From soldier to student: Ervin Hansen shares incredible journey with ASU TRIO’s Veterans Upward Bound

When the VA declared Ervin Hansen 100% service-connected, he kicked off his life outside the army by selling cars. It began as a lucrative position, helping Hansen readjust to a normal routine after serving ten years during the Cold War. 

However, in 2008, the market crash forced the car dealership Hansen worked for to declare bankruptcy. As a result, he and his coworkers were fired, left in a position of uncertainty right as the United States plunged into recession. 

As a 51-year-old veteran, Hansen was unsure of where he would go next. That was when a friend encouraged him to explore his options through the VA. 

“When I got out of the Army, they just handed us a check and a plane ticket and said, ‘Thank you for your service,’” Hansen said. “They didn’t explain anything to us back then. I didn’t know what benefits I had.” 

After learning about his options, Hansen discovered his interest in vocational rehabilitation. However, he had never received a college education. Hansen had spent one semester in college, playing football for the University of Oregon for only four games before suffering a knee injury. 

Then, Hansen learned about Veterans Upward Bound, a program offered by ASU TRIO that matches low-income or first-generation veterans with opportunities to pursue higher education. 

ASU TRIO offers the program free of charge to all qualifying veterans. Veterans Upward Bound (VUB), along with TRIO’s myriad other offerings, fosters an accessible approach to college education and supports community members such as Hansen in actualizing their life goals. 

“They told me they were going to pay and send me to ASU to get my degree,” Hansen said. “At first I was worried because I haven’t been in school since 1981.”

No matter the level of the student, ASU TRIO ensures all veteran students are adjusted and equipped to enter a collegiate-level classroom. In preparation for his university classes, Hansen attended programming offered by VUB that focused on all the modern-day essentials. 

“I went to class and was taught how to use Excel and PowerPoint,” Hansen said. “It summarized all the basics and got my mind rewired for the classroom. It helped greatly that the professors were knowledgeable. If you had a question, especially at my age, they explained it in ways you could understand.”

Ten years after his time with VUB, Hansen still has nothing but positive remarks for the program. 

“It really, really helped me,” Hansen said. “When I did start college, I had a working knowledge again. The people there are just fabulous.” 

Beyond getting students back into the swing of things in the classroom, Veterans Upward Bound fosters a sense of community and accomplishment. For veterans like Hansen, it encourages them to go above and beyond for themselves. 

“The [previous] director at VUB helped me apply for a scholarship,” Hansen said. “I wrote the essay, and I actually got it.” 

Hansen also pursued a work study through VUB that equipped him for his career post-graduation. Now, he is a  medical support assistant supervisor for one of the largest VA clinics in the nation. 

When asked why accessible education programs such as VUB are important for veterans, Hansen spoke about the ways they might feel displaced after returning from service. 

“Programs like this let veterans feel that they're part of something, that they're not forgotten and that they're just not a number being shoved through the system,” Hansen said. “The biggest struggle is that it's hard to trust.” 

“We always think of the old cliche, service before self, because that's what's pounded into you. When you finally have an opportunity like this, that concentrates on you, it helps you to deprogram your mind and reprogram it for yourself.” 

While other veterans might be hesitant to prioritize their education after serving, Hansen encouraged all to consider their options, especially those offered at Veterans Upward Bound. 

“It doesn't matter where you're at in your educational journey,” Hansen said. “Learning is a continuous thing that you have to do throughout your life. VUB actually breaks it down for you, and allows you to retrain your mind to be able to learn. It is without a doubt one of the best programs around to get veterans back into the swing of learning.”