Pursuing a degree and a career is more time consuming than you think
Some Winthrop University students double as American heroes
Many students struggle with simply their homework and course load, but there’s a subset at Winthrop that takes on this challenge, and more. They’re known as the National Gaud. While unrecognizable out of uniform, these students are incorporated throughout Winthrop’s campus.
Bernard Whitmore at Winthrop University being recognized for his service.
Bernard Whitmore began his journey at Winthrop University much like every other student, eager to learn and delve into one of the hundreds of organizations that the school has to offer. After enrolling at Winthrop as an undeclared major, he was not sure where he wanted his college career to take him.
“I was interested in the Air Force, but I ended up talking to a recruit from the Army,” said Whitmore who was dressed in his standard military dress. He had just returned from his monthly training weekend. “I knew I wanted to finish my degree, but I wanted to find some career opportunities.” The two branches of military that Winthrop has programs with are the Air Force and the Army.
After conferring with the Army recruiter, Whitmore was offered a spot for basic training for the summer of 2014. The catch? He would have to postpone returning to Winthrop to start his sophomore year. While many students would have been dismayed at this interruption in their education, Whitmore was intoxicated by the idea of personal and developmental growth he would find.
Bernard Whitmore’s Army cap placed on the dashboard of his car.
Sitting in a pale, green swivel chair, his camouflage attire fulfilled its purpose and helped
him blend it. Whitmore removed his matching cap and placed it in his lap as he recounted the process of preparing for basic training. “I left the first week after finals and I was supposed to return in the middle or late October. I set up the time I wanted to leave and it worked out that I could begin my Sophomore year at Winthrop in the spring of 2015,” Whitmore said.
He reported to Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina for basic training. The program is broken into three phases: red phase, blue phase and white phase. Each phase has four skill sets the trainee’s are tested on before they move to the next phase.
After the 10 and a half week program, he graduated on Jul. 23, 2014. He was told he had to report to Fort Lee, Virginia the next day to begin his Advanced Individual Training. If he had not passed basic training the first time through, Whitmore would have been delayed another semester of returning to Winthrop.
He stayed at Fort Lee for four months working on his AIT. “My job was chemical equipment. I dealt with gas chambers and gas masks,” Whitmore said. Since returning to Winthrop to resume his education, Whitmore has changed his major from Undeclared to Biology with a minor in Health. “My new job is dental, so I’m trying to become a dentist for the Army.”
Whitmore spent 24 weeks in total training for the Army.
On top of regular school work, Whitmore spends four to five days of the week on military affairs such as looking after and working with his fellow soldiers.
An Army tank at Fort Jackson.
“I have to fill out reports and send them to a commanding officer. It’s like a full-time job,” Whitmore said. “I report to Fort Jackson, which takes about an hour to get to, and we report there once a month in about the middle of the month for drill.”
Whitmore and his unit report in over the summer for their mission assignments, which can range from two weeks to fourth months in length. He recounted that some of his favorite trips off base was in North Carolina and Florida.
Rather than continue his training at Winthrop, Whitmore continued to report to drill at Fort Jackson since it is an actual military base, not just a standardized installation. He smiled and said he also liked being close to his family since they live in Columbia.
Fast-forward to the fall of 2017, Whitmore is preparing to graduate in the spring of 2018.
“My end goal is to be a warrant office, that’s someone who specializes in their job or MOS,” he said proudly. “I hope to inspire people to find themselves and participate in something that is bigger than them.”
After being a member of the Army for over three years, Whitmore said the most important life skills he’s learned have been time management, responsibility and organization.