Linda charted a path for a new future with help from Medical Careers Institiute.

She wasn’t going to let the fact that she was an established adult deter her. Linda has a Bachelor of Science that she received in 1991 and Master’s in Business Administration she received in 2001. She is married, and her children are grown.

Linda enrolled in the registered nursing program at ECPI University’s School of Health Science, Medical Careers Institute(MCI) in

July 2010. She will graduate in December 2011. With an impressive 3.96 GPA, Linda aspires to be in the operating room. She’d like to be a travelling nurse filling in at hospitals across the country that need temporary staff. This would give Linda the flexibility and opportunity to see the country.

“I chose MCI because I am older and I wanted to maximize my time,” explained Linda. “I liked the speed of the program.” Linda did her research prior to selecting MCI; she looked at several programs comparing passing rates, graduation rates, graduates who had earned employment post-graduation and overall graduate reviews. She picked MCI and says the program is fast paced and intense and that she learned a great deal stating, “I tell others to put their nose to the grind stone, you get out of it what you put into it.”

Linda had originally wanted to be a nurse, but the program wasn’t an option to her during the 1980’s when she was graduating high school. She is a good example of someone who holds tight to a dream knowing she can accomplish her heart’s desire.

Tracy Mitchell Before

Before coming to EPCI University, Tracy was a dump truck driver, heavy equipment operator and mechanic. After being laid off, Tracy decided to finally obtain his GED. He passed in January 2009 and enrolled in ECPI the same month. His original pursuit was radiology but quickly learned he was not good with needles and turned to medical imaging. Upon graduation he was hired by Siemen Medical Solutions in Cary, North Carolina, as a tech support engineer. Siemens is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, and operates in the industry, energy, and healthcare sectors. For more than 160 years, Siemens has built a reputation for leading-edge innovation and the quality of its products, services, and solutions.

Just goes to show you, you can’t judge a book by its cover, but a haircut may lead to a very bright future.

Tracy Mitchell After

Kevin Paveglio, ECPI’s Virginia Beach Campus President and Matt Albano, MCI Virginia Beach Campus Director participates in the check presentation at the Youth Career Center.

ECPI University and its school of health science, Medical Careers Institute, have been working with the center since its opening in September 2010. In celebration of the anniversary ECPI donated $25,000 in support of the center operations and services.

Not relying solely on mall traffic the center partners with Hampton Roads high schools to bring students on field trips to the center during the day. One of the student’s favorites is the Virtual Youth Career Center which allows students to create avatars to access online information.

“Those serving our country have unique needs and ECPI University has proudly been serving them for 45 years,” said Bob Larned, Executive Director of Military Education at ECPI University. “We do everything possible to assist military students in getting their degree, including our military distance learning partnerships with every branch of the military and our unique partnership with the Wounded Warrior Program to provide on base training with our Information Assurance Training program.”

The 1,518 colleges, universities and trade schools on this year’s list prioritize the recruitment of students with military experience. According to the magazine, schools are making the grade by offering scholarships and discounts, veterans’ clubs, full-time staff, military credit and other services to those who served. The 2012 list of Military Friendly Schools was compiled through extensive research and a data driven survey of more than 8,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Board consisting of educators from schools across the country.