Howard County College issued the following announcement on Nov. 13.
Between the ages of 18 and 29, Coast Guard veteran Michael Rones moved five times, lived on three different islands, and served 354 days in the Northern Arabian Gulf as part of the Iraq campaign. He made life-long friends, lost some friends, got married, struggled for years to sleep, and went through a rough divorce.
“That’s right. All of that before I was 30 years old,” he quipped, while speaking at Howard Community College’s (HCC) 2018 Veterans Day Celebration.
At 29 years old, Rones took time to reflect on his life and think about his future. He decided to leave the Coast Guard and travel for a year or so to “check in with reality.” He rock climbed in Alaska, went skiing in the Pacific Northwest, and diving in the Caribbean.
In January 2018, he yearned for a new adventure, so he reached out to HCC’s Office of Veterans Affairs.
“Mike Griggs helped me through every step of enrollment,” Rones said. “He connected me with an academic advisor and helped me complete the paperwork to use my GI bill. Shortly after, classes started.”
It was an adjustment. Rones hadn’t sat in a classroom in years, and many of his classmates were fresh out of high school.
“Initially I thought the age difference and my decade out of the classroom would place me at a disadvantage, but I was surprised,” he said. “My professors were patient with me and helped me transition to academic life.
“I went from being a master at my craft in the Coast Guard to an environment that I should have felt like a fish out of water. But my professors were wonderful and helped me learn how to swim with the other students.”
Rones is enjoying his time at HCC and looks forward to transferring to a four-year university to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
“Reflecting on my transition from the military to student life, I wouldn’t change a thing,” he said. “Getting out of the Coast Guard with a plan of adventure cleared my head after my time in the military and let me formulate a new dream.”
Original source can be found here.
Source: Howard County College
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