How I Earned My Degree
Meet 4 spouses who took advantage of the new educational opportunities.
by Josie Cellone
Coastline Community College sums it up best: “Military dependent spouses require and deserve the same types of educational support and opportunities enjoyed by service members.”
That’s one of the reasons Coastline landed on the first annual Military Friendly Schools list (www.militaryfriendlyschools.com), a comprehensive guide that honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools which are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans and their families as students.
You can view the honor roll of 1,000 schools at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com, and hear from four spouses who are enrolled in these top programs:
Name: Shanti Frady
Degree: Pursuing AA in Arts and Humanities
School: Coastline Community College
Web site: military.coastline.edu
Current Location: Fort Lewis, Washington
Spouse: Army
Married: 5 years
How she did it: Coastline offers a specialized program for military spouses with reduced tuition rates that include textbooks, and Frady said that extra attention has helped her succeed as a straight-A student. “I’m very driven and motivated,” Frady said. “Students getting an online education have to be very self-directed.” She compliments Coastline’s “degree road map” with helping students stay on track with their coursework and schedule. And she calls her 3-year-old son her motivation. “It really is a stepping stone, and I want to show my children how an education can help them achieve their ambitions.”
Name: Becky Webster
Degree: Pursuing Master’s in Education Leadership and Administration
School: Jones International University
Web site: www.jiu.edu
Current Location: Ririe, Idaho
Spouse: Army National Guard
Married: 33 years
How she did it: It had been 10 years since Webster completed her bachelor’s degree. After the last of her children graduated from high school and her husband returned from Iraq, she started looking for a way to get her master’s degree. She admits she “didn't really know what or how to find an online course.” JIU made the admission process, financial aid and the decisions really easy, she said. As a teacher, Webster was accustomed to contact with students and was concerned with whether she would get to understand her professors’ personalities without being in a classroom. “I’ve been really impressed they have a sense of humor, even in cyberspace,” she said.
Name: Chrystal Plante
Degree: Obtained AS in Applied Science
School: Harrison College
Web site: www.harrison.edu
Current Location: Lafayette, Ind.
Spouse: Army
Married: 4 years
How she did it: “Military wives have twice the stress and worry on their shoulders when their soldiers leave than when their soldier is still home,” said Plante, a mom who worked two jobs and went to Harrison College full-time while her husband was overseas. Even then she found time to head up care package drives that got students and faculty involved. “I will never forget how caring and uplifting the student body and faculty were to me throughout my entire journey during college,” she said. “Harrison College really cares about supporting America’s service members and their families.”
Name: Prima Donna Baines
Degree: Pursuing BS in business and MBA in human resource management
School: Hawai’i Pacific University
Web site: www.hpu.edu
Current Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Spouse: Navy
Married: 4 years
How she did it: Baines had wanted to finish her degree and was attracted to the international community on Hawaii Pacific University’s campus. “I have traveled quite a bit, and it’s a quite mix of people,” Baines said. The diversity extends to the faculty, as well as the age range on the military campus, from those ready to retire to new recruits. Baines took advantage of HPU’s concurrent credit program, which enables students to get a head start on their master’s degrees by earning graduate and undergraduate credit simultaneously for the same course.