Active Guard Reserve with a completed bachelor’s degree of a 3.0 or higher from an accredited institution. All additional information can be found at http://ncolcoe.armylive.dodlive.mil/usasma-fellowship/
ALREADY HAVE A MASTER’S DEGREE
If you are a sergeant major with a master’s degree and are interested in being an instructor at USASMA contact the Sergeants Major Branch at HRC. You can find out more information about the NCOL CoE or USASMA at http://ncolcoe.armylive.dodlive.mil/usasma.
For additional information contact the NCO Leadership Center of Excellence Public Affairs office
at 915-744-2238 or via email at Danielle.a.odonnell.civ@mail.mil
| Date Taken: |
03.21.2019 |
| Date Posted: |
03.21.2019 11:43 |
| Story ID: |
315171 |
| Location: |
FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: |
231 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
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