Regis named top 10 Military Friendly school

University’s Military Scholars Fund helps veterans complete their degree

In her 75 years, Diana Bress has amassed a couple lifetimes’ worth of experience in health care. Now, with help from Regis University’s Military Scholars Fund for military veterans and their families, Bress has an opportunity to back up that experience with a degree.

 The Military Scholars Fund is part of the reason Regis has been recognized as a 2021 top 10 Military Friendly School. 

 Bress devoted years to caring for her husband, Ron Bress, a veteran of the Air National Guard, during his long battle with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. And she continues to care for her daughter, who suffered respiratory failure after a severe bout of influenza, and son-in-law, who lives with a chronic illness.

In the process, she learned plenty about medicine and the healthcare system that delivers it. Now, she intends to earn a degree in health care administration so she can put that knowledge to work to benefit not only her family but others who are battling long-term illness or are in long-term care facilities. 

The Colorado Springs resident began her Regis studies in October 2020 and so far is thrilled with her classes. “I love doing this online,” she said. “It’s so much easier,” she said.

Started in 2016, Regis’ Military Scholars Fund assists military students, including veterans, active duty, or guard and reserve members and their families, in completing their degrees. 

The Military Friendly® ratings program began in 2003 as a way to encourage civilian organizations to invest in programs to recruit, retain and advance veterans as employees, entrepreneurs and students. Military Friendly used data from federal agencies that monitor higher education, as well as survey results, to evaluate the nearly 2,000 institutions that sought recognition.

When Bress started exploring options for earning her degree, she turned to the military resources she had counted on for help during her husband’s illness. That’s how she learned about Regis and its support for veterans and their families.  That support, plus the ability to take courses online, and the fact that Regis accepted credits from her University of Missouri studies — interrupted decades ago — sold her on attending Regis, and she’s happy with her choice.

“I love school,” Bress said. “I always wanted a degree, but life happened.” And she’s sure her husband would be proud of her. “He’d be my biggest booster. He always was.”