Welcome Chad Garland – IPEF’s New Fellow

by Chad Garland

You don’t know me. Not yet, anyway. I’m the new guy.  My name’s Chad Garland. I’ve been interning at Illinois Patriot Education Fund, or IPEF, for a little while now, helping out with “social media” like our Facebook andTwitter pages. I decided to introduce myself, since I’ll be updating this blog with posts about IPEF’s activities, as well as issues related to veterans, military families and education. I don’t want to bore you with my life story. Instead, I’ll treat you to a few bullet points – everybody loves bullet points! – of both pertinent and impertinent information about me.

• Though I served in the Marine Corps before and after 9/11, I never set foot in Iraq or Afghanistan. When I was discharged, the Taliban was mostly in hiding after Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan and OIF hadn’t even started yet.
• Born and raised in Illinois, I grew up near Northern Illinois University, but I’m a first generation college graduate, thanks to the veterans education benefits.
• I’m a second generation beard-wearer.
• At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, I’m studying journalism and I report for the independent student newspaper The Daily Illini.
• I’m an amateur photographer. My brother’s probably a better lenser, but he doesn’t have flickr.
• Some people think I look like King Henry VIII, minus the fancy outfit (but I’m Irish and Catholic!).
• When I was young, I wanted to be a private eye. Or an archeologist – but my sister has that photo.
• I love Mexican food. Yes, love. If I had to eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be tacos. Or fajitas. Or margaritas.
• I speak Russian. I learned it in the Marines at the Defense Language Institute and got my bachelor’s in Russian Literature at U. of I.
• In 2009, I helped found Illini Veterans, the student group for military veterans and their supporters at the U. of I. and established it as a chapter of Student Veterans of America. We have over 100 members, but we should have a thousand.

The Illinois Patriot Education Fund 501c(3) provides financial assistance to support the educational journey for Illinois military service men and women who have given their lives or become disabled in service to our country and their families. We encompass early education (K-12) through advanced, collegiate educational needs.  We also support the education of active duty members of our Armed Services over and above the benefits provided by the Post-911 GI Bill.

In expanding our reach to early educational needs, the goal is to ensure the children of Illinois service men and women have access to the school supplies and materials; programs; and schools to prepare them for vocational careers and college.

IPEF assistance could include school supplies and materials; professional tutoring programs, funding to help offset charter school costs, and scholarships.  Educational support for our Illinois service men, women, and families is our Mission.

Bottom line:  I simply want to see more of Illinois’ veterans and their dependents going to college.

Honestly, I’m not the type of person who believes a college education is necessary for success. I was even reluctant to use my own military educational benefits, but I realized I’d be crazy not to, even though it hasn’t always been easy financially.

I had a decent job back in 2008. Returning to college full-time at age 30 on the Montgomery G.I. Bill and the Illinois Veterans Grant was not a necessity, but it’s been an experience I’m extremely grateful for. In college I’ve expanded my horizons by exploring new concepts and ideas, developed confidence and competency in valuable skills, deepened my knowledge of a variety of subjects, and changed (or at least impacted) the very culture of the university.

Along the way, I’ve made friendships and bonds that will last the rest of my life. In my opinion, much of the benefit of a college education is social. Here everyone’s got plans and ambitions, ideas about where they’re going and how they’re getting there. And if you’re one of the few who don’t yet, there are resources to help you figure it out.

They say we become like those we surround ourselves with, so it’s a huge benefit to study among people who are bent on success. For that reason, this kind of environment can also be incredibly helpful for veterans trying to plan the next phase of their lives.

We’ll be grappling with the effects of the past decade at war for the next seven decades. Ensuring our veterans have a solid education will set the course for those seventy years. Veterans who return to school to study medicine or counseling will go on to help their fellow veterans as well as others like them. Those who learn about business and entrepreneurship will help shape our resurgent economy. Others will become the engineers to solve our pressing energy and infrastructure problems. Still others will educate the next generation of Americans or design computer programs to save us hours of work (or provide us hours of entertainment). In a very short time, our investment in their education will pay for itself.

Because I believe education offers such great promise, I want it to be available for all who have served our country and for the families of those who have been killed or disabled.

Unfortunately, it’s just not always feasible to ask or expect the government to provide all the benefits that our service members deserve. It’s up to us sometimes to fill those gaps. That’s what IPEF’s about.

But, I’m the new guy. For those who’ve been supporting IPEF all along, thank you. Soon, hopefully, it won’t be rare to see a veteran in the classroom.

Next blog I’ll write about my recent trip to D.C. and the Army-Navy game with fellow IPEF intern Blake Leitch, but for now, here’s a preview.

U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen march on to FedEx field in Lansdowne, Maryland before the Army-Navy game on Dec. 10. Navy defeated Army for the 10th year in a row in the game between the oldest rivals in college football.