Veterans Voice: Military experience made this former airman a better student

Stephen Callahan, 32, began college in 2009 and finally fulfilled his degree requirements last December.

On May 20, he walked with the Providence College School of Continuing Education graduates, ranked first in his class.

He spent six of the intervening years in the Air Force, serving his country, seeing the world, and growing up.

He hopes his story will inspire other veterans to continue their education after they leave active duty.

“I know now that I did not have the self-discipline and commitment required to be really successful when I got out of high school,” he said.

He would tell other veterans that success in the military can directly translate into success in college or technical school.

“I think the time management and accountability we all learned in the military directly translates to educational success,” Callahan said.

Finally, he strongly encouraged all veterans to take advantage of the GI Bill, which goes a long way toward eliminating the stress of tuition costs.

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Growing up in Connecticut

Callahan was born July 15, 1991, in South Windsor, Connecticut. He was one of four children. His mother, Cynthia, was a paraprofessional in the town's elementary schools. His father, Stephen, worked as a national manager for a water technology company.

He attended South Windsor High School, and it was a foregone conclusion that he would continue his studies at Providence College.

“It’s the only college I wanted to attend,” Callahan said. “My father, grandfather, great-grandfather and many other family members — 17 in all — had graduated from PC.”

But then he had a rude awakening. In the spring of 2009, he stood somewhere in the middle of his class of about 375. He was not accepted at PC.

“So I enrolled at Southern Connecticut State University instead,” Callahan said.

“I did well my first year there, so I decided to transfer to the University of Connecticut. I wanted to attend their business school, but I had to be there for a semester before I could do that.”

He found the large class sizes difficult, and admits he slacked off on school work. He did not get into business school, so he pursued another major that held less interest for him. His grades reflected that lack of enthusiasm.

College difficulty led to to the Air Force

After more than three years at UConn, he was treading water at best.

“I needed to retake multiple courses, and [I had] growing student loan debt,” he recalled.

Afraid he “would be stuck in Connecticut paying down student debt” for years to come, and worried that he would lose his chance to travel and see the world, he decided to enlist in the Air Force.

Callahan joined up in October 2014. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, he went on to a munitions systems technical training course.

When asked about that career path, he replied that he did well in the mechanical portion of an aptitude test that helps steer service members into an appropriate specialty.

He also heard that munitions specialists were needed worldwide, ”so I had a better chance of receiving orders to overseas bases.”

He was assigned to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

“I spent 24 months on the island soaking in the sun and maintaining the base's munitions,” he recalled.

He learned a lot on Guam, with the most important lesson being “how to balance and essentially flip an internal switch when it came to work and fun.”

Along the way he learned to drive an 18-wheeler, operate different types of forklifts, and handle a variety of live explosives. He was promoted to senior airman and transferred to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.

“I worked as a crew chief … in what I believe was the largest munitions storage area in the entire Air Force,” he said.

He also considered the next chapter in his life.

“Getting that Providence College degree was still really important to me, so I began looking into my options,” said Callahan.

This time, access to the post-9/11 GI Bill eased his concerns about tuition costs.

Oddly enough, it was a sports magazine article that steered him to the School of Continuing Education.

The report described how former PC basketball star God Shammgod had gone back to school and graduated in 2015.

“I remember reading that article, then re-watching some YouTube videos of Shammgod's ball handling, and then looking on the PC website about SCE programs.”

He applied and was admitted in 2017. He signed up for a distance-learning course, but world events intervened. North Korea’s Kim Jong-un escalated his bombast by testing and firing intercontinental ballistic missiles. Callahan was part of a team sent to South Korea to help reorganize munitions storage at several bases around the Korean peninsula.

After six months he returned to Okinawa, satisfied that he had “contributed to something bigger than myself.”

However, this deployment forced him to drop out of the online course.

A well-earned leave to Australia followed, along with a promotion to staff sergeant. With only 10 months left in his enlistment, he received orders to Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.

“That’s when I got really serious about the next chapter,” Callahan said. “I signed up for more online classes, and stuck with them this time.”

When his tour ended in 2020, he moved to Providence and enrolled full-time. He decided to pursue a liberal studies degree, which allowed him to transfer the most credits from his prior college courses.

In a March 2022 Providence College publication, he said, “I liked that … I could take a combination of different courses, like communication, leadership and problem solving. I didn’t have a specific idea of what I wanted to do at that point, but I thought those skills would always be useful.”

Callahan says his Air Force experience made all the difference in his confidence.

The distance-learning concept also really helped him.

“I had the chance to see everyone else’s written responses,” he said.

That opened his eyes to the fact that “I am as strong academically as others, which helped me gain confidence in my studies.”

That confidence translated into results.

Ann Nagle, assistant dean of PC’s School of Continuing Education, told The Journal, “Stephen just graduated with a 3.97 grade point average."

He received the Dean's Award for highest GPA in the graduating class.

As a result, he was the flag bearer for the commencement ceremony on May 20.

According to Callahan, the hardest part was time management.

“I think I’ve always been a procrastinator, but I found that just committing to doing all the [work] made a big difference in my studies. I treated my education like a job.

“There are also some really great professors at SCE and my adviser, Jennifer Andrews, was very helpful.”

In an email, Andrews described Callahan as “a very humble guy,” who was an active participant in book discussion groups and other activities.

“Receiving my diploma was a special day,” said Callahan, “And now I’m a fourth-generation PC grad, which I think is pretty cool.”

Stephen was also inducted into Eta Lambda, PC's chapter of the premier adult learner honor society, Alpha Sigma Lambda.

This fall he moves on to St. John's University School of Law.

“I think being a legal advocate for the poor and underprivileged will be a good path for me. I’d like to make a positive impact in that way.”

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Callahan’s tips for veterans going back to college

1. If your school has a writing center, use it. The writing center at PC helped me very much.

2. Talk to both the VA certifying official and a student counselor at the school you want to attend; they will help you in your transition.

3. Also unfortunately, the housing stipend in the GI bill won't stretch as far as you think it will, so budget your expenses.

He adds: Hopefully at least one veteran will read my story and feel more confidence to go back to school and try to better themselves, or even see my path as one they can take.

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Calendar

Thursday, 4 to 8:30 p.m., “Charter Fishing for Stripers, Blues and Whatever Else is Biting.” All bait and tackle provided. Bring a cooler for your catch and beverages. To sign up, you must join The Fallen Outdoors East Coast Community Page on Facebook. Contact Justyn Charon, veteran outreach program specialist, Providence Vet Center, at (401) 739-0167, or via email at justyn.charon@va.gov.

Mondays, 4 to 8:30 p.m., Narragansett Bow Hunters, 1531 Ten Rod Rd., North Kingstown, are offering an opportunity to learn archery at no charge. Everything you need will be provided (bows, arrows, arm guards, targets, finger tabs and instruction). No RSVP needed. For further information call  (401) 295-7228 or visit narragansettbowhunters.org.

To report the outcome of a previous activity, or add a future event to our calendar, email the details (including a contact name and phone number/email address) to veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Veterans Voice: Military experience made this former airman a better student