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Brandon Armani, a veteran and Durham Tech student since 2024, has been invited to attend the Chicago area Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) Academic Bootcamp where he will have the opportunity to develop the skills, confidence and strategies needed to thrive in higher education. The bootcamp will be held at the University of Chicago and last seven days.
“Brandon is the first veteran from Durham Tech to be invited to the Project,” said Demitrius Bullock, advisor and coordinator of Veteran Services Advising Services. “Being selected for this opportunity is a significant achievement and speaks to Brandon’s dedication, perseverance and commitment to academic and personal growth. Programs like this play a crucial role in empowering veterans by providing them with invaluable resources, mentorship and networking opportunities.”
Armani, a Louisiana native and the only boy in a family surrounded by nine sisters, views his life as acts in a play.
“If this thing called life was a Broadway play, my Durham Tech story would be the sixth act,” Armani said. “I have had so many acts prior to and know God has more in store for me.”
Armani says his first act was that of soldier, his second a community organizer, the third, executive director of a nonprofit, the fourth was policy advisor to four U.S. presidents and their senior staff – Clinton (Ryan White Care Act), G.W. Bush (Second Chance Act), Obama (Affordable Care Act) and Biden (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). His fifth act is the one he calls his “greatest.”
“I served as primary care provider to my grandniece from birth to 7 years of age,” he said. “I was headed to Arizona and stopped in to see my sisters in Louisiana. I was informed that we needed to stop by the hospital because my niece was in labor. We found out she had decided not to keep the baby. Out of my mouth comes, ‘I will take the baby.’ I watched as God did everything he needed to do for me to take my Serenity home with me in 10 days. I raised her and loved her until she was able to return to her mother. My greatest act.”
To get to his “Durham Tech act,” Armani accepted a job with Chapter 31, which provides vocational rehabilitation for disabled veterans. The job wanted to marry his experience with education.
“Once I knew it was Durham Tech, I needed to find out more about it. I literally got on the Number 8 bus and yelled, ‘Where’s Durham Tech?’ A young student said, ‘I’ll show you,’ and he took me directly to Demetrius [Bullock] and the Department of Veterans Affairs on Durham Tech’s Main Campus.
Armani will finish two years at Durham Tech then transfer to N.C. Central University for four years, finishing with his master’s degree in public policy. He wants to go back into advising and legislating.
“While here I want to be immersed in Durham Tech,” Armani said. “If you are not around young people you will start to believe the news and think there is no hope. I have met bright minds and kind hearts here at Durham Tech. I am reminded through them and Durham Tech that there is a future, and these students will take good care of it.”
Armani speaks highly of his instructors at Durham Tech and the impact they have had on him.
“My business introduction class set a foundation for my college career,” he said. “It was challenging every class. My English class was tough for me, too. Here I am working on presidents’ projects, yet this class was a challenge. Even still, I asked the instructor to push me and she did.”
Armani talks openly about the support he has received from his Project 31 VA representative and his Durham Tech advisors.
“It was through Demetrius that I found out about the Warrior-Scholar Project,” Armani said. “He forwarded me the email about it and said I might be interested. I certainly was.”
To get into the program, Armani had to complete an application and go through interviews. Once accepted, he went through a verification process. He then only had to click accept.
Spots in the program are limited and all expenses, excluding travel, are paid in full for the seven-day program.
The WSP, in partnership with the nation’s top colleges and universities, hosts intensive and immersive one-week college-preparatory academic boot camps for enlisted veterans and transitioning service members. Boot camps are offered in three disciplines: humanities, STEM, and business and entrepreneurship.
“I'll be going for the humanities pathway,” Armani said. “I am looking forward to it.”
Through faculty lectures, workshops and research projects, tailored assignments, and one-on-one tutoring, warrior-scholars acquire the skills to navigate the cultural shift from military service to college.
Throughout the course, warrior-scholars are mentored by student veterans who have successfully transitioned from the military to college. WSP also offers workshops tailored to address the unique needs of veterans enrolled in community colleges and targeted programming for marginalized veterans.
“There will be so much to take advantage of through the program, and I will enjoy that,” he said. “I do so much because there is so much to do. You do everything to help others and that betters you.”
The WSP sees 2,500 veterans go through the boot camp program. Nineteen college and university partners participate in the program, and 88 percent of boot camp alumni have graduated or are on track to receive a bachelor’s degree.
“My next initiative is hopefully helping to move along the affordable housing project Durham Tech has in the works,” Armani said. “I want to get my first year of school under my belt and then help in any way I can. I have knowledge of the federal processes so believe I could be helpful. ... I want to say, ‘Wow, things are better in some small way because of me.’”