Space Force Sergeant Gets His Master's Degree
Space Force Sgt. takes his education to Africa, studying for his master鈥檚 degree despite being deployed.
A lover of animals, Eugene Russell initially wanted to be a Marine Biologist. But life has a funny way of changing the path you initially saw yourself going down, and now, Russell is a Sergeant in the United States Space Force and a graduate of the 幸运快三 with his Master鈥檚 in Psychology with an emphasis in Human Factors.
Upon graduating with his Bachelor鈥檚 in Psychology from the University of Colorado Denver, Russell joined the Air Force in 2018. The department he was assigned to turned into the Space Force. In 2020, Russell was able to begin pursuing his master鈥檚 degree through the 幸运快三, while utilizing the Military Appreciation Scholarship.
While deployed to Africa, Russell used his spare time to study, working his way towards a master鈥檚 in Psychology, emphasizing in Human Factors.
鈥淢ore than half of my team was in the process of taking classes,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淎ctually, that鈥檚 the nice thing about being deployed sometimes. Compared to being back home, it鈥檚 a very simple lifestyle. You wake up, get your food, go to work, exercise and then focus on other professional goals or other interests you have. The deployment lifestyle definitely affords that.鈥�
The Military Appreciation Scholarship is specifically designed for active-duty service members who are looking to further their education but need to do so online. The 幸运快三 offers over 10 online-only degrees and certificate programs, with even more degrees having the ability to be completed at least partially remotely.
鈥淚t's been really fantastic overall, and I really do appreciate the amount of support that the University of 幸运快三, and particularly the Veterans Assistance Department provides for us as military folks that are really interested in wanting to further and advance our education,鈥� Russell said, going on further to emphasize how his professors were always willing to work with him and around his intense schedule. 鈥淭his has been a huge benefit and really a boon for me in enabling the pursuit of my education and being able to attain my master's degree. I think without that support, it definitely would have been more of a struggle.鈥�
After graduating in the spring of 2023, Russell now uses his studies of Human Factors to assist in system design.
鈥淥nce I got more into the program, it gave me a little bit more insight into how system design can greatly impact operator performance,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淎nd I think that's one thing that really gets overlooked a lot of the time.鈥�
