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University of Florida student and Florida National Guard soldier Courtney Landry (left) discusses map reading techniques and strategy with ROTC instructor Maj. John Labadini. Florida National Guard photo by Spc. Thomas Kielbasa
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida student Courtney Landry, who also serves part-time in the Florida Army National Guard, has found a way to both eliminate her college debts and bring in sizable annual income from financial aid.
Landry, a 22-year-old political science major from Jasper, Fla., has 100 percent of her annual tuition reimbursed by the National Guard and receives an additional $1,200 monthly from both the National Guard and her Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program.
“I'm doing alright,” the senior said with a smile when asked about her financial situation - a sincere smile that some college students might be unable to muster when referring to their economic situation.
A recent study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education found that college costs are becoming less affordable to many despite increases in governmental financial aid. Tuition costs increasingly outweigh financial aid and force more students to borrow greater amounts each year for school. The study also showed an 18 percent rise in tuition at public 4-year institutions in Florida over the last decade.
The University of Florida website estimates the average cost of attendance at the school including housing, meals, tuition, and books - is nearly $11,600 annually for an undergraduate. Landry's tuition costs are picked up by the National Guard and she lives off campus with her parents. She estimates she earns about $14,000 or $15,000 per year through financial aid, National Guard pay, ROTC stipends, and the Army's Montgomery G.I. Bill.
After she covers her few academic expenses such as books, puts money away in savings, and provides for basic living expenses, Landry's extra income is just spending money, she said.
“Right now I'm saving up to go on a ski trip for spring break,” she explained. “And of course you have Christmas coming up and you have to save money for that. I even went away one weekend to a fairly expensive hotel. I use it for the basic costs of living and whatever I have left over I can either save or I splurge.”
Tuition reimbursements and ROTC bonuses are far from being handouts, Landry noted. The program does have “strings” attached. Landry is required to serve in the Army until 2009, probably at the 631st Maintenance Company in Starke, Fla., where she continues to drill each month as a truck driver.
To take part in the ROTC program at the University of Florida, she must be a full-time student, maintain a 2.0 GPA and attend military science and leadership classes each semester. She must also participate in physical fitness training three mornings a week and attend a 32-day ROTC exercise in Fort Lewis, Wash., the summer after her junior year.
Because Landry was already a member of the Florida National Guard she only attended two years of the normally 4-year ROTC program in order to get her benefits. Through this program known as the Simultaneous Membership Program, anyone who is already enlisted in the Army National Guard or Reserves is able to participate in ROTC at their college and become a commissioned officer upon completion of the program.
“I'm getting leadership skills and experience that a lot of students in the general public don't get,” she said. “And you get to serve your country.”
Landry, whose ultimate professional goal is to practice law, explained she was a little “burnt out” by college a few years ago. “I went straight out of rushing through high school to college," she said. "And then I went straight to college and my brain was just fried, I was sick of studying. I was sick of everything.”
Landry enlisted in the Army at her father's suggestion, and when she returned from basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., she had a clearer focus on her life.
“Before I was just in school because that was the thing I should be doing,” she said. “Going away gave me time I needed to think about things and decide what I should be doing.”
© 2005 Defend America. All opinions
expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect
those of Military.com.
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