Helen Trevino
Helen Trevino, a 29-year-old Human Resources Specialist in the U.S. Army, graduated from FTCC on May 12, 2023 with degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources Management. Trevino joined the military straight out of high school but went to college later to advance her career.
“When I joined the military, college wasn’t a big thing. A couple of years down the line they said, ‘Hey if you want to get promoted, you’ve got to get an education.’ I had to come back and go to college.
“I went to college part-time when I was in high school in a nursing program. But when I graduated, I realized I didn’t like college and I didn’t want to be a nurse. I thought, I don’t have to go to college if I join the military. But the military said, ‘No, you do have to go to college.’ So here I am, almost 10 years later, three associate degrees.
“Because I was stationed here, I knew the in-state tuition here would be a lot cheaper than trying to go out-of-state. I started and stuck with it. I chose something that is useful to me in my career and will be beneficial to me when I get out of the military.
“It’s been very challenging because I PCS’ed and came back in the middle of going to school. I work full time, I’m a single parent, and I was a full-time student on and off. But I will say the staff here has made it very easy to keep up communication. Any questions I had, they were quick to turn around and point me in the right direction.”
