CINDY SMITH
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PROVOST
ALEXANDRIA CAMPUS
As a young adult, I considered joining the military – primarily for the educational benefits. However, I decided to pursue my education on my own. After earning my Bachelor of Science degree from Dakota State College in Madison, SD, I took a job teaching English in a small town in Iowa. In my second year of teaching one of my students was absent for a week. When he returned, I asked for his excuse and was intrigued to see that he had been processing for the Iowa Army National Guard. I looked into it and ended up joining. I enlisted as a Private First Class (E-3) since I already had a bachelor’s degree. I attended basic training at Ft. Jackson, SC.\
I worked full time for the Iowa Army National Guard as the State Training NCO for several years. I achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6) by the time I left the service. I benefited from my service in the National Guard in many ways. I met my husband there and we got married under crossed cannons during summer camp (Field Artillery unit – they didn’t have swords) with our Battalion Chaplain performing the ceremony. Since I enlisted under a student loan repayment program, the National Guard paid my student loans from my undergraduate degree. I was eligible for educational assistance while I served and the Guard paid 90% of my tuition costs for my graduate degree at Drake University in Des Moines, IA.