PoM hosts college fair; encourages service members to continue their education

PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. (July 31, 2024) - The Presidio of Monterey's Army Education Center held a college fair which included representatives from 16 universities and local colleges on July 25 at the Aiso Library.

The college fair welcomed Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center students, Department of Defense civilian employees, service members from around the Monterey Peninsula and others interested in furthering their education.

"It's important for us as a garrison to expose service members here with what opportunities lie for them outside of their military career," said Col. Daniel Artino, garrison commander of the Presidio of Monterey. "As service members we know that our time in the military will end at some point, whether it be in four years or 40 years. We want to make sure they're set up for success once they exit, and in many cases getting an education is important in being successful."

According to Gregory Bond, director of military education at Pennsylvania State University and retired Marine Corps Lt. Col, there is a distinct advantage for service members to get a formal education.

"If you can couple your military service with an education it can open a lot of doors for you," Bond said. "The military student enrolls because they want to go to college, not because they have to or are pressured to like others coming straight out of high school. Their self-discipline and desire to learn makes them excellent students."

This was the first college fair held at PoM since 2016, but Jerry Gibbons, PoM's educational services coordinator, says that the success of this year's should lead to the college fair becoming annual.

"Events like this can be hard to coordinate because it's difficult to get all the universities to agree to come here at the same time," Gibbons said. "The response I got from both the university representatives and the participants from this event was incredibly positive. The representatives are already talking about doing this again next year."

Many service members at the event had not been to a college fair since they were in high school or had never even attended one.

"The last time I attended an event like this was when I was in high school, so I appreciate the updated resources given to me at this on-base event," said Army Staff Sgt. Luke Grays, a military language instructor at the DLIFLC. "I have already been given an associate's degree by DLIFLC, but now I am looking to go further and get a bachelor's while I am still serving."

One of the well-known advantages of military service is the tuition assistance and GI Bill benefits. With tuition assistance, the military pays all or a portion of the charges of an educational institution while a service member is on active duty. The GI Bill benefits can carry over after the service member has left active duty.

"One of the criteria for universities to be vendors at the college fair was their ability and willingness to ensure that service member's benefits are applicable," Gibbons said. "I didn't want service members to be introduced to a university or program just to learn that they would not be fully covered to attend them with the benefits they are entitled to."

Gibbons also strategically chose universities and colleges geographically close to Monterey, such as California State University Monterey Bay, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Monterey Peninsula College, Stanford University and the University of California Santa Cruz.

PoM's Army Education Center can assist any service member or dependent in finding the educational opportunity that fits their needs and desires. Their geographic range includes the entire state of California, excluding only Fort Irwin, so you do not need to be stationed at PoM or nearby to access their resources.

For more information on PoM's Army Education Center, please call them at (831) 242-5325.

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