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Air Force Staff Sgt. Alicia Hunt takes center stage in part two of CBS Radio’s ConnectingVets.com three-part series showcasing the sacrifice and achievement of University of Maryland University College student service members, veterans and their families—as well as a special feature on the Forever GI Bill. The stories are part of UMUC’s partnership with ConnectingVets.com and its slate of “Veterans Community Showcase” programming.

UMUC Global Media Center contributor Gil Klein profiled Hunt, the inaugural recipient of the Gen. John W. Vessey Student of the Year Award, which was announced at the university’s Veterans Day ceremony to commemorate Gen. Vessey’s life and legacy. Often hailed as UMUC’s most distinguished alumnus, Gen. Vessey is the only chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who began his military career as an enlisted man.

Hunt, who is stationed in Afghanistan, acknowledged her award in an aspirational video message to ceremony attendees. She said, in part, “General Vessey epitomized integrity, duty and loyalty in service to one’s country, and I can only hope to follow in his footsteps as I further my educational knowledge and career.”

Read , to learn why Sgt. Hunt soars.

Next Up on ConnectingVets.com

��Keith Hauk, associate vice president of Veterans Initiatives and Military Support, UMUC Stateside Military Operations, shares information about the Forever GI Bill, signed into law this August, which marks the most comprehensive changes to the GI Bill since the passage of the Post-9/11 version in 2008.

In his article, Hauk outlines some of the GI Bill’s new provisions that enhance or expand education benefits for veterans, service-members, families and survivors.

��Previously on ConnectingVets.com��

Part-one of the series featured University of Maryland University College student Vanessa Corey-Engelhardt, who received a Pillars of Strength Scholarship covering the full cost of her bachelor’s degree because of her extraordinary role in caring for the injured Army Green Beret who would become her husband.

Read on ConnectingVets.com to learn about her remarkable story.

Click here to learn more about the Pillars of Strength Scholarship program, supported and managed by The Blewitt Foundation and the Yellow Ribbon Fund, in association with UMUC.