Forging advancement: Fort Bliss Education Center

Photo By Spc. Walker Pino | (From left to right) Shannon Collins, Evelyn Foster, and Destanie Santillan serve soldiers, veterans, and their families at the Fort Bliss Education Center Feb. 8, 2023. They work to enable the military community to pursue a higher education to further benefit their career in or out of the military.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

02.10.2023

Story by Pfc. Walker Pino 

24th Theater Public Affairs Support Element

FORT BLISS, TEXAS — When a soldier enlists, they receive many benefits such as healthcare, for them and their families, stable pay, clothing, Veteran Affairs home loans, and a potential retirement.

One of these benefits allows soldiers to pursue an education using their GI bill or tuition assistance to earn a degree at the associates, bachelors, or masters level or certifications in a variety of different fields. Soldiers, veterans and their spouses can discover what benefits they’re eligible for and what program best suits them at the Fort Bliss Education Center.

“Anything that you are needing information on as far as utilizing tuition assistance to help move you forward in your different degree programs, ” said Shannon Collins, the supervisory education service specialist at the Fort Bliss Education Center. “Figuring out what direction you want to go into; that is what we service.

Soldiers are not the only ones who can take advantage of furthering their education. The My Career Advancement Account is a scholarship for military spouses offered by the Department of Defense that provides up to $4,000 in tuition assistance. The spouses of warrant officers, junior officers and E-5 and below are eligible for MyCAA.

“So many more programs have opened up,” said Collins. “Spouses can take advantage of something that’s similar to tuition assistance.”

Soldiers who are looking to further their education can talk to a counselor at the education center to see what options are available to them. U.S. Army Spc. Sheldon Simpson is a first time college student majoring in business administration. Counselors helped him look at colleges to see which one suited him best.

“There’s a lot of information out there that we don’t know about as soldiers even though it’s there for us,” said Spc. Sheldon Simpson, a motor transport operator with Foxtrot Company, 2-3 Field Artillery. “ I’d say it’s very beneficial because they already know what to do, where to go, steps to take and are knowledgeable.”

The education center’s mission is to provide quality educational programs and services that enhance the personal growth, professional development, and readiness of Fort Bliss soldiers, family members, and veterans.

“It’s setting you up for something other than the military, if you choose to, or to advance within the military,” said Collins. “Stop by the education center to see what we may have, because we have a lot of information to give out.”

• Date Taken: 02.10.2023
• Date Posted: 02.10.2023 16:17
• Story ID: 438306
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US