“When I was talking to the recruiter, I found that they had paralegals in the Army,” says Hanna McNabb. “I had decided I wanted to one day become a lawyer, a prosecutor to be specific, and I thought being a paralegal might be a good first step on that path.”
After a year at Boise State, McNabb shipped off to basic training in May 2017 and would ultimately wind up stationed at Ft. Drum, New York, where her now husband was stationed on active duty.
“I’m one of the few people I think that love it at Ft. Drum,” McNabb says. “It’s a small base so I’ve had a lot of great opportunities to do advance my career like Air Assault School and other courses. I also worked with a really great team so my experiences there have been pretty good so far.”
With the aspiration to one day become a lawyer, McNabb knew she couldn’t let too much time pass before she got serious about her education.
“I applied for the Army’s Green to Gold Active Duty Option,” says McNabb. The program allows active-duty soldiers to complete their baccalaureate degree or two-year graduate degree as well as earn a commission as an Army officer, owing three years of obligated service time after graduation. After a yearlong application period, McNabb was selected.
“It was a pretty competitive application process,” says McNabb. “I think nationwide they only select about 200 of us.”
With Ft. Drum being right up Interstate 81, Syracuse University landed in McNabb’s crosshairs as she needed to go to school nearby. It wasn’t until she had been accepted however that she started doing significant research on the University.
“I like the school, I had some bad experiences before at Boise but this school is a lot better,” said McNabb. “They care a lot more about their veterans here; they make a big point to take care of their veterans here.”