桑福德——娜塔莎·帕特森, 前海军陆战队中士, knows what it's like to come out of the military with valuable marketable skills, but no post-secondary education.

A graduate of Waikea High School in Hilo, 夏威夷, Patterson served in the Marine Corps from 1989-1997 as a Communications Center operator. After completing tours of duty at Camp Lejeune and Okinawa, the single mother of a young son eventually felt the necessity to stay in one place and plant permanent roots.

最初在罗利定居, Patterson decided to move to California to attend California State University at Long Beach. There, she earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education. The journey toward a college education was a struggle, she admits.

今天, as Outreach Specialist for the Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) program at Central Carolina 社区 大学, Patterson helps veterans like herself re-enter the educational environment.

"I wish I'd known about the Veterans Upward Bound program when I decided to leave the service and go back to college,帕特森说. "I didn't know how to navigate the educational system. I would have been a prime candidate for this program."

Established in the 1970s by the U.S. Department of Education as part of the national Upward Bound program, Veterans' Upward Bound helps participants complete a postsecondary education by providing academic instruction in core subjects like mathematics, 实验室科学, 英语作文, literature and foreign languages.

The DOE has been awarding Veterans Upward Bound grants nationally since 1972, but 推荐正规买球平台's was the first one awarded to an institution in North Carolina. 五年期债券，1美元.2300万卢布项目拨款, 10月1日授予, 2012, 提供245美元,086 per year for five years to serve veterans residing in Chatham, 哈内特和李县. Partnerships with Wake Technical 社区 大学 and Johnston 社区 大学 will provide the services to eligible veterans in those counties.

The grant will pay for project support staff, provide stipends to the veterans, and cover other expenses as needed, such as the cost of college preparatory classes. The primary goal of the VUB project is to increase the rate at which participants enroll in and complete postsecondary education programs.

Patterson and academic advisors Wilson Lester and Aaron Mabe motivate and assist veterans in the development of academic and other requisite skills necessary for acceptance and success. The program provides assessment and enhancement of basic skills through counseling, 指导, tutoring and academic instruction in the core subject areas.

The VUB program also assists veterans in obtaining services from other locally available resources such as the Veterans Administration, 州退伍军人机构, veterans associations and other state and local agencies that serve veterans.

"Most of the participants in the program are adults who have already worked and provided for their families,帕特森说. "It is difficult for them to assume the subordinate role of student. We provide the services they need to help them build their confidence to achieve their goals. That is why this program is so important."

作为外联专员, Patterson works with local veterans' agencies, 退伍军人医疗中心, the Department of Workforce Solutions, the Department of Labor and even North Carolina legislators.

"My job is to recruit veterans, to get the word out any way I can,她说.

The VUB program at 推荐正规买球平台 has already served 85 veterans.

It seems obvious to anyone that Patterson loves her job.

"The fact that I'm a veteran and had to go back to school myself as a working parent, makes me especially empathetic,她说. "I totally understand the process of taking classes at night and going to work during the day. But I also understand that it is worth it."

For more information about Central Carolina 社区 大学's Veterans Upward Bound Program, contact 娜塔莎帕特森 at 919-718-7488 or e-mail her at npatterson@ospifse.net.