Service to school helps Veterans find new purpose with education: Community-based organization Service to School helps thousands of Veterans navigate the college process from application to graduation

Abstract: Community-based organization Service to School helps thousands of veterans navigate the college process from application to graduation. hen Ricky Holder was in elementary school, his mother was incarcerated, leading him to the foster care system where he remained until his high school graduation. Now as a graduate fellow at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, he credits one organization to his success: Service to School (S2S). In 2023, the organization helped 3,000 veterans and service members on their journey to higher education and another 15,000 who used the organization's resources. More than half of the undergraduate applicants it works with identify as people of color, and 60 percent are the first in their families to attend college. To improve long-term success for veterans, S2S encourages veterans to pursue degrees at institutions with a graduation rate of at least 70 percent, said Sydney Matthes, chief program officer at the nonprofit.

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