Meet A Recipient Of The Veterans Helping Veterans Scholarship

The following is a guest post by Kirtland student, Jason Robinson

My name is Jason Robinson, and that’s my dog, Annie. I am currently a student at Kirtland Community College with a course of study in Automotive Technology. In addition to my certification, I intend to earn an associate degree while completing the auto tech program. I am also a recipient of the Veterans Helping Veterans Scholarship through the Kirtland Foundation.

Most students go through high school with pipe dreams of becoming rich and famous in their chosen field. I took a different path out of high school. I chose to join the military, with the idea that I was going to retire and live out the rest of my days traveling the world. I should have fired my travel agent, Uncle Sam — the only place I saw was Iraq… twice. After returning from my second tour I found that I needed more out of my life, a better education, and a need to extend my knowledge past my military background.

I intend to complete my Automotive Technology courses with a maintained GPA of 4.0. I am already an accomplished mechanic, so this should not be an issue. Second, I intend to graduate with honors from Kirtland, with my certification and my associate degree in hand. 

Next, I will take the ASC certification test and start the second phase of my plan, opening my own auto shop. I already have guarantees from the VA saying that if I complete my degree that they will be willing to help me start my own auto shop. I haven’t quite figured out where I am going to open this shop as I am still in the infant stages of research, but I need to put first things first, and accomplish my goals one at a time.