Pitt earns distinction as military-friendly school

Freshman Bryan Szczur is just like every other Pitt student — except he wakes up before… Freshman Bryan Szczur is just like every other Pitt student — except he wakes up before 6 a.m. every day, and when he graduates, he will become a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

Szczur is a cadet in the Army ROTC program at Pitt, and every morning at 6:30, he meets his fellow cadets outside Bellefield Hall for an hour of rigorous physical training.

But after 7:30 a.m., he is a civilian — and a student.

This is a way of life for thousands of ROTC students across the United States at nearly every university.

But according to Military Advanced Education — a bimonthly publication that describes itself as a “journal of higher education for today’s servicemember” — Pitt is not like other schools with ROTC programs.

The publication named Pitt one of the nation’s top military-friendly universities in its third annual guide to military-friendly universities. The guide attempts to “start representing schools that have good attributes for those in military fields,” Mark Fitzgerald, the magazine’s managing editor, said.

“It was based on a bunch of criteria, such as top academics, online programs and veteran support,” Fitzgerald said.

Schools with ROTC programs submitted a questionnaire and a portfolio to Military Advanced Education. Last year, only 60 schools made the list. Pitt was not among those 60.

This year, more than 100 schools were selected.

Fitzgerald said more schools responded to the publication’s survey this year, and he attributed it to the G.I. Bill passed in 2008.

Of the 16 Big East schools, the University of South Florida is the only other school that made the list this year. Penn State University also made the list.

But Fitzgerald said this is “by no means a comprehensive list.”

Szczur agreed.

He grew up a Pitt fan and always knew he wanted to attend Pitt. It wasn’t until his junior year of high school that he started thinking about ROTC.

“I looked into the training and the experience it provided me with, and I contacted Pitt’s ROTC,” he said, “and they got me a scholarship.”

He said Pitt’s many surrounding resources make it a great place for ROTC.

“We have Schenley Park and Carnegie Mellon. Everything we need is right here,” he said.

Major Shawn Gralinski, admissions and enrollment officer for Pitt’s Army ROTC, got his undergraduate degree at The Citadel — The Military College of South Carolina — and got his master’s degree at Webster University in St. Louis.

“I had never been here until my assignment,” Gralinski said.

The Army allowed him to choose which ROTC program he wanted to join. His wife is from Wheeling, and Pitt offered the closest opening.

“There is a great atmosphere here,” he said. “It’s a welcoming and inviting campus and city. The veterans are treated with dignity and respect here, and that’s not always the case [elsewhere],” he said.

He served two tours of duty in Iraq — one from 2004-05 and another from 2008-09. As a veteran, he finds Pittsburgh and the University “comforting.”

“I feel like we are welcomed no matter people’s personal opinion on the war,” he said.

But he attributed Pitt’s success as a military-friendly university more to the Office of Veterans Services.

“We have an outstanding veteran’s affairs office,” he said. “They are very proactive in making veterans feel welcome.”

Military Advanced Education agreed.

The journal’s brief summary of Pitt’s services prominently profiled the new Office of Veterans Services.

“The [office] offers military students specifically designed guidance, ranging from academic and financial aid assistance to career counseling and networking,” the article reported. “The office helps military students access their tuition benefits, as well as offers pre-admission counseling, to plan long-term goals and answer questions.”

“We help [veterans] from the moment they start looking at Pitt to the moment they graduate,” Ann Rairigh, director of the Office of Veterans Services, said.

She said the office helps veterans process G.I. Bill benefits.

“This provides veterans with educational benefits that help them pay for school,” she said. “We also help them with any other services they need when they are here.”

Pitt’s Office of Veterans Services opened last summer. Before moving into the new office on the fourth floor of the Cathedral, the office was located in Thackeray Hall.

Rairigh said she is not a veteran herself, but her husband, Matthew, is in his 10th year of Army service.

“We can help veterans’ dependents, such as spouses and children, as well,” she said. “They are eligible for benefits.”