New World Campus scholarship helps military students pursue education

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After six years of Navy service, Steven Smith knew he wanted to go back to school and get a college degree. Smith moved to Pikeville, Kentucky, for a job with Kellogg Co., and enrolled in an online business administration program through Penn State World Campus.

Smith is the first recipient of a new World Campus military scholarship honoring retired Capt. Ryan J. McCombie, a Penn State graduate who spent 26 years as a Navy SEAL. Smith, 28, said the scholarship has helped him cover tuition costs and make ends meet while working full time as a maintenance supervisor and planning for his wedding in May.

Smith completed his Navy service in 2012, including a stint on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise when it deployed to the Persian Gulf in 2011. A Hazleton native, Smith said he never considered enrolling anywhere other than Penn State. “I wouldn’t look anywhere else,” he said. “I’ve been a Nittany Lion my entire life.”

McCombie serves on the Penn State Board of Trustees and chairs the military scholarship committee for World Campus. The McCombie Scholarship will be awarded to veterans, active duty military, reservists or National Guard members who are enrolled or planning to enroll in World Campus and who have achieved superior academic records or who manifest promise of outstanding academic success.

"By providing education to our military, we not only give back to those that selflessly give to us every day, but we also form and train the leaders of the next greatest generation," McCombie said. World Campus is ideal for members of the military who are on active duty or subject to call-up, or for veterans who have jobs or family and can’t move to a campus, he said.

More than 125 donors contributed to the scholarship fund. Fundraising was led by Sue Paterno, who urged potential donors to help “make Penn State the higher education institution of choice for active-duty and veteran military students.”

“We must provide educational opportunities for our people in uniform so they have the tools to make sound decisions,” said Paterno, whose brother took correspondence courses while serving in the military during the Vietnam War. “Through scholarships to the World Campus, we can educate them while they are also serving us.”

McCombie previously established the Lt. j. g. T. Brandan McCombie Memorial Award in honor of his son Brandan, a 1998 graduate of Penn State who was killed along with two squadron mates in the crash of a Navy jet during training exercises off the coast of Puerto Rico in 2002. The three men were posthumously awarded the Navy Commendation Medal.

More than 2,000 currently serving service members and veterans were enrolled in World Campus during the 2013-14 school year, making up 17 percent of all World Campus enrollments. U.S. News & World Report ranked Penn State as the No. 1 national university for veterans in 2014, and it was designated a “military-friendly school” by Military Advanced Education and G.I. Jobs.

Penn State is holding its annual Military Appreciation Week this week to honor the men and women who have served or are serving in the military. Events include a Veterans Day ceremony and a speech by Vernice Armour, the first U.S. African American female combat pilot, on Nov. 14. The Air Force ROTC Honor Guard will perform at the Penn State-Temple football game on Nov. 15.

Penn State’s alumni and friends are invaluable partners in fulfilling the University's land-grant mission of education, research and service. Private gifts from alumni and friends enrich the experiences of students both in and out of the classroom; expand the research and teaching capacity of our faculty; enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain top students and faculty; and help to ensure that students from every economic background have access to a Penn State education. Penn State's third and most ambitious University-wide fundraising campaign, "For The Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students," concluded on June 30, raising a total of $2.188 billion. The University's colleges and campuses are now enlisting the support of alumni and friends to advance a range of unit-specific initiatives.