Before pursuing her education, Sarah Wilson '15 proudly served her country
By Stephanie Smaglo | November 11, 2014
At 20, Sarah Wilson ’15 was admittedly a “girly-girl.” She’ll tell you that she had more shoes than she could count and just as many purses to match. So it came as a bit of a shock to her parents, she says, when she enlisted in the US Navy seven years ago. Today, she considers her military experience one of her proudest accomplishments as she continues her education as a veteran at Virginia Wesleyan College.
In retrospect, her enlistment shouldn’t have come as a surprise, as Wilson comes from a long line of family military involvement. Both grandfathers served in World War II; her step-grandfather served in Vietnam and Korea; she’s a distant relative of US Army Air Forces Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, who planned and led the Doolittle Raid on Japan in 1942; and the USS Cole is named in honor of her fallen relative, Marine Sergeant Darrell S. Cole.
It wasn’t her family history alone, however, that led Wilson to join the Navy. It was also the potential to further her education. At the time, she’d put herself through her first year of college and was looking for a way to finance additional schooling. She was placed in intelligence where she worked as a Spanish linguist and a cryptologic technician interpretive. As it turns out, the Navy was one of the best learning experiences she could’ve had.
“I really grew up,” she says. “I grew up quickly, but I grew up structured. I learned to appreciate freedom, and also that freedom isn’t free.”
She might still be in the Navy today, she says, if her husband—who’s also in the military—hadn’t been relocated to Norfolk. Instead, she now calls Hampton Roads home and has chosen to pursue a degree in psychology at VWC. With just four classes left, she will graduate in May 2015.
“My professors have really encouraged me and rallied behind me,” she says. “I know that I can always call on them and they will lend their support and advice.”
Wilson also serves as president of VWC’s Student Veterans Organization, a campus group that helps both former military and active duty service members adjust to and be successful in college life.
“It’s the general camaraderie of knowing that you’ve been through what I’ve been through,” Wilson says. “We can swap stories or spit out a million acronyms and know exactly what the other’s talking about. It’s really important for veterans and service members to know that we’re here for each other.”
Serving as Wilson’s vice president is junior criminal justice major Clay Jones, a specialist in the Virginia National Guard who’s heavily involved with VWC’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Both Wilson and Jones attended the College’s fourth annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Nov. 11.
“I have a long history of family and friends who have served and are currently serving,” Jones says. “I take pride in honoring our nation’s heroes because without them we wouldn’t have the various freedoms that many other countries do not have.”
This year’s ceremony took place in Monumental Chapel and paid tribute to fallen heroes close to the VWC community, including Lt. Slator C. Blackiston III '76; YN2 George D. Duvall '74; and LTC Brian Kerns, who worked closely with the Marlin ROTC Detachment at Old Dominion University (ODU). Special guest speakers included Major Edward Hoffler, acting professor of military science at ODU; and VWC’s College Archivist Stephen Mansfield.
“Today’s service was a great way of honoring veterans past and present,” Wilson said after the ceremony. “I’m incredibly moved by the gratitude that’s shown to us today.”
To learn more about the support offered through Virginia Wesleyan’s Veterans Benefits Office, contact School Certifying Official and Financial Aid Counselor Melanie Monk at 757.455.3207 or mmonk@vwu.edu, or visit the Veterans Support Services webpage.