Education is often the key that will unlock the door to a rewarding military or civilian career, and the Fort Myer Education Center stands ready to help service members, their families, civilians and retirees chart their course to success both now and into the future.
"We have a range of services that we offer here," Karen Powell, a guidance counselor at the center, told the Pentagram during a recent interview. "We have onsite schools where Soldiers, family members, civilians and retirees on the installation can come in, talk to the school representatives and get an idea of what they want to major in."
Among the schools that have on-site representatives at the center are Northern Virginia Community College, Park University, Central Michigan University, Old Dominion University and University of Maryland University College, said Powell.
"We help [prospective students] determine what school will be the best fit for them," she continued. "We help them determine what their criteria for a school is, what their educational goal is and what their career goal is, in order to select the school that best meets their needs."
And students today are not bound by geographical constraints when selecting a college.
Guidance counselor intern Cherlin Ngala and guidance counselor Jo Boston said because there are so many schools now - brick and mortar campuses with traditional classrooms and those who offer degree programs online - figuring out what school to attend can be challenging.
"We also provide guidance and get them to think about if the school they are interested in is regionally accredited or nationally accredited and what does that mean," said Ngala.
Accreditation assesses the quality of a college or university's academic programs and is one of the three main elements of oversight governing federal student aid programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education's web site.
Located in Bldg. 417 on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base, counseling services are offered at the center on a walk-in basis Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. An Army education counselor is also at the Air Force Pentagon Education Center, Room 1A934 on Monday and Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The counseling support team can also provide information on scholarships and financial aid. Eligible Soldiers can visit the center or the goarmyed.com website to learn more about the current tuition assistance policy, said Powell. Counselors can also help service members understand how their VA educational benefits will work.
The center also offers a variety of testing services, including such Army placement tests as the Armed Forces Classification Test; Defense Language Proficiency tests; Defense Language Aptitude Battery; and the Selection Instrument for Flight Training. Potential college students can also take the SAT and ACT college entrance exams at the center.
"It's important that Soldiers take education seriously, whether to further their military career or as they transition to civilian life," Powell stressed. "Education is so vital, whether you are staying in the military or are a civilian trying to move up that ladder, education is the key."
For more information on the services offered at the Fort Myer Education Center, call 703-696-3178/1541/1653/1652/3070.
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of four articles on education that will be published in the Pentagram in the coming weeks in celebration of American Education Week, Nov. 16-19. A military career and education expo will be held at the community center on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base Nov. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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