Army Reservist SGT Prince Ngaima is a Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic with the 203rd Inland Cargo Transport Company out of Arden Hills. He just returned from a 9-month deployment to Kuwait where he served his nation while continuing his education by taking several online courses at Saint Paul College. This Fall, he is enrolled in four classes (Chemistry, Accounting, Business, and Writing Composition) to pursue a Business Transfer Pathway. Passionate about service and loyalty, SGT Ngaima also serves on the Saint Paul College's Veteran Committee. He provides outstanding input on how the college can continue to improve the way they accommodate the unique situations often arising from military service members.
SGT Ngaima moved to the United States from Liberia as a teenager and joined the military out of
a strong desire to serve others. He embraces personal responsibility and shares his invaluable military lessons with fellow students. A few of the benefits he believes service members offer to both college students and faculty include:
- Problem-solving Skills - Learning how to solve complex problems in unique settings, service members bring new perspectives and approaches that open up new ideas to consider.
- Authentic Diversity - Service members work closely with people from diverse cultures and bring well-rounded and inclusive values to their schools.
- Time Management - Service members overcome many obstacles in their educational journey through focused discipline which are often emulated by fellow students.
- Leadership - Especially the challenging skill of earning the trust and belief of followers and how to bring out the best group outcomes while ensuring strong team morale.
- Selfless Service - Profound perspective of serving others in organizations with the approach of "always being ready to contribute to the greater good."
Always motivated to improve himself, Sgt Ngaima is dedicated to balancing military service with his educational pursuits and time with his three children. With a passion for aviation, his career goal is to become a commercial pilot and work in aviation business/administration. He says the Veterans Administration (VA) need to continue improving their respective processes for equipping servicemembers with tuition support programs. He has seen far too many of his military colleagues start the process to secure tuition assistance, but they give up because the process is too lengthy or difficult to navigate without good advice from those familiar with the processes. Great insight from the frontlines in Kuwait!
SGT Ngaima serves on the Saint Paul College Veterans Committee and appreciates how the college has provided him with the flexibility he needed while serving overseas to meet these dual obligations. He shared his appreciation for the many teachers who have understood his unique situation and provided him with much-needed flexibility on assignment due dates. He has provided great input on how a college can serve students halfway around the world through real-time communications and a service-first mentality, an intangible skill that he says guides his approach to serving his nation while pursuing his educational and career aspirations.
Saint Paul College leadership has established an active Veterans Committee, which is working diligently to become a Yellow Ribbon college and ensure our college is adaptable to meet the many unique challenges facing our military and veteran students, as well as their families. For further information on our College veteran's initiatives, contact Alan Duff or Bushra Rizvi.
