Army veteran Eddie Brown never thought he’d earn a college degree.
He joined the Army in 2003, shortly after Operation Iraqi Freedom began, serving for eight years and deploying to the Middle East three times. The circumstances never worked for him to go back to school to get his bachelor’s degree.
Years later, though, after he left the Army, he achieved his goal. Brown and his family came from Kentucky to Pennsylvania to celebrate his graduation.
He had gone back to school, as an online learner with Penn State World Campus, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Labor and Human Resources. Today, he works at Fort Campbell in the Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.
“Going through my career, I had a lot of officers who I talked to that made me feel more comfortable with opening that door to further my education,” he said.
Brown is one of the many veterans, active-duty service members, reservists, and National Guard members who have earned their degrees online through Penn State World Campus.
Following the path
When Brown left the military in 2012, he began job searching to start the next step in his life.
“I found that a lot of the jobs I wanted to go for required some type of secondary education,” he said. “That pushed me further into looking into schools.”
Brown’s interest in human resources began when he helped his employer’s HR office with a job fair. Brown talked with people about their career aspirations and the company.
“It made me feel like I was in my element,” he said.
When he began to explore going back to school, Brown saw Penn State on a list of top-ranked online higher education institutions.
He questioned if Penn State World Campus was the real Penn State, and his research confirmed it was. He liked that a degree through Penn State World Campus is the same degree a student can earn at a residential campus.
“That influenced my decision a whole lot,” Brown said.
He enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts in Labor and Human Resources in 2014. The degree program is offered online in partnership with the Penn State School of Labor and Employment Relations in the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts.
Over the next decade, Brown worked toward earning his degree while navigating the balance of his academic journey with managing family, work, and life's hardships.
Brown credits his family, his academic adviser Richard Akers, and his support network for helping him stay focused on achieving his academic goal. His advice to other students pursuing a degree is to stay motivated.
“Even though you feel like stopping, even though it’s easy to stop, just keep going,” he said.
At home in Happy Valley
One of the highlights of Brown’s academic journey was making the trip to attend graduation at the Penn State University Park campus with his family. The trip capped a decade of dedication and hard work toward earning a bachelor’s degree.
“I’m able to say that I actually went to Penn State, walked across the stage, heard my name over the loudspeakers, and was able to just be in the presence of that arena,” Brown said.
Brown also attended Penn State’s Military Honor Cord Ceremony, an event during which veterans and active-duty service members receive red, white, and blue honor cords to wear during their academic commencement ceremonies. Brown received his cord and shook Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi’s hand.
Both ceremonies cemented Brown’s choice of Penn State.
“I think one of the biggest things, if not the biggest thing for me, was when I got there, it felt like I had been there all along,” he said. “I had built these relationships with people online, and now I’m here, and it’s like I was born in State College.”
The next chapter
Now back in Kentucky, Brown works at the hospital at Fort Campbell, where he encourages others to check out Penn State World Campus.
“The experience is great. I would recommend and have recommended it to my fellow veterans, and working at Fort Campbell, I tell a lot of soldiers there now to look into Penn State,” he said.
About Penn State World Campus
Penn State World Campus has been offering a Penn State education online for more than 25 years, with a comprehensive portfolio of more than 200 degrees and certificates now available.
For military learners, Penn State offers a variety of tailored support services, including financial aid, admissions, and academic advising.
Learn more about the educational opportunities for military-affiliated students offered through Penn State World Campus.
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