Serving those who serve

June 14, 2011 – Adam Beatty, class of 2014 at Northeastern University. Yellow Ribbon Program participant. The first student to benefit from the Phi Gamma Pi gift of $50,000 over five years Rank in Marine Corp: Corporal (E-4) Where deployed: Stationed in Twenty Nine Palms California and deployed to Iraq twice: once to Al Anbar Province during OIF 6-8 in 2007, and again to Ninewah Province in OIF 9-1 in 2009. Details of deployment: Provided security for State Department Provincial Reconstruction Teams. PHOTO: Mary Knox Merrill / Northeastern University

Twenty-three year-old rising sophomore Adam Beatty is four or five years older than most of his classmates. But that might be the least of their differences.

That’s because Beatty also happens to be a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Beatty, a finance and accounting major in the College of Business Administration, attends Northeastern through the federal Yellow Ribbon Program. A provision of the post-9/11 GI Bill, this partnership between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and participating colleges and universities provides funding toward tuition and fees for eligible veterans.

In 2009, Northeastern reaffirmed its commitment to education for veterans by pledging $2 million to the Yellow Ribbon Program. Support from individuals and organizations like Phi Gamma Pi, a former university fraternity that directed proceeds from the sale of its house to the program, have contributed to its success. This additional backing assists Northeastern in awarding grants to over 160 qualified veterans, who have access to a full range of programs including bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and law degrees.

By enabling veterans to apply their valuable knowledge and life skills to classroom studies, Yellow Ribbon is also generating an opportunity for them to become leaders in the professional, civic and cultural arenas. “I’m not idealistic, but I’ve seen the real world in a different light and I’m not afraid to speak out and share my experiences,” Beatty said.

Upon graduating from high school, he joined the Marine Corps and served two tours of duty in Iraq, earning promotion to corporal in 2010. But he always knew that he wanted to go to college.

Northeastern’s co-op program drew Beatty to the University. “I didn’t want to sit around in the summer at 23 with some menial job, so I liked that at Northeastern I’d be able to stay in school year-round,” he said.

The University has collaborated with the Student Veterans Organization to help veterans navigate through life on campus. “We had a meeting with administrators just a couple of weeks ago, and they really went out of their way to help,” Beatty said.

This summer, Northeastern launched a new website —www.northeastern.edu/veterans — that serves as a hub for veterans’ programs, the University’s Veterans Memorial, its centers for defense-related research, and Northeastern’s ROTC program, one of the largest in New England.

If you would like to help make higher education accessible to our veterans, you may support the Yellow Ribbon Program by contacting the Office of University Advancement at 617-373-2520.