挖深

Emilio Ramos ’23 began his journey to 皇冠体育 toward the end of 2017. 他从部署回来后被告知，由于多年来的伤病，他将因病退役。 He’s had multiple surgeries over the last year and a half, and will require more.

“Knowing I had to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I decided to fulfill a long-time goal of mine and get an education," said Ramos.

“Knowing I had to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I decided to fulfill a long-time goal of mine and get an education.”

由于他在海军陆战队的工作，在那里他参与了公共关系，还担任了保留和过渡顾问，因此他的求职很容易。 他帮助那些留在海军陆战队的人，帮助他们在决定离开的时候获得成功。 当拉莫斯转而成为一名顾问时，他利用这些技能与雇主建立联系，并为海军陆战队员提供了好工作或学校奖学金。 他有几种不同的工具可以帮助他找到一所适合他的学校。

“My interest in creative writing is because I would love to be a published author when I finally grow up,” said Ramos. “Since I was around 13 years-old, I would write these elaborate stories of fantasy and wonder. 我非常喜欢写作； I can’t see my life without it.”

Any schools Ramos applied to had to have his desired major, minor, and accept the GI Bill® (free college tuition for service members). 他列出了全国大约10所提供这三种课程的学校。 He contacted each via email, explaining his situation and major concerns—low GPA and no ACT/SAT.

10个很快减少到5个。 在这五次测试中，有四次是与不同的人进行的自动电子邮件和电话对话，这些人反复问同样的问题。 拉莫斯对他们来说不过是个数字。

拉莫斯说：“当我和我的皇冠体育招生顾问梅丽莎·皮克林交谈时，我觉得这是我第一次和一个真实的人交谈。”

多年后重返学校对拉莫斯来说很困难，原因有几个。 他发现自己在基本的语法、拼写、学习和笔记方面缺乏知识。 他也发现自己落后于他的新同学。

“These are things I am working hard to overcome,” said Ramos. “I’ve watched many videos and have read numerous forums on how to be a successful student. Some have helped while others made it worse.”

他最大的困难之一是海军陆战队的文化与学校环境大不相同。 在海军陆战队，每一次行动和遭遇战都围绕着对上级的尊重。

“Not needing to always worry about being in a ‘professional’ mindset is hard to get over,” he said.

尽管环境不同，拉莫斯还是觉得自己被Mount Mercy接受了。 He’s constantly telling himself that it’s ok to take things slow and it’s his first semester in school, but this is the time where his life has changed drastically. 他建议利用休息时间，弄清楚你的新规范是什么。

“My wife has been such a help with me going to school for the first time in years,” said Ramos. “I’ll bounce my day-to-day thoughts and experiences off her and ask if they are like her college years. She has been keeping me level-headed.”

拉莫斯喜欢聊天和结识新朋友。 He’s always writing and will continue to work toward getting published. However, his career goals revolve around public relations, and he’s excited to take advantage of internships and work-study opportunities.

"皇冠体育 has been great for me as a non-traditional student," said Ramos. “从我的招生顾问，到我的学生顾问，再到许多工作人员，每个人都很重视我的过渡。这种温暖的感觉也和海军的心态很不一样。 在皇冠体育，我觉得人们是真诚地提出要求，不会觉得提供帮助有负担。”

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at www.benefits.va.gov gibill.