October 1, 2016 – After retiring from the United States Marine Corps in 2006, Sandra Torres-Pintos moved to Gainesville. She knew she could use her G.I. Bill benefits to get a bachelor’s degree, but would need to take prerequisite classes before she could apply to the University of Florida.
“I started asking around and everyone advised me attend Santa Fe College,” Sandra said. “They said it had a good reputation and had a great program for student veterans.”
Sandra had a few classes under her belt from attending University of Phoenix while she was in the Marine Corps. She began night classes at SF in fall of 2006 and transferred to UF at the end of spring 2008. While at SF, she majored in Business Administration.
“I came to Santa Fe College because everyone I asked in the veteran community bragged about how good a school Santa Fe was, especially for veterans,” Sandra said. “Santa Fe provided me with the academic preparation that I needed to be successful not only here, but at the University of Florida.”
And possibly most importantly, Santa Fe College provided Sandra a safe haven within the Veteran Services office. It made transitioning from military life to academia much easier for her.
When asked about her greatest accomplishment to date, Sandra had the following to say:
“Aside from achieving the rank of Sergeant Major in the Marine Corps, it would be starting at Santa Fe College as a work study employee and now occupying the position of Veteran Services Coordinator where I can help student veterans like me succeed after transitioning from the military.”