Tom Prewitt, '07PREWITT SERVED AS A HEAVY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT OPERATOR FOR THE ARMY'S 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION - SERVING IN OPERATION ANACONDA
» Operation Education's First Scholarship Recipient
Media Clip: VFW Magazine
VFW Magazine, September 2007 (Front Cover)
Operation Education
A University of Idaho scholarship lends disabled veterans financial and social support. It is a firstof- its-kind program that supplements the Montgomery GI Bill.
By Kelly Lanigan
A heavy construction equipment operator with the 101st Airborne Division, Tom Prewitt was part of the first Army unit to enter the Afghanistan war zone, in January 2002. His outfit was responsible for reconstructing and maintaining the runway in Kandahar in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
After sustaining a permanent disability to his knees, three torn ligaments in his left ankle and a weak right ankle while in the Army, Prewitt completed a degree in wildlife sciences five years later at the University of Idaho in Moscow.
“The biggest hindrance to my education from my injury was sitting in class,” Prewitt said. “The pain from my injuries is elevated and aggravated by increased physical activity, inclement weather and long periods of standing or sitting. The long class periods, especially 3- to 4-hour labs, did cause me significant discomfort at times.”
But Prewitt was fortunate enough to be the first beneficiary of a unique college program. He received financial help from the university as a result of his status as a disabled veteran. The university awarded Prewitt its first Operation Education scholarship, which he heard about at a monthly meeting of VFW Post 2905 in Moscow, where he is a member and serves as chaplain. Prewitt applied for the scholarship in December 2006 and received funds to help cover costs for his spring 2007 semester.
GI Bill Leaves $12,000 Debt
The Montgomery GI Bill provides veterans up to $1,075 per month for up to 36 months, for a total of $38,700. However, according to the College Board, the average total tuition, fee, and room and board charges for in-state students at public institutions are $12,796 per year. Assuming a constant tuition rate, the GI Bill will cover $38,700 of the $51,148 required for a four-year degree, leaving veterans with $12,484 in debt.
Through the privately funded Operation Education, the University of Idaho provides financial resources, such as tuition, fees, books, on-campus housing, transportation, medical assistance, childcare, adaptive equipment, tutoring and mentorship.
To be eligible, applicants must be honorably separated U.S. military veterans with serviceconnected injuries caused or aggravated by military service after Sept. 11, 2001. As a result of the injury, the applicant must have a physical disability that severely impacts functioning in major life activities.
Spouses of eligible veterans also may qualify for the scholarship. However, priority is given to Idaho residents and veterans whose injury and resulting disability result from action in a war zone like Afghanistan or Iraq.
Money to Concentrate
In 2004, Prewitt planned to begin college at the University of Idaho. Then the day he moved to Moscow, he received a recall notice from the Army.
“I was required to report for duty because my injury apparently didn’t meet the qualifications to be exempted from the recall,” Prewitt said.
Upon reporting for duty, Prewitt met with a surgeon who exempted him from active duty, and he completed his commitment to the Army in April 2006.
In May 2007, Andrea and Logan Prewitt, Tom’s wife and son, watched him graduate.
“The scholarship changed my educational experience by allowing me to concentrate on my studies,” Prewitt said. “Money became tight the first semester after my son was born, so the scholarship kept me from having to work more hours at my part-time job.”
With a bachelor’s degree in wildlife resources, Prewitt started working for the Coeur d’Alene tribe in Plummer, Idaho, as a wildlife habitat biologist. He is starting to iron out the details for a master’s degree thesis at the University of Idaho, hoping to begin research in the summer of 2008 and classes in fall 2008.
“My injury just makes my job that much more challenging,” Prewitt said. “I am in the field a lot for my work, so the uneven terrain poses an obstacle. But like everything else in life, I just adapt and drive on.”
A Tailored Program
Administration officials at the University of Idaho began designing Operation Education in the spring of 2005. The program kicked off one year later, said Karen White, chairwoman of Operation Operation Education Business Plan 23 Education.
White, who has a background in physical therapy, headed the program with an interest in doing something for veterans with disabilities.
“It was a way for us to acknowledge the men and women who have done so much for this country,” she said.
After one year of fundraising to launch the program, the university selected an initial recipient, Prewitt, and then two recipients for January 2007.
White said that the university hopes to expand the program, naming three or four scholarship recipients per year. Because students take four or five years to complete a degree, the university would have 15 or 20 scholarship recipients on campus at any given time.
The university calls Operation Education an individualized, tailored program that includes a financial package and social support. Community programs, including the local hospital, have partnered with Operation Education.
“We are very involved with helping the veterans be successful,” White said. “It’s not just money. It’s providing for the needs they have as they come.”
Many students do not necessarily want to travel to Idaho for their college education. White said that the program was intended as a model for other universities to follow, and she encourages other institutions to contact her.
“We would like to see every university across the country have an Operation Education,” White stresses.
Some people may plan on a military career, but have to reconsider their future after facing a disability, she said.
“Education is going to be the tool that will help them provide for their families and to have careers,” White said.
For more information on Operation Education or to obtain an application, contact John Sawyer at the University of Idaho, (208) 885-7979 or johns@uidaho.edu, or visit http://www.uidaho.edu/OperationEducation.
E-mail klanigan@vfw.org
Other Schools Offer Scholarships
Several universities offer scholarships for wounded veterans. Texas A&M University provides 25 Honored Services Scholarships of $3,000 each to supplement living expenses of veterans. Recipients of Honored Services Scholarships must be Texas residents and qualify for disability assistance.
The University of Wyoming provides $1,000 to $10,000 for Wyoming veterans with disabilities who are pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees. Launched in 2001, the program provides individual scholarships based on financial need and other sources of income.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha offers a Division of Continuing Studies Wounded Veterans Fund Scholarship for $500 or more, available to veterans who meet the U.S. military’s criteria for “severely wounded.” The scholarship, funded through individual donations, is available for wounded veterans and their spouses to attend the university full-time or part-time toward earning a bachelor of general studies degree.
VFW Magazine, September 2007 (Front Cover)
Operation Education
A University of Idaho scholarship lends disabled veterans financial and social support. It is a firstof- its-kind program that supplements the Montgomery GI Bill.
By Kelly Lanigan
A heavy construction equipment operator with the 101st Airborne Division, Tom Prewitt was part of the first Army unit to enter the Afghanistan war zone, in January 2002. His outfit was responsible for reconstructing and maintaining the runway in Kandahar in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
After sustaining a permanent disability to his knees, three torn ligaments in his left ankle and a weak right ankle while in the Army, Prewitt completed a degree in wildlife sciences five years later at the University of Idaho in Moscow.
“The biggest hindrance to my education from my injury was sitting in class,” Prewitt said. “The pain from my injuries is elevated and aggravated by increased physical activity, inclement weather and long periods of standing or sitting. The long class periods, especially 3- to 4-hour labs, did cause me significant discomfort at times.”
But Prewitt was fortunate enough to be the first beneficiary of a unique college program. He received financial help from the university as a result of his status as a disabled veteran. The university awarded Prewitt its first Operation Education scholarship, which he heard about at a monthly meeting of VFW Post 2905 in Moscow, where he is a member and serves as chaplain. Prewitt applied for the scholarship in December 2006 and received funds to help cover costs for his spring 2007 semester.
GI Bill Leaves $12,000 Debt
The Montgomery GI Bill provides veterans up to $1,075 per month for up to 36 months, for a total of $38,700. However, according to the College Board, the average total tuition, fee, and room and board charges for in-state students at public institutions are $12,796 per year. Assuming a constant tuition rate, the GI Bill will cover $38,700 of the $51,148 required for a four-year degree, leaving veterans with $12,484 in debt.
Through the privately funded Operation Education, the University of Idaho provides financial resources, such as tuition, fees, books, on-campus housing, transportation, medical assistance, childcare, adaptive equipment, tutoring and mentorship.
To be eligible, applicants must be honorably separated U.S. military veterans with serviceconnected injuries caused or aggravated by military service after Sept. 11, 2001. As a result of the injury, the applicant must have a physical disability that severely impacts functioning in major life activities.
Spouses of eligible veterans also may qualify for the scholarship. However, priority is given to Idaho residents and veterans whose injury and resulting disability result from action in a war zone like Afghanistan or Iraq.
Money to Concentrate
In 2004, Prewitt planned to begin college at the University of Idaho. Then the day he moved to Moscow, he received a recall notice from the Army.
“I was required to report for duty because my injury apparently didn’t meet the qualifications to be exempted from the recall,” Prewitt said.
Upon reporting for duty, Prewitt met with a surgeon who exempted him from active duty, and he completed his commitment to the Army in April 2006.
In May 2007, Andrea and Logan Prewitt, Tom’s wife and son, watched him graduate.
“The scholarship changed my educational experience by allowing me to concentrate on my studies,” Prewitt said. “Money became tight the first semester after my son was born, so the scholarship kept me from having to work more hours at my part-time job.”
With a bachelor’s degree in wildlife resources, Prewitt started working for the Coeur d’Alene tribe in Plummer, Idaho, as a wildlife habitat biologist. He is starting to iron out the details for a master’s degree thesis at the University of Idaho, hoping to begin research in the summer of 2008 and classes in fall 2008.
“My injury just makes my job that much more challenging,” Prewitt said. “I am in the field a lot for my work, so the uneven terrain poses an obstacle. But like everything else in life, I just adapt and drive on.”
A Tailored Program
Administration officials at the University of Idaho began designing Operation Education in the spring of 2005. The program kicked off one year later, said Karen White, chairwoman of Operation Operation Education Business Plan 23 Education.
White, who has a background in physical therapy, headed the program with an interest in doing something for veterans with disabilities.
“It was a way for us to acknowledge the men and women who have done so much for this country,” she said.
After one year of fundraising to launch the program, the university selected an initial recipient, Prewitt, and then two recipients for January 2007.
White said that the university hopes to expand the program, naming three or four scholarship recipients per year. Because students take four or five years to complete a degree, the university would have 15 or 20 scholarship recipients on campus at any given time.
The university calls Operation Education an individualized, tailored program that includes a financial package and social support. Community programs, including the local hospital, have partnered with Operation Education.
“We are very involved with helping the veterans be successful,” White said. “It’s not just money. It’s providing for the needs they have as they come.”
Many students do not necessarily want to travel to Idaho for their college education. White said that the program was intended as a model for other universities to follow, and she encourages other institutions to contact her.
“We would like to see every university across the country have an Operation Education,” White stresses.
Some people may plan on a military career, but have to reconsider their future after facing a disability, she said.
“Education is going to be the tool that will help them provide for their families and to have careers,” White said.
For more information on Operation Education or to obtain an application, contact John Sawyer at the University of Idaho, (208) 885-7979 or johns@uidaho.edu, or visit http://www.uidaho.edu/OperationEducation.
E-mail klanigan@vfw.org
Other Schools Offer Scholarships
Several universities offer scholarships for wounded veterans. Texas A&M University provides 25 Honored Services Scholarships of $3,000 each to supplement living expenses of veterans. Recipients of Honored Services Scholarships must be Texas residents and qualify for disability assistance.
The University of Wyoming provides $1,000 to $10,000 for Wyoming veterans with disabilities who are pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees. Launched in 2001, the program provides individual scholarships based on financial need and other sources of income.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha offers a Division of Continuing Studies Wounded Veterans Fund Scholarship for $500 or more, available to veterans who meet the U.S. military’s criteria for “severely wounded.” The scholarship, funded through individual donations, is available for wounded veterans and their spouses to attend the university full-time or part-time toward earning a bachelor of general studies degree.