PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It’s not often that a military service member goes through boot camp twice.

But at Brown University, 16 military veterans and active-duty members are getting a rigorous preview of higher education experiences as the University hosts its first-ever Warrior-Scholar Project Humanities Academic Boot Camp, from June 17 to 24.

The week-long boot camp offers an intensive curriculum designed to help military veterans prepare for a collegiate academic environment while learning strategies to become even more successful students. From lessons delivered by University faculty and mentorship from fellow student veterans, to one-on-one tutoring sessions and group seminars led by Brown graduate students, Warrior-Scholar Project boot camp participants are learning to adjust to concepts and practices that may seem unfamiliar after years spent away from the classroom.

“When you’re a student veteran, you’re working through what it means to be yourself outside of the military,” said Becky Scheusner, program coordinator in Brown’s Office of Military-Affiliated Students, who helped organize the event. “It’s exciting, but it can also be pretty intimidating — scary, even.”

A U.S. Navy veteran and Brown alumna herself, Scheusner has firsthand experience in making the transition from service to school. She empathizes with the obstacles student veterans face in a university setting — which is why she finds the WSP boot camp such a valuable resource.

“The challenge is that military life has left an indelible mark on you, but the size of that mark is entirely up to you,” she said. “A big part of going to college is having your assumptions questioned, and this is a supportive, intellectual environment where you get to decide: ‘Do I want to keep that assumption? Or do I want to change it?’”

Not-so-basic training

Hosting the academic boot camp marks the latest step Brown has taken to increase support for veterans and active members of the military who are pursuing college degrees. In recent years, the University has nearly doubled the number of veterans enrolled as undergraduates on its own campus, and Brown provides full financial support to its entire contingent of student-veterans.

The Warrior-Scholar Project hosts several boot camps each year on college campuses across the country, some with academic themes. The decision to host humanities-specific programming at Brown was intentional, said Mac Manning, director of Brown’s Office of Military-Affiliated Students.

“We wanted to play to some of our distinct strengths,” Manning said. “We have world-class faculty in the areas of international and public affairs, English and teaching, as well as the military fellows at the Watson Institute. We want to equip participants with invaluable resources they can relate to — and instructors who can relate to them.”

The boot camp seminars cover topics like “The Declaration in Context,” “American Democracy in Crisis” and “Public Service in Contemporary American Democracy.” They’re led by a mix of Brown University faculty, military fellows and one recent Brown alumnus. Among the instructors are Professor of International and Public Affairs and International Economics Mark Blyth; Assistant Professor of China Studies and Political Science Tyler Jost; Naval War College Military Professor Daniel Post; and Army veteran Brehan Brady, who graduated from Brown in May with concentrations in German studies and history.

Familiarizing boot camp participants with this type of curriculum, which is intensive in analytic reading, academic writing and research, will help them succeed in college, said Warrior-Scholar Project staff member Whittney Gould. And while some of the subject matter may be familiar for some, the academic rigor is something many are experiencing for the first time.

“They’re bringing their lived experiences into the classroom,” Gould said. “They’re studying the foundations of American democracy. That’s something in the military they can really relate to, because they are serving and defending the Constitution — it’s a great access point.”

Each morning after breakfast, participants gather for an hour-long study group before attending the key seminar of the day, which is followed by 3 hours of writing workshops and individualized support from dedicated tutors, who are also Brown graduate students.

The work doesn’t end once the sun goes down. After dinner, WSP staff lead the participants in practical-skill workshops on topics like time management and community building. Then, they work on their daily writing assignments with a second group of tutors, before ending the day with a reading period that wraps up at 10:45 p.m.