From War Zones to the Classroom: One Student’s Journey

Eight years later, she is now living out her college dream as one of the five student veterans currently enrolled at Bowdoin under the College's partnership with Service to School (S2S), a nonprofit that helps military veterans get a college education.

Wert joined up in 2017 as a command-and-control battle management operator, meaning she had the critical job of managing airspace in an often-chaotic battlefield environment.

From her base in South Carolina, she deployed twice to the Middle East in support of US military operations throughout the region.

"During my first deployment, I worked with the Joint Personnel Recovery Center, handling in-flight emergencies and coordinating rescue missions," said Wert, who is a trained rescue and recovery diver.

"Afterward, I was stationed in Italy for two years, where I deployed to Romania and then supported in-unit operations in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

It was during her final assignment at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, she said, that Wert decided to pursue an undergraduate degree, discovering Bowdoin through its partnership with the S2S program.