VA Loan Updates

When Ryan Boehm of New London joined the U.S. Navy in 1993, the 20-year-old was satisfied with his high school diploma.

But the seaman recruit soon made a discovery that would shape his life. “I realized I was the lowest person on the totem pole,” Boehm recalled.

“I’d see officers with four-year degrees from the Naval Academy and think, ‘Gee, I know more than they do. I have experience,’ but I was swabbing decks and taking out the trash. That was the turning point.”

Plain old experience, he concluded, means little if you want to get ahead in this world. He needed a college degree.

Over the next four years, including time stationed in Washington and overseas serving on a supply ship, he became even more determined.

“You need that piece of paper, ” he said, describing how he earned military and technical college credits and then made his final push through the University of Phoenix over the last two years.

On Jan. 7, at age 34, he earned his bachelor’s degree in management. At his request, he received his degree at the Naval Reserve Training Center in Green Bay in front of his Seabees unit. That, he said, “meant a lot more to me than walking across a stage.”

Boehm hopes he planted a seed with fellow reservists and civilians who wonder if they have the drive.

“Hopefully other people will see education is important. You have to have perseverance and discipline to pursue your dreams, and it may mean very long nights and very little sleep and a lot of Mountain Dew, but things are out there for you if you work for it.”

It hasn’t been easy, Boehm said, describing how he has juggled a full-time job, the reserves, school and a personal life, and has given up things like hunting and fishing in order to keep his eye on the prize.

A looming deadline cutting off G.I. Bill funding for his education provided incentive.

So did an ultimatum from his fiancee, who agreed to delay their wedding for his schooling. “Carrie said you’ve got one year. I couldn’t blow it.”

The challenge was carving out time. “I didn’t have a lot of time to go to a four-year school, I didn’t want to quit my job and I needed something flexible to fit my schedule,” he said.

The University of Phoenix fit the bill and Boehm just made it under the wire. He finished his last class Dec. 14, attended his wedding rehearsal the next day and got married Dec. 16.

Michael Cullup, enrollment manager for the University of Phoenix Fox Valley Learning Center in Appleton, said Boehm fits the demographic the university serves.

“These are individuals looking not to compromise their life too much. They want to fit school in with all their other commitments.”

That said, he noted Boehm’s single-minded motivation to finish. “He’s a model student. I can’t say they all have his dedication.”

Boehm said he relied heavily on support of family and friends, including his project teammates Joe Janiak, Cathy Beach and Tricia Verkuilen.

Boehm, currently employed at Gerdau Ameristeel, Greenville, would like a job that combines environment, health and safety.

He has some advice for kids who think finishing high school is sufficient.

“Right now a high school diploma doesn’t get you far,” he said. “A person has to keep on learning.”

Boehm is taking a breather now, but says his classroom days are not over.

“I’ve been looking at a master’s program.”

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