Rey Villaseñor recently dashed up the stairs at the Yale School of Management like he owned the place — which is a good sign the Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) is accomplishing its mission of helping veterans make a smooth transition to college life.Villaseñor, a six-year U.S. Air Force veteran from San Jose, California, was heading into a late afternoon seminar to prepare for his end-of-the-week business case study presentation. His day had been filled up to that point with classes, group meetings, and a tour of the Peabody Museum. The case study seminar was his last big commitment before heading to dinner in the Silliman College dining hall.
What is the Warrior-Scholar Project?The Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) is a nonprofit organization that prepares enlisted active-duty and veterans transition into higher education, including through free academic boot camps at top-tier universities and colleges. WSP was founded at Yale in 2011 by alumni Christopher Howell ’14, Jesse Reising ’11, and Nick Rugoff ’11.How many individuals have participated in WSP boot camps?Since WSP was established, nearly 3,000 student veterans have participated in one of its free boot camps or workshops.What programs are being offered this summer?The Warrior-Scholar Project this summer is offering college preparatory boot camps at 20 university and college campus around the United States, including a recent program at Yale. Thirty-five veteran scholars participated in the three boot camps offered on the Yale campus — a college readiness camp, a business-oriented camp, and an all-women STEM camp.What did participants do during the Yale boot camps?During the boot camp, participants completed more than 75 academic hours during their boot camp, simulating a typical college finals week. The idea is to build the veterans’ confidence by sharpening their academic skills in a campus environment, organizers say.
