THE REVEILLE
V O L U M E
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I S S U E
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A U G U S T
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WAVE Conference
INSIDE...
Spotlight on
Veteran
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What Is
Chapter 30?
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A Heart the
Size of a
Basketball
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The 12th Annual
Western Association
of Veterans Education Specialists Conference was held July
15-19, 2007. This was
the first year that VSO
Program Manager, Allen
Grundy, attended the
conference. In his assessment of the conference he stated, “this
conference has shed
light on the many duties
certifying officials and
counselors have at colleges and universities
around the country that
are preparing for the
influx of returning veterans.” Easier accessibility
to forms and counseling
appears to be the consensus regarding the
need for better efficiency with the studentveterans and their dependents. Online access
to certifying officials enhances this efficiency.
The conference was
a great opportunity for a
newcomer to join others in the field of veterans counseling to discuss
the various interpretations of the many benefits, regulations, and
processes for the student-veteran.
The ability to help
student-veterans understand what they need to
do to stay in higher education is the primary
concern of this conference. As newer regulations come out of the
first volunteer war since
the Viet-Nam era, education has become one
of the primary focuses of
civilians entering the
military for that 36mont h
entitlement
known as the MGIBill.
If you are interested in starting, enhancing, or expanding your business, plan to attend
this year’s Veterans Business Seminar at the UH University Center, Houston Room. Veterans who are not on our e-mail list should call 713-743-5493 for more information.
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Patrick Riley
“ T h e
Montgomery GI
Bill
program
provides up to
36 months of
educational
benefits.”
Spotlight on Veteran Patrick Riley
I entered the Air Force in August
after graduating from high school in
2000. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to
do for a career, so I figured I’d get
money for college and meet people
from different careers while serving
my country. My four years went by
fast, most of which were spent in
Aviano Airbase, Italy and Seymour
Johnson AFB, North Carolina.
I didn’t enjoy my job in Avionic
Sensors as much as I wished. As I
asked questions and took college
courses, the Physical Therapy field
caught my attention, probably because I really enjoy helping people in
need. Also, since I wanted to play
college football when I left the military, my football training led me
from muscle magazines to anatomy
books.
Growing up in the Houston
area, I always liked the University of
Houston. I chose UH because of
its location, its reputation for commuter friendliness, and Art Briles’
arrival as Head Coach of the football team.
When I began college at UH in
August of 2004, I made the mistake
of taking 19 hours! I was in too
much of a rush. I entered with 20
The Montgomery GI
Bill program provides up
to 36 months of educational benefits. According
to the Veterans Administration website, these
benefits may be used for
degree and certificate programs, flight training, apprenticeship or on-the-job
training, and correspondence courses. Remedial,
deficiency, and refresher
courses are approved under certain circumstances.
For active duty and former active duty personnel,
the benefit is also referred
to as Chapter 30, referring
to Title 38, Chapter 30 of
the United States Code.
To be eligible, you
must meet any one of the
following conditions:
1) entered service on or
after July 1, 1985, AND
you didn’t decline this
benefit at your initial entry
into service; 2) had educational assistance entitlement remaining under the
Vietnam Era GI Bill; 3)
voluntarily separated under either the Voluntary
Separation Incentive or the
Special Separation Benefit
programs and had your
military pay reduced by
$1,200; 4) involuntarily
separated for certain reasons and elected Chapter
30 benefits; 5) were eligible for VEAP benefits on
October 9, 1996, and you
elected Chapter 30 benefits by October 9, 1997
and paid $1,200; 6) first
entered full-time duty in
the National Guard between July 1, 1985 and
November 29, 1989 under
Title 32, U.S. Code, and
hours and left in three years with
125 more. In retrospect, I would
have taken my time, taken a summer off to work, and maybe even
lived on campus for a semester
or two. I underestimated the
amount of detail that university
classes cover, so even the easiest
classes require studying to get a
good grade.
As a walk-on, I played football
from Spring 2005 until Spring
2006. I stopped because I needed
more Physical Therapy experience before applying to graduate
(See Spotlight on page 3)
you elected Chapter 30
benefits during the period
October 9, 1996 through
June 8, 1997, and paid
$1,200; or 7) were eligible
for VEAP benefits on October 9, 1996, elected
Chapter 30 benefits by
October 31, 2001, and
you paid $2,700.
If you would like more
detailed information about
your eligibility for Chapter
30 or any other Montgomery GI Bill program,
go
to
http://
www.gibill.va.gov/
pamphlets/CH30/
CH30_Pamphlet.pdf or
call a Veterans Administration Regional Office.
1-800-827-1000
1-888-GI-BILL-1 or
1-888-442-4551
PAGE
Allen: Where are you from,
Sam?
Sam: Detroit, Michigan
Allen: How long have you
been in Texas now?
Sam: Two years.
Allen: What was your reason
for coming to Texas?
Sam: I came down here to
go to school away from home.
Allen: How did you hear
about the Univ. of Houston?
Sam: I really did not hear
about UH. I dream a lot, and I
had a dream about Houston.
That’s what brought me down
here.
Allen: What branch of service did you serve and what
was your MOS (job)?
Sam: I was in the Navy, and I
was culinary specialist, CS
third class petty officer.
Allen: What is your major?
Sam: Economics
Allen: Why economics?
Sam: Because economics
tells you the key indicators of
how the economy is doing —
you know, like high interest
rates.
Allen: You’re not only an
economics major but you’re in
the entrepreneurship program.
Tell me a little about that.
Sam: This program tells you
all the things you need to learn
about how to develop and start
a business. You look at business cycles and forecasts. It
gives you a foundation in starting your own business.
Allen: Is that what you want
to do?
Sam: For sure. That’s exactly
what I want to do.
Allen: How involved were you
in basketball at UH?
Sam: I was star power forward at UH. I started as a
walk-on, then worked my way
to become a star power forward.
Allen: Was this one of your
ambitions — to play basketball
for a university?
Sam: Oh yeah, I love basketball. Ever since I was a little
guy, that’s all I did was play basketball. It kept me off the
streets and kept me from doing
the wrong things, you know.
Allen: What event changed
your life ambitions?
Sam: I had to save my cousin.
He got real sick. My ambition
was to play basketball overseas,
but my cousin had kidney failure. He was on dialysis for five
years, and he needed a miracle.
So he asked me what was my
blood type, and he looked at
my dog tags. So I gave (one of
my kidneys).
Allen: How did you feel about
that?
Sam: I felt pretty good about
it. I felt that people define
power the wrong way. I think
power is designed to do something. I had the ability to do
something to help my cousin,
so that’s what I did.
Allen: What advice would you
give to other veteran students
coming through UH who may
have to make a challenging decision such as you had to do?
Sam: You have to surround
yourself with wise advisors and
get some encouragement and
words of wisdom from these
people. You also have to pray
for guidance every day so that
you will know what to do.
Allen: So you feel you did the
right thing for your cousin?
Sam: It was definitely the right
thing. I feel my cousin deserves
to live. I feel that everyone
deserves a second chance at
life.
Allen: The VSO thanks you
for your kindness and big heart.
We’re proud you’re one of us.
Spotlight on Riley
school. If I had planned my courses
better, I could have gone to grad
school on the first try, gotten some
paid Physical Therapy experience,
and gotten a Conference USA
Championship ring!
Everything
happens for a reason. All my sacrifice got me into my first choice for
Physical Therapy, U. of TX Medical
Branch in Galveston, and I start in
August.
I recommend patience to all
returning veterans. Go to commu-
nity college for a semester or two
and get back into learning. Military
service while taking a class periodically is nothing compared to being a
full-time student! You may get A’s
and B’s, but are you getting educated?
You are spending a lot of money for
classes and books. “Flying” through
classes and doing the bare minimum
may be cool now, but the smallest
things you learn, even in core requirements, will give you an advantage in
our competitive world. Take advan-
tage of the tutoring you’ve automatically paid for and bug the professors if you don’t understand
something.
Remember, you’re
there to become a professional.
The quality of your future depends
on how you prepare yourself now,
because out here there aren’t any
first sergeants or supervisors looking out for you.
NOTE: Patrick will have worked as
VSO counselor since Spring 2006
when he leaves for graduate study.
3
AN INTERVIEW
with
military
veteran and former University
of Houston basketball
player,
Sam Anderson
By Allen Grundy
Sam Anderson
WHAT WE OFFER
OUR UH VETERANS
A Publication Of
•
•
•
•
268 University Center
Houston, Texas 77204-4024
•
Phone: 713-743-5490
Fax: 713-743-0680
•
www.uh.edu/veterans
vets@mail.uh.edu
•
Assistance through the admissions
process, including financial aid
and class registration
Referrals for credit evaluation of
military training
Referrals for VA health benefits.
Assistance with transition and adjustment to civilian life
Unlimited, free access to computers, local telephone calls, and
facsimile transmittals
200 photocopies and computer
print-outs per month
A quiet study room
Program Manager:
The editor reserves the right to select and
edit articles for publication. Send comments regarding this newsletter to
vets@mail.uh.edu.
Allen Grundy
713-743-5493
agrundy@uh.edu
Editor: Sandra Glass
Graduating Veterans
We’d like to help you
celebrate this milestone in
your life. If you’re graduating this Fall semester, let
us know so that we can
recognize you in the next
issue of The Reveille.
In
addition, do you have
words of wisdom that
you’d like to pass on to
the student-veterans you
are leaving behind? If so,
let us know in 100 words
or less. Suggested topics:
•
If I Knew Then What I
Know Now
•
What I Learned in the
Military That Has
Helped in College and
Civilian Life
•
How the UH Veterans’
Services Office Has Assisted Me
Keep in touch with the VSO
after graduation. We’d like
to know how you’re progressing with your career
so that we can spotlight
your successes and use that
to encourage others.