Serving those who served

JOHNSON CITY – For Air Force veteran Sarah Royse, the prospect of going to college after serving her country was exciting – and challenging.  

Royse’s mom knew a veteran who had received assistance from East Tennessee State University’s Veterans Upward Bound. Royse decided to reach out to the program herself.  

“They helped me figure out all these different scholarships and grants that I could qualify for,” said Royse, now employed with the office as an educational advisor. “I didn’t know that there was so much help out there for veterans until this office started helping me.”  

It’s stories like that one that Associate Director Gregory Stout finds deeply fulfilling.  

“It always feels good when they come back to us and say that they would not have made it without our program,” he said.   

ETSU’s Veterans Upward Bound, part of the federally funded TRiO programs, is a comprehensive organization that helps veterans prepare for college. What the program offers is vast. 

Veterans have the opportunity to take part in a range of pre-college courses from literature to basic math, in addition to more advanced computer skill courses. Qualifying veterans have their college application fee, as well as other orientation expenses, paid. Staff provide workshops on financial aid and study skills. 

“When we help a veteran, we are helping their families,” Stout said. “We are helping their community.”  

The ETSU program, in operation on campus since 1980, serves veterans living in the Tennessee counties of Carter, Greene, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington, as well as Scott and Washington counties in Virginia. To see if you are eligible or to receive more information, call the office at (423) 439-2281 or email vublab@etsu.edu.

For Royse, getting connected to Veterans Upward Bound was critical.  

“They helped me so much in my journey,” she said. 

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East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.