{"id":3723,"date":"2013-11-21T17:25:05","date_gmt":"2013-11-21T17:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=3723"},"modified":"2016-02-16T20:50:25","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T20:50:25","slug":"launching-new-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2013\/11\/21\/launching-new-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Launching a new mission"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Christine
Christine Dawson ’13 MSW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Augsburg College celebrated 56 Master of Social Work graduation candidates at the June 2013 Commencement, and it\u2019s quite possible that Christine Dawson \u201913 MSW was the only graduate who began her professional career as a mechanic.<\/p>\n

Shortly after high school, Dawson joined the United States Marine Corps where she spent three decades and worked in two distinct military occupations.<\/p>\n

While Dawson met her goals of traveling the world and doing something \u201cmost women didn\u2019t do\u201d at the time, she felt called to serve the Marine Corps troops\u2014rather than Marine Corps vehicles\u2014and began a new assignment as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. This role turned out to be a perfect fit because of her ability to help \u201cpeople go on to live their best life and achieve their goals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Dawson completed a 17-year tenure with the Marine Corps and served an additional 13 years in the Army National Guard where she continued work as a mental health specialist. When she approached military retirement, she returned to school to earn a graduate degree at Augsburg College, which offered her the opportunity to advance in her civilian career and integrate her military experience into a challenging professional role. Augsburg, she found, was a place that understood her desire to live a purpose-driven lifestyle and to embed meaningful service within her career.<\/p>\n

Military and veterans support<\/h2>\n

Many of Augsburg\u2019s students with military experience enroll in an undergraduate or graduate degree program to build upon the education and training that were part of their military service. For other students, Augsburg is a way to prepare for a civilian career that\u2019s unlike any past duties.<\/p>\n

Some students who have served in the armed forces are eligible for state and federal financial aid assistance to help pay for college. At Augsburg, more than 100 students with military experience are working one-on-one with the College\u2019s Student Financial Services and Registrar\u2019s offices to successfully claim their education benefits and get individualized help navigating complex eligibility rules.<\/p>\n

Augsburg College also directly supports these students by hosting an on-campus space for them to meet and by employing a Student Veteran Liaison who mentors peers and works to connect students with College resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing more nontraditional-age students in our undergrad population and some of those people have been around the world and have served our country,\u201d said Lori York, assistant registrar and Veterans Affairs certifying official. \u201cA veteran\u2019s sense of \u2018a call to serve\u2019 totally meshes with Augsburg, and we want to make sure they can make the most of their education here.\u201d<\/p>\n

From call to campus<\/h2>\n
\"A.J.
A.J. Anderson ’15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During four years of Marine Corps service, A.J. Anderson \u201915, Augsburg\u2019s student veteran liaison, led an amphibious assault team as the crew chief for vehicles that he likens to those that carried troops onto Normandy beaches during World War II. At age 25, Anderson had reconsidered his decision to attend a large public university and left school to become a Marine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that joining the military was my calling for a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cOther people backpack in Europe or just take a break. I went to war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson served around the globe and later joined the Marine Corps Reserve military police unit at Fort Snelling in St. Paul before he began thinking about his long-term career.<\/p>\n

He said his military experiences didn\u2019t translate into a civilian profession, but\u2014through his service\u2014solidified his aspirations. He resumed his education and in 2012 transferred to Augsburg with a plan to serve his country in a new way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m devoting my life to helping veterans,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know I wanted to do social work until I got out of the military, so coming to Augsburg and working toward that goal is a big part of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, Anderson is getting a jump-start on this career through his student involvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that peer mentors and peer leaders play an important role in students\u2019 achievement,\u201d said Ann Garvey, vice president of Student Affairs. \u201cFor example, student athletes serve on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and Orientation Leaders welcome our new Auggies to campus. Our Student Veteran Liaison does outreach with a different group, but the premise is the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Anderson, helping other veterans succeed at Augsburg College couldn\u2019t be a better fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to give other students the tools I\u2019ve been working with,\u201d he said, \u201cand make sure they have the support I\u2019ve experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n

From assisting veterans on campus to one day serving them as a clinical social worker, Anderson\u2019s Augsburg education has prepared him for a meaningful career that aligns with his passions. And Dawson, who has been working with veterans for decades, shows that this path is clearly a worthwhile one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Augsburg College celebrated 56 Master of Social Work graduation candidates at the June 2013 Commencement, and it\u2019s quite possible that Christine Dawson \u201913 MSW was the only graduate who began her professional career as a mechanic. Shortly after high school, Dawson joined the United States Marine Corps where she spent three decades and worked in <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":6268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[63,19,74],"class_list":["post-3723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-auggie-voices","tag-fall-2013","tag-veterans"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3723"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6490,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3723\/revisions\/6490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}