Military service can build qualities that are sought by employers and vital to career success, from leadership and discipline to adaptability and the ability to perform under pressure. As veterans and active-duty service members move into new phases of their careers, many look for educational opportunities that build on those strengths while accommodating the demands of military life.
At USC Bovard College, that combination attracts a growing community of military-affiliated students pursuing graduate degrees while continuing to serve their country, support national defense or prepare for civilian leadership roles.
“We have a healthy and strong veteran population,” said Gregory Vigil, USC Bovard College chief operating officer. “The military is represented in almost all of our programs.”
Currently, 123 military-affiliated students are enrolled across the college’s master’s programs, including 80 veterans, 22 active-duty service members, 11 National Guard and Reserve members and 10 military dependents.
Students come from every branch of the armed forces and from organizations that play critical roles in national defense and public service. Many work for employers such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, RTX and SpaceX, while others continue serving on active duty around the world.
Instead of putting their lives on hold to pursue graduate school, they build new skills while remaining on the job.
“We see veterans using our programs in different ways,” Vigil noted. “Some are advancing within their current organizations, while others are making a transition into new careers.”
Suited for Military Life
Because Bovard College’s master’s programs are delivered online, students can continue their education while balancing deployments, family responsibilities and demanding professional schedules.
For Jessica Baldonado, an Army veteran who now manages defense programs, that flexibility made it possible to pursue a Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM) while working full time and raising her young son.
“I really wanted to strengthen my leadership and program management skills,” Baldonado said. “I wanted to grow from being someone who executes tasks into someone who can strategically lead large programs.”
Navy paralegal Sherane Blackman Chapman also found that flexibility invaluable as a student in Bovard College’s online Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ) program. A petty officer first class stationed in San Diego and preparing for deployment at sea, Chapman needed a program that could adapt to the realities of military service.
“The online program is making it so much easier for me,” Chapman observed. “If I have watch, I can take my laptop to work and do my schoolwork. I can tap in with the professor. It’s really helping tie everything together and is just amazing.”
For Alberto Cortez, a chief warrant officer in the New York Army National Guard and emergency manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the online format of the Master of Science in Emergency Management (MSEM) program made it possible to pursue graduate study from the East Coast while continuing both careers.
“I was a little apprehensive,” he admitted about concerns that combining USC’s intense coursework with his wide range of duties might prove too much. But thanks to the supportive mentorship of Bovard College faculty, he explained, “it was the complete opposite.”
Investing in Those Who Serve
At Bovard College, service members and military-affiliated individuals also know they’re studying at an institution that understands military education benefits and can help students navigate them.
For example, USC participates in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Yellow Ribbon Program, helping eligible students bridge funding gaps after GI Bill benefits are applied. The college contributes up to $10,000 annually per student, with the VA matching that amount dollar for dollar, providing as much as $20,000 in additional support. Unlike other schools, Bovard College does not limit the number of students who can receive Yellow Ribbon benefits.
According to Chapman, the support extends beyond financial assistance. She credits the college’s personalized guidance with making the process straightforward.
“Communication at [Bovard College] is very easy,” Chapman said. “If I forget something, I know Mr. Vigil will email to remind me that I need to send in this certificate or this letter.’”
That responsiveness can be especially valuable for military students whose schedules and assignments often change with little notice. In an age of automation and artificial intelligence, Chapman also appreciates the college’s human touch.
“If you make a phone call, you’re getting a person,” she said. “It’s not an automated service.”
For service members balancing graduate education with the demands of military life, that combination of financial support, individualized guidance and responsive service can make earning an advanced degree significantly more manageable.
Preparing for Their Next Mission
Military-affiliated students often come to Bovard College not to start over but to build on skills already developed. After leaving the Army, Baldonado began her civilian career at Northrop Grumman before advancing into increasingly complex defense programs. She viewed project management as a natural extension of the mission planning and coordination she had performed in uniform.
“A lot of what I work with right now on the defense side, I was that end user on the Army side,” she said. “I needed to utilize the product that I was making in order for me to make those good decisions, to come home — and for my teams to come home.”
She said the MSPM program’s emphasis on planning, stakeholder communication, risk management and project execution translated directly to her work in the aerospace and defense industry.
“It really connected the classroom discussions to challenges I was actively facing in the industry,” Baldonado noted.
Since earning her master’s, she has advanced to a senior project manager role at General Dynamics, where she continues applying those skills while preparing for even greater leadership responsibilities.
Cortez likewise enrolled to strengthen the expertise he relies on every day as an emergency manager and National Guard officer after 16 years of military service, including deployments to Afghanistan and the Middle East. He found a program built around experienced faculty, small classes and practical discussion rather than passive lectures.
“The professor-to-student ratio is a huge strong point for me,” Cortez said. “Class sizes are very intimate, so you’re getting your peers’ input as well as the professor’s. It’s not death by PowerPoint — you’re actively engaged in conversation.”
Trojans in Arms
Whether they are serving on active duty, leading defense programs or strengthening emergency preparedness, military-affiliated students come to Bovard College with a common goal: building on the leadership skills they developed in uniform while preparing for the next stage of their careers.
For Baldonado, Bovard College honed the leadership principles she first learned in the Army and continues to apply at General Dynamics.
“USC and this program really supported and emphasized those values that I learned in the military,” she said. “You have to have accountability instead of pointing fingers at other people.”
Cortez has enjoyed the program’s capacity for expanding the skills he brings to emergency management and military service.
“It gives you the tools that you need to kind of maneuver and operate” in organizations ranging from FEMA and the Department of Defense to the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector, he noted.
For Chapman, as she balances graduate school with active-duty Navy service while advancing her legal career, the experience has also fostered a lasting sense of community.
“You’re an online student, but they make you feel like you are actually on campus,” Chapman said. “You don’t miss out on anything.”
Or, as she put it, “You’re part of the Trojan Family, whether near or far.”
Learn more about USC Bovard College graduate programs today.