Student-Veteran Says Warrior-Scholar Project Changed His View on Education

Navy veteran Orion Cox ’28 once viewed higher education as a box to check before beginning his post-military career. After completing two Warrior-Scholar Project educational boot camps, however, his perspective changed.

“Now I view college as a place to grow and become a better version of yourself,” Cox, 24, said.

A Seattle native, Cox spent five years in the military as an air traffic controller to pay for his education, but he dreams of becoming a composer. He said he’d love to score an animated feature film one day. He enrolled at Wesleyan and will begin studying music in the fall semester. He also hopes to further develop his communication, writing, and critical thinking skills.

“It’s cool seeing myself now at Wesleyan, I never would have thought I’d end up at a place like this,” Cox said.

He was one of 15 veterans and active-duty military that Wesleyan welcomed to campus for a weeklong Warrior-Scholar Project STEM Boot Camp, beginning on June 8. The Warrior-Scholar Project provides free educational bootcamps at institutions across the country to help military personnel reacclimate to the classroom. Students are taught by professors at partner institutions like Wesleyan and mentored by peers who previously completed the program and matriculated to a higher learning environment.

“Every instructor and administrator involved with the boot camp is fully committed to supporting the enlisted veteran population, and it really shows. Student feedback makes clear that their efforts made a lasting impact,” Warrior-Scholar Project CEO Ryan Pavel said. “WSP is honored to work with this remarkable institution, and we hope many more veterans will strongly consider Wesleyan for their undergraduate studies as a result.”

Cox said his experience at Wesleyan during the Warrior-Scholar Project bootcamp confirmed that he made the right choice, he said. He wanted a smaller school with accessible professors and the Wesleyan professors teaching at the boot camp gave him the experience he was looking for.

“It’s just really exciting to be a part of the journey with the Warrior-Scholar Project. Our faculty help to instill confidence in these folks that had reasons to be disenchanted with higher education and reasons to doubt their readiness to engage with higher education,” said Noble Jones, associate dean of admission. “It’s a special thing to be a part of.”

Professor of Physics Lutz Hüwel taught three sessions throughout the week. He discussed basic principles of physics and introduced his research into laser-produced plasmas. He described the students as engaged, motivated, and focused.

“I think it’s an important on-ramp and a new angle on helping formerly enlisted or active-duty military members see that they have a place in selective colleges and universities,” Jones said. He works closely with prospective student-veterans and serves as a faculty advisor to the Wesleyan Veterans Organization.

Wesleyan’s partnership with the Warrior-Scholar Project is one piece of its commitment to improving access to its pragmatic liberal arts education for veterans and improving the veteran experience on campus. The University recently worked with the Wesleyan Veterans Organization to establish the Veteran’s Oasis Lounge — a space for the student veteran community to gather — and created a policy that allows for veteran students with incoming credits to reset their path to experience a full four-year college career, Jones said.

“Writ large, veterans present different support concerns on campus, and it’s really taught members of our community to take stock of where we are in terms of supporting veterans on our campus,” Jones said. “I think we’re in a strong place.”