Home Front Alliance connects veterans with colleges
The Home Front Alliance is a very young startup designed to connect military veterans with colleges or universities that best fit their qualifications, needs, and interests, and allows educational institutions to recruit vets. Think of it as the Match.com for vets and colleges.
Founded by young veteran and recent college graduate, Garrett FitzGerald, the company will be launching The Edge later this year to provide our nation’s vets, active-duty personnel, and their families with a free web-based college-matching tool.
FitzGerald says, “This program is unlike any other in the market because it gives the user the ability to build a comprehensive profile detailing their educational history, community involvement, and military accolades.”
Once a profile is completed, the veteran can fill out an advanced college filter based on institutional cost, size, geographic location, and other search criteria. Based on this information, and the qualifications listed on the profile, the program can then generate a list of colleges and universities that best matches the veteran’s preferences and qualifications.
With a dash of social
The Edge system will consist of all trade schools as well as two- and four-year schools in the country, but not for-profit schools.
Once the list is viewed, the veteran can choose his or her schools-of-interest and begin direct communication with them by sending their profiles to the admissions and veteran affairs offices.
Colleges and universities can also actively recruit and personally reach out to the college-bound users to express their interest and create an open dialogue where question are answered, worries are settled, and relationships are built all within the interactive interface.
The tool will also feature a social media platform that allows veterans, their families, and schools to interact with each other, so discussions about schools may ensue, and other veterans looking to obtain a degree can connect with each other.
Below is a demo of what a profile will look like:
The takeaway
Designed for veterans by veterans, this program aims to better connect the military family with educational opportunities and vice versa. Veterans are strengthening the American workforce in number, and with more diplomas in hand, the capacity to lead in a unique way is even greater. FitzGerald calls his fellow veterans the “nation’s heroes,” an many employers today agree.
