Jordan Glass
Jordan and his wife, Miranda, both transferred to UBalt at the same time and received The Bob Parsons Scholarship to finish their bachelor's degree for free.
Jordan Glass and his wife, Miranda, were college shopping together when they found The University of Baltimore.
They both have full-time jobs and kids to schedule their college classes around and wanted to find a place that fit each of their needs. Jordan was looking for an English program and hopes to be a teacher. Miranda wanted a criminal justice program that could lead her to law school. UBalt proved to be a perfect fit.
They knew they made the right choice when they each qualified for The Bob Parsons Scholarship, which helps some transfer students, particularly those with military-backgrounds like Jordan, cover the financial gap left between the Pell Grant and tuition costs. Because both qualified for the scholarship, they will be able to complete their bachelor's degrees for free.
"My wife, who is also a scholarship recipient, and I are both taking a full school load while working full time. Getting this scholarship has allowed both of us to continue to pursue our dreams and you know it's something that we are very thankful for. It's saved us."
Jordan fits into the UBalt community in more ways than he expected because of his non-traditional background.
He graduated from high school in 2009 and joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving for 10 years. Then he started working as a federal contractor based out of Fort Meade. After about a year of that work, Jordan and his wife took a hard look at what they wanted for their future.
"We were both doing jobs that paid well, but we weren't loving them, and then I wasn't getting enough family time. And so I was like, let's just back to school, why not?"
In the fall of 2019, they started taking classes at Howard Community College and went on to earn their associate degrees. They started at UBalt in fall 2020.
Jordan decided during his time in community college that he wanted to pursue English as a major. He hopes to pursue his master's degree after graduating and become an English teacher, following his grandfather, who taught English for 25 years after serving in the military.
"Being a leader in the Marine Corps is always about looking out for those that you're in charge of and those that you serve with, helping guide the next generation of Marines into their own futures. I think being a teacher is going to be very similar to that for me."
Jordan spent the first semester at UBalt focusing on his classes, but has started to expand his involvement. He has participated in events with The Bob Parsons Veterans Center and hopes to volunteer his time there in the future.
Jordan also signed up for the UBalt Connects mentorship program. He both had a mentor and served as one during his time in the military and knowing the benefits, he signed up as soon as he learned about UBalt's program.
"We just talk like friends," Jordan says of his mentor. "That was really nice being able to meet someone, even virtually, and feel like you can really trust them and get to know them."