As a young military wife, I have made many sacrifices. I have moved multiple times, each time leaving behind family and friends and struggling to start over in a new place. I have also had to sacrifice time with my husband when he is away. However, the biggest sacrifice I feel that I have had to make is the quality of my education.
When my husband and I first began dating four years ago, I was finishing up my two-year degree at a small college in Georgia and had plans to attend the University of Miami the following year.
Ends up, what kept me away was not an army, but a single airman.
The choice with which I was faced was a difficult one to say the least. The amazing school and education that I had always dreamed of? Or the chance at what felt like a long-lasting relationship? In the end, I chose the relationship. Many people may find this risky or naive, and in all fairness, it probably was; but now that I see where we have ended up, I am grateful for my past naivety.
Unfortunately, choosing my relationship over my education has had its consequences. I had to settle for attending a far less prestigious school that simply did not challenge or stimulate me the way I know Miami would have. I received my Bachelor’s degree from this school, but when I now tell people the name of my Alma Mater, the typical response is “Where?” I did not feel good about my undergraduate education, and I knew that sadly there could be no do-overs.
When I began looking at graduate schools, I did not have high hopes or expectations. The area where my husband and I were stationed did not have many esteemed graduate programs to choose from, and I knew that, even if I was accepted to a program, there was always the possibility that we would have to move again and I would be unable to finish what I had started. I feared that once again I would have to sacrifice my education.
When I received my acceptance notification, I cried. I was so happy that I could continue my education, and even happier that I could do so at a school as reputable as USC. Now that I am in the program, I am proud to be a part of the Trojan family, and when I tell others which graduate school I am attending, they no longer respond with “Where?” but instead reply with an impressed “Wow.”
I am so grateful to USC for developing a program for students like me who want a strong education that they can feel great about but who are in situations that often prevent them from having access to one. Everyone must make sacrifices, especially military wives like myself, but thanks to the MAT@USC program, an amazing graduate education will not be on my list of things I’ve had to give up.
Lauren is currently seeking her New York teaching certificate where she one day aspires to teach.
