(music).i accomplished something that i promised my mother years ago, before she died, that isaid i would finish and here it is. i finished. everyone thinks they're too busy to get abachelors, a masters, or a phd. well, today, we'll meet someone who got both his bachelorsand masters while serving our country. welcome u.s. army command sergeant major phil johndrowand dr. holly orozco, dean of the colleges of health sciences and education from tridentuniversity. we are so happy to have you on set today.thank you. we're happy to be here. alright, doctor, let's start with you. tridenthas so many distinctions starting with its academic foundations, and i want you to tellme a little bit about that.
yes, trident is unique, and the founders beganan educational platform with graduate level programs. most of our competitors begin buildingtheir foundation with bachelors and then moving on to phd. the learning model that they createdwas special and unique for phd programs, really. but it applies to all of our students, andthat is it's case-based and so student have to do a lot of research from peer-reviewedjournals to solve real world problems. trident was the first fully online wasc accreditedinstitution which is the western association schools and colleges.okay. it's the same accreditation that usc, ucla,and some of those institutions, fine education institutions, have, and that means our phdprograms were the first online fully accredited
institutions.that's quite amazing. yes.quite an accomplishment. yes. trident continues to develop bachelorsand masters and doctoral programs across its colleges to meet the workforce demands.that's so great. and command sergeant major, i want to start with you right now. you'rea highly decorated veteran. you served in operation iraqi freedom. you're also a graduateof trident university, summa cum laude i might add. you're pretty impressive, let me tellyou that. tell us more about the specific needs of a military student.well, you know as a mil citary student, you know you're going to deploy anywhere in theworld because that's what we do. and where
ever you deploy, that particular spot is goingto be your classroom. so, you don't have the same ability to go to a brick and mortar institutionlike many other students may be able to do. of course not.so, you continue your military career as you continue with your academia education.that is so great, and how proud are you of trident's commitment to america's military.i'm extremely proud of trident, their commitment, because it tells me everyday that you don'thave to wear a uniform to be a patriot, because so many people out of the uniform want tocontinue to give back to our service members and help them be able to better their livesand be able to get their degree, and because we know that you have to sharpen in your mindjust like sharpen your bayonet. and the critical
thinking skills that the university bringsforward teaches you how to think as opposed to what to think.well said. and tell me about, i've heard about this graduation, trident's graduation. itjust seems like it's so special. the graduation is amazing because you have,the people that work in the university -- the staff and the faculty included -- the volunteerfor that weekend to be there because they want to watch their students walk across thatstage. because when they walk across the stage, all the people that helped them get thereto that day, and then the culminating moment is when they walk across that stage and everybodyis able to see them walk across. it's like you're walking across the stage with them,and you're graduating along with them.
and you've been there. tell me about thatexperience. yes. the students, as they come up to gettheir diploma, a couple of them have actually come out of their way and out of line to shakemy hand and just to thank me for an academic decision that i made on their behalf, theirdegree plan. this is so inspiring. we are so lucky andblessed to have a university like this that's so committed to our military. thank you somuch for joining us today. thank you.thank you. it's great. and for more information on tridentuniversity, go to trident.edu or thebalancingact.com. and remember to follow us on facebook andtwitter as well.
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