Veterans in the Warrior-Scholar Project read and discuss literature and political theory with some of the nation’s best professors. Image courtesy of the Warrior-Scholar Project.
With the goal of turning veterans into civic leaders, the Warrior-Scholar Project helps veterans navigate the transition from military to campus life through immersive “boot camps” held at the nation’s top universities. Established in 2012 with a trial program at Yale University, the Warrior-Scholar Project received its first major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2013, which allowed it double the length of its program and the number of veterans it served as well as expand from one to three campuses. Since then, the NEH has continued to support the Warrior-Scholar Project, offering critical funding as the program has expanded to serve more veterans in more locations. Equally important, the NEH grant and the level of vetting that came with it spurred so many donations from individuals and private foundations that NEH funding now makes up only six percent of the Warrior-Scholar Project’s operating budget. Today, the organization is more than ten times its initial size and is able to serve as many as 240 veterans each summer.
“WSP provided me with a supportive network of fellow student-veterans that constantly promote solidarity. We help each other realize and remember that we are not navigating this challenging endeavor alone.”
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The Warrior-Scholar Project prepares veterans for college through an academically-rigorous “boot camp” experience. Image courtesy of the Warrior-Scholar Project.
In the afternoons, Warrior-Scholar Project participants take part in writing workshops led by university faculty and staff. Image courtesy of the Warrior-Scholar Project.
The Warrior-Scholar Project teaches key academic skills such as note-taking and time management. Image courtesy of the Warrior-Scholar Project.
Veterans who become students are faced with particular challenges. Though veterans have a broad skill set, including advanced leadership and problem-solving capabilities, they have not been trained in academic communication and often need guidance with time and financial management. Because many are also first-generation college students, veterans often struggle to navigate the admissions process and take advantage of campus resources. Those who attend Warrior-Scholar Project programs read and discuss literature and political theory with some of the nation’s best professors; they participate in writing workshops; and, each evening, they attend a seminar in transition skills, note taking, engaged reading, and time management. By the end of the program, veterans have increased academic confidence, a better understanding of higher education, and significantly stronger analytic reading and writing skills. And the program is offered at no cost to the participants: everything from housing to food and textbooks is covered by the program.
Video courtesy of the Warrior-Scholar Project.
The Warrior-Scholar Project’s approach has proven extremely effective. Veterans come from around the nation and are at different stages in the college admissions process: some have already enrolled, while others are applying or thinking of doing so. About his experience in the program, 2015 alumnus Mark Henderson reflected that “WSP provided me with a supportive network of fellow student-veterans that constantly promote solidarity. We help each other realize and remember that we are not navigating this challenging endeavor alone.” And the program’s results are proven: 47% of its graduates attend a U.S. News and World Report top-twenty school, compared to only 1% of student-veterans enrolled in undergraduate institutions nationwide. 100% of participants would recommend the program to another veteran.
The Warrior-Scholar project gives veterans the opportunity to study texts and ideas that are foundational to democracy. Here, veterans discuss the Declaration of Independence. Image courtesy of the Warrior-Scholar Project.
