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A Retired Veteran Returns to College

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Sterling Williams Jr. was retired from the U.S. Airforce, bored, and looking for a fulfilling way to spend his time.

“When you’re retired, there’s only a few things you can do: dig a garden, watch TV, cut the grass, or bowl, and I can’t [bowl] anymore,” said Williams, 62, a Sinton, Texas resident.

But his niece suggested something else: going to college. Williams was intrigued but concerned about keeping a flexible schedule. Between picking his niece up from school and waiting for appointments at the Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic, the idea of commuting back and forth for classes seemed like a significant obstacle. Then he learned South Texas College would give him a laptop and hotspot to attend classes remotely.

NTIA awarded South Texas College over $2.85 million dollars from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC) to provide hotspots and laptops to students, expand network capacity, and support digital learning.

Before the CMC program, Williams did not have a reliable computer or Internet access, so he went to his local library to use their computers. Now he can log in from anywhere and complete his assignments at his own pace—whether from the parking lot of his niece’s school or the waiting room at the VA. He even gets ahead of classwork some days, too.

“It gives me something to look forward to for the day,” Williams said. “I’ve got quizzes and classwork to do, and once I’ve done that, I can get on with the rest of my day.”

Williams is working toward an associate degree in Human Resources and hopes to graduate sometime next year.

Why Internet for All Matters to Me 

“I’m getting an education and [the devices] are simple to use. This type of program should be made available to anyone who wants to do it — students should have an idea of what they can do without having to move across the country to attend college. They can do it from home.”

– Sterling Williams Jr., 62, Sinton, Texas.