Military and Veteran Students

***Veteran Student Update***

Eight fellows to be the face and voice of the veteran community to elected officials in Congress, including SMU’s very own Jason Do, Air Force veteran. Click here to read more. Honor SMU veteran students like Jason by making a donation today.

YOUR SUPPORT TODAY PREPARES THE HEALTHCARE LEADERS OF TOMORROW

As a supporter, you bring Samuel Merritt’s mission to life: creating skilled professionals who serve diverse communities. Thank you for transforming healthcare with us!

Scholarship funds help to cover tuition, fees, and living expenses enabling SMU students to focus more on their education and less on holding down a job or taking out student loans.

Will you join us as we support veteran students through scholarship giving?

Hear one veteran student's story:

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"Additional funding for Veterans, and veteran-related students, are important, because any amount of assistance would help alleviate the stresses that we are faced with each day."

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My name is Jason Do, I am currently enrolled in Samuel Merritt University’s (SMU) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program (Class of 2025).

I am a Veteran student at SMU, having served 10 years active duty Air Force, as well as 6 years in the Army Reserves. I served as a medical technician in the Air Force and a communications specialist in the Army, holding the rank of Sergeant in both. During my 16 years of service I was not limited to only my careers, I also held positions in security, training instructors, armory guard, maintenance, psychological operations, and logistics. I was a physical training leader in the Air Force and a trainer/grader for the Army Combat Fitness Test. I completed two tours to Iraq and one tour to Afghanistan, as well as being stationed in overseas locations such as South Korea and Okinawa, Japan. I used to teach/recertify military members in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), self-aid buddy care, and combat casualty care under fire.

I am a recipient of several achievement and accommodation medals, as well as other awards and decorations (23 total). I’ve done the “dirt” work all the way up to the “executive” work. I have had anywhere from 1-30 subordinates under my care and leadership at any given time. I had to grow up faster than expected in order to adapt to the demands of the missions ahead. I wouldn’t trade the experience of my time served for anything.

I selected SMU because they selected me. In order to remove biases from applicants, SMU’s DPT program did not conduct personal interviews, instead they had each applicant answer 5 essay questions in addition to the required personal statement of why “Physical Therapy?” These questions involved an applicant to be real, to answer with personal truths and emotions powerful enough to be felt through words. I have to be honest, I didn’t even think they would take a serious look at my application, because my spirit was already down from having been rejected the prior year from another school. I went from being waitlisted, never contacted for 8 months, to being one of the first acceptances. SMU believes that I would be successful in their program, and with my diverse background, I may be able to bring a different mindset than a “typical” graduate student.

SMU has a great student resource center, giving students all the proper tools (i.e. free tutoring) to be successful in their studies. Their Veteran Resource Center has a United Service Organization (USO) feeling to it, making me feel like even though I’m not at home during these times, that home is just a few steps away. The Disability Resource Center has reasonable accommodations for students to cope with disabilities that they may have, whether physical or mental.

As a Veteran, I suffer from many service-related disabilities which sometimes make me feel like I’ll never be good enough. Rest assured, SMU faculty, and especially the DPT faculty, have been patient, understanding, caring, and accommodating to situations that arise from my disabilities. They don’t take it easier on me, I wouldn’t want that, but instead, they give me the opportunity to constantly prove that I am better than what my service-related disabilities are trying to tell me, and more importantly, they keep me in the “fight”.

Some days are hard to break my military mindset, but SMU welcomes it and allows me to use my training to try and think “outside” of the box. SMU was able to reignite the flame to my purpose, the same flame I had when serving all over the world and not even having tomorrow as a promise. They helped me to hang up one uniform of service, to work towards my next uniform of service. I selected SMU because they selected me; they selected the Airman and Soldier the military shaped me to be, and the physical therapist they are forming me to be.

Additional funding for Veterans, and veteran-related students, are important, because any amount of assistance would help alleviate the stresses that we are faced with each day. Stress levels are high! Tuition cost is already high on its own, but factor in costs of books, electronics, school supplies, with lab fees and parking fees, it seems there is no relief in the price of anything. We have to remember factors of living, cost of living, safety and shelter, food, water, and other necessities (such as internet, cell phone, gas/commuting, etc.). In my undergraduate studies, my GI benefits did not kick in for a full semester, I was commuting 200+ miles daily (M-F) and sleeping out of my car because I couldn’t afford a place to stay. Financial aid just isn’t enough to provide easement. Some students have continued to work part time, as if the graduate curriculum wasn’t already a double full time job on its own already. A lot of us aren’t privileged to have a “comfort” to just focus on school.

Assistance would benefit us in helping to alleviate even the smallest amount of stress. It’ll help instill a positive influence in us as students by letting us know that someone believes and invests in us and our successes. It gives us hope during challenging times, that “sigh” of relief, to be able to breathe when constantly fighting for air from our school work, personal life, other factors, and the growing pile of debt. We are all working hard on trying to become professionals in our selected fields, any additional assistance to help us reach those goals would only shine light in the darkest realms of our current mindsets.