Providing Support For Those Who Served

On a chilly day in January, Shannon Matthews, a 1997 TCC business graduate, dropped by TCC to visit. A Purple Heart recipient, Matthews was already in town to speak to a group of Nathan Hale High School students about the Army’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

He did not stop by TCC to sell the virtues of the JROTC, however. He wanted to talk to the TCC Foundation about scholarships, specifically the one he created in 2010 for older veterans seeking to better themselves through education. It’s a path he’s walked.

A Purple Heart recipient, Matthews has led a life of service, first in the military, and then through the civil service with the Office of Veterans

Affairs. A Gulf War veteran, he received the

Purple Heart in October ‘94 while participating in Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. He retired from the Army Corps of Engineers in 2012 after 24 years of combined service.

“I did my time the long way around,” says Matthews.

Education played a large part in his career. After getting out of the Army, he brought his GI Bill funds back home to Tulsa and enrolled at TCC. He majored in Business.

When he finished at TCC, he transferred to OSU Tulsa and graduated with his

Bachelor’s in 2001. He is listed on the

Who’s Who for both institutions. Matthews a first-generation college graduate, though his daughter has followed in his footsteps, graduating from Oklahoma State University with a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering.

“Education has been immense in my life,” says Matthews. “It wasn’t something I wanted to do. I wanted to stay in the Army and make a career out of it. But I realized I needed it. When I was on active duty, you think you’re smart. You think you’re educated and no one can tell you anything. When you get out, you find out you’re not as smart or as educated as you think you are.”

With a couple degrees under his belt, Matthews wanted to continue his educational journey, and enrolled in graduate school. He discovered there weren’t many scholarship opportunities for older veterans.

“I searched for scholarships for veterans, but there weren’t any for those who got out before 9/11,” he says. “It was all for current vets. When you get older, the benefits are not as readily available as they were when you were 18, 20 years old. So I created one.”

With the help of the Foundation, he funded a $1,000 scholarship. He choose to do this at TCC because he’s an alumnus and understands $1,000 goes a lot further at a community college than it does at a four-year institution.

“It’s just something for an older veteran,” he says. “They can look at TCC and say, ‘Hey, there’s something for me.’ I hope it allows them the opportunity to finish their degree, or to get it started.”

And as an alumnus, he knows first-hand the quality of a

TCC degree. “I would encourage anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, whatever, to give TCC a try. Give the College an opportunity,” he says. “Show them you want to be exposed to higher learning, and TCC will do the rest.”