Andrew Nagel and family
May is an important month every year. Not only do we celebrate Memorial Day, a holiday that honors the men and women who died serving our country, but it’s also Military Appreciation Month.
At WGU Indiana, our mission is to serve students who are under-represented by traditional colleges. Because of our university’s drive to provide alternative and affordable higher education, we’ve been able to help thousands of people fulfill their dreams.
This includes our veterans and active duty service members.
Currently, WGU Indiana serves more than 520 active-duty military members, veterans or military family members. One of those students is veteran Andrew Nagel.
At a young age, Andrew knew he wanted to join the military and did so at 17 years old. Trained as a combat medic, he spent years helping his fellow service members, becoming a licensed practical nurse along the way and eventually an instructor. After 22 years of service, Andrew retired from the Army Reserves – but he wasn’t done serving yet.
Andrew wanted to go back to school and complete his bachelor’s degree in nursing. With a wife, three children and a full-time job, he knew it would be difficult.
After looking into various nursing programs, Andrew became discouraged when he realized several online options lacked the proper accreditation or resources to best serve student-veterans.
That’s when Andrew found WGU Indiana, a nonprofit online university, accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
“I'm so very, very fortunate to have the love and support of my family. When I first decided I was going to enroll at WGU, I sat down and had a frank conversation with my wife about the time investment. My wife is a very pragmatic person and said this was something that would benefit our entire family in the long run. It was an investment,” Nagel said.
By enrolling in WGU Indiana, which offers competency-based education that has revolutionized the way students learn, master concepts and progress to a degree, Andrew is able to complete his degree at a flexible pace. Although the nursing pre-licensure program does have set deadlines for labs and clinicals, WGU Indiana still offers a more flexible learning process compared to other traditional colleges.
“The program offers valuable advantages to a person like myself. I can study and schedule my tests around my work schedule. If I can do it, then so can most people, but you need to be willing to make sacrifices and put in the hard work. If you are, then I can honestly say that WGU is an excellent choice,” Nagel said.
Through our efforts, WGU Indiana has been recognized as one of the top military-friendly colleges and universities for 10 consecutive years now by Military Advanced Education. In addition, our online university was the recipient of the 2018-2019 Military Friendly Schools Designation for the eighth year in a row. We also offer many Military tuition programs as well as scholarships that help people like Andrew further their education. Today, Andrew is a matter of months away from graduating!
“When you decide to do something like this, at my age and circumstances, it seems like a very intimidating and daunting task. Then one day you wake up and say, ‘Oh wow, I'm actually almost done. What the heck took me so long to make this decision and do this?’ Life is funny like that,” Nagel said.
Are you a military member or veteran and thinking of furthering your education? Learn more about how WGU Indiana can best serve you.
