Space Force Sergeant Gets His Master's Degree
太空军中士. takes his education to Africa, studying for his master’s 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, 现在, Russell is a Sergeant in the United States Space Force and a graduate of the University of Idaho with his Master’s in Psychology with an emphasis in Human Factors.
Upon graduating with his Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Colorado Denver, 拉塞尔于2018年加入空军. The department he was assigned to turned into the Space Force. In 2020, Russell was able to begin pursuing his master’s degree through the University of Idaho, while utilizing the 军事鉴赏奖学金.
在被部署到非洲时, 罗素利用业余时间学习, working his way towards a master’s in Psychology, 强调人的因素.
“More than half of my team was in the process of taking classes,拉塞尔说. “Actually, that’s the nice thing about being deployed sometimes. Compared to being back home, it’s a very simple lifestyle. 你醒来, 拿上你的食物, 去上班, exercise and then focus on other professional goals or other interests you have. The deployment lifestyle definitely affords that.”
The 军事鉴赏奖学金 is specifically designed for active-duty service members who are looking to further their education but need to do so online. The University of Idaho offers over 10 online-only degrees and certificate programs, with even more degrees having the ability to be completed at least partially remotely.
“总的来说真是太棒了, and I really do appreciate the amount of support that the University of Idaho, and particularly the 退伍军人 Assistance Department provides for us as military folks that are really interested in wanting to further and advance our education,拉塞尔说, going on further to emphasize how his professors were always willing to work with him and around his intense schedule. “This 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.”
在2023年春季毕业后, Russell now uses his studies of Human Factors to assist in system design.
“一旦我对这个项目有了更多的了解, it gave me a little bit more insight into how system design can greatly impact operator performance,拉塞尔说. “And I think that's one thing that really gets overlooked a lot of the time.”
His knowledge of Human Factors has allowed Russell-and his team-to become more involved in the design process of the different systems and machines that they as operators will be using during operations.
“We ultimately want to ensure that our voices and the voices of the operational community are heard so that design features that fulfill user requirements are considered and hopefully integrated into system design,拉塞尔解释道.
为获得学位而努力是令人生畏的, but achieving that is nothing short of a major accomplishment. Being able to use it, seeing the real-world impacts firsthand, is something to be proud of. Eugene Russell completed his Master’s degree with a perfect GPA in three years, despite simultaneously balancing a demanding career in the military. Russell is proof that if you want something bad enough, you’ll do what you have to do to make it happen.
“Looking back at it now, it makes me appreciate the work that was put in,” Russell reminisced. “If you can establish a schedule and balance, then it’s feasible. 非常具有挑战性，但这是可以做到的.”
Article by Emma Zado, Military and 退伍军人 服务.
Photography supplied by Eugene Russell and used with permission.
2023年6月出版.