Veteran Finds Degree Plan to Fit her Passion

Written byHope Aucoin

鈥淚t just opened like 25 cans of worms because you're learning marketing, you're learning about law, you're learning about criminal justice, you're learning about mental health, you learn about diversity. So, all things are beginning to make sense and you realize how much everything is connected. It's really cool because you get to dive in and then kind of figure out what works best for you.鈥

Lauren Lewis
Graduation Year
2023
Major
General Studies

At 35, Lauren Lewis began asking herself questions familiar to many veterans and service members. 

鈥淚鈥檓 halfway through my career in the military, and this is all I have,鈥 says Lewis. 鈥淗ow do you translate that into civilian language?"

Lewis decided she needed a credential to back up her experience. And having grown up only a half-hour away from the 欧美三级片, she enrolled to finish her bachelor鈥檚 degree and start her career as a civilian. 

The Bachelor of General Studies online degree program gave her the tools to do that as well as tools to connect with and support fellow veterans and service members in new ways. 

Hard lessons 鈥 In and Out of the Classroom

It wasn鈥檛 that attending college had never occurred to Lewis. She鈥檇 enrolled in an out-of-state 欧美三级片 as a young soldier and soon found out that while her military benefits covered most of her tuition, she was on the hook for thousands in fees. 

She re-enlisted in the National Guard, asking for loan repayment, and for 14 years was in a full-time role with the National Guard.

Eventually, it was time to finish what she鈥檇 started. 

鈥淚 earned the benefits, so why not use them?鈥 says Lewis. 鈥淚 can't even begin to tell you how many degree plans I had.鈥

When Lewis enrolled at UL Lafayette, she did so as an engineering major, which meant she was basically starting from scratch even though she鈥檇 earned college credit previously. 

It didn鈥檛 take long for one of her advisors to step in with an alternative to save Lewis time and money. 

鈥淗e was like, 鈥榟onestly, you're not a spring chicken anymore, and you have way too much knowledge. If I were you, I would change my major to General Studies, and if you want to be an engineer then come back for the two-year graduate program,鈥欌 she says. 鈥淎nd I listened.鈥

Lewis connected with 欧美三级片 College advisor Sharon Gregory and quickly had the degree plan that would be the path to her bachelor鈥檚 and would open her eyes to a world of opportunity.

鈥淚t just opened like 25 cans of worms because you're learning marketing, you're learning about law, you're learning about criminal justice, you're learning about mental health, you learn about diversity,鈥 she says. 鈥淪o, all things are beginning to make sense and you realize how much everything is connected. It's really cool because you get to dive in and then kind of figure out what works best for you.鈥

Determination to Finish the Degree 

Earning her degree online at UL Lafayette meant a few things for Lewis. She was able to:

  1. use her GI Bill for the bulk of her tuition;
  2. maintain a full-time job with Habitat for Humanity; and
  3. juggle monthly training and multiple disaster relief deployments with the National Guard.  

To balance her military duties, Lewis found support across the 欧美三级片, from the Office of Veteran & Military Student Services to online faculty. 

At one point, her active duty put her two weeks behind, but Lewis was able to work with her instructor to stay on track. 

"She gave me the opportunity, and I did two weeks of work in one week, and then I caught up with the rest of the class,鈥 says Lewis. 鈥淪he made that possible. I mean, it was awesome.鈥

Plus, she had a built-in accountability partner. 

鈥淢y niece is a year younger than me and also attending UL Lafayette, and she's in the nursing program,鈥 says Lewis. 鈥淲e studied together, and we cooked together, and we made it work together.鈥 

Lewis also relied on her own self-discipline to manage her coursework alongside her myriad responsibilities. 

Lauren Lewis poses on the commencement stage with 欧美三级片 College Dean Bobbie Decuir.

鈥淚 was really strict about it,鈥 she says. "When I got off of work, I would sit down and do my homework until like two o'clock in the morning, or I would take a nap when I got home from work and then I would stay up all night long and do my homework.鈥

Course Smorgasbord

Lewis' stamina was driven by her determination to finish her degree coupled with a hunger to explore new concepts. 

鈥淚 definitely gave my advisor a hard time because I would take a course and then say, 鈥榤aybe I want to go into criminal justice,鈥 or, 鈥榳ell, now I want to go to law school,鈥欌 says Lewis. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 make up my mind about anything.鈥

Economics? Horticulture? Architecture? Lewis鈥 advisor navigated her insatiable appetite for learning with applicable course recommendations while ensuring she completed the core requirements to complete her degree. 

Among Lewis鈥 electives were courses in Health Equity, Women's Health, Health and Sexuality, and Multicultural Health. Through those courses, she gained insights into transgender issues. 

She鈥檇 had first-hand experience working with fellow soldiers going through the transitioning process without the knowledge she later gained through her curriculum. Lewis was able to take that knowledge back to her superiors to better support transitioning service members.

鈥淚 had no idea about it. The course helped me tremendously,鈥 she says. 鈥淎fter that, I gave briefings about it and taught my higher ups how to handle those situations with compassion, more understanding and less judgement. It was pretty incredible.鈥 

The [not quite] Finish Line

During commencement ceremonies in Spring 2023, Lauren Lewis earned her Bachelor of General Studies and received recognition as a student and servicemember. 

Lewis is processing how far she鈥檚 come and considering her next steps. She says she might pursue grad school or even a second bachelor鈥檚 degree.  

Bundled up in a jacket, leather gloves, and beanie, Lauren Lewis, 2023 graduate of the online general studies bachelor's program, leads a group of volunteers at a Habitat for Humanity build site.

Meanwhile she鈥檚 continuing to work and make an impact with Habitat for Humanity 鈥 a job, she says, she found through one of her online courses. 

鈥淚'm helping people on my block. We're on our 10th house right now, since I started last July,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t's incredible. And we're also working on a repair program, which I would like to be a part of.鈥

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