Veterans Upward Bound helped Navy veteran succeed at ASU

Pursuing a college degree after serving in the military is not an easy transition. Veterans may not have been in the classroom in years and may be dealing with trauma or just a lack of institutional knowledge about higher education. 

For Navy veteran Travis Luck, 27, a second-year student majoring in technological entrepreneurship and management, the Veterans Upward Bound program helped him get through his first year of classes.

VUB is a TRIO program at ASU that provides resources to veterans who are pursuing a post-secondary education.

It offers tutoring, online class help, financial aid and scholarships. VUB also provides classes on health and wellness, financial literacy and career exploration.   

Luck did not know he would end up at ASU; at one point he said college was not even an option.

ASU student and Navy veteran Travis Luck

“Life just kind of brought me here. I served in San Diego — I’m from Ohio —  I got a taste of the west side of the country so I definitely couldn’t go back to Ohio,” Luck said.

The transition from the Navy to college was tough. Many of the subjects he was taking he had not used in years.

“Student life, going to class, studying, scheduling classes all took getting used to,” Luck said.

Fortunately, Luck learned about VUB through a friend who tutored at the University of Tennessee. From there he applied, took some placement exams and started to get more traction at ASU.

Now Luck is a work-study student employee for VUB. He helps people to enroll in the program and directs them toward advisors to get them started.

As a nontraditional student, Luck realizes that there was no better time to start college than when he did.

“I value learning a little bit more now than I did when I was younger. I know what I am interested in now,” Luck said.

Luck wants other veterans who are considering a post-secondary education at ASU to take advantage of the many resources that are available to them.

“Definitely seek as much help as you can, get in contact with the Pat Tillman Center and Veterans Upward Bound,” said Luck. “There are definitely a lot of resources out there to help veterans get readjusted to school.”

For more information regarding ASU resources for veterans visit the Veterans Upward Bound office and Pat Tillman Veterans Center on the Tempe campus.