Goodfellow Airman selected for medical degree prep Published March 26, 2018 By Kat Bailey, Air Force Personnel Center & Russell Stewart 17th Training Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Air Force has announced eight enlisted Airmen to participate in the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program, beginning in July. Goodfellow’s Staff Sgt. Judith Mathess, 316th Training Squadron instructor, was selected to complete the preparatory coursework for admission to medical school while maintaining active duty status with full pay and benefits. Mathess was in her classroom teaching when her squadron commander, Lt. Col. Robert Kammerer came in accompanied by numerous 316 TRS leaders. She suspected why they came and became nervous while they joked with her trainees before reading the announcement of her selection to the program. “I teared up a bit, kind of a happy-cry, when they finally said it,” Mathess confided. “My chain of command fully supported my application, they were definitely on-board with it!” The program, which incurs a three-year active duty service commitment, includes coursework in a traditional classroom setting with structured pre-health advising and formal medical college admission test preparation. “This program is open to candidates who demonstrate integrity and are dedicated to becoming future physicians, leaders and scholars of the nation's medical force,” said the Air Force Surgeon General Continuing Medical Education Director Andrea Zabawczuk. To be eligible for the program, Mathess used the Military Tuition Assistance Program along with a scholarship from the University of Toledo to complete her bachelor’s degree. The MilTIA program currently pays 100 percent of tuition, up to $250 per credit hour, $4,500 annually, in off-duty courses with accredited schools who have signed the Department of Defense Memorandum of Understanding in pursuit of approved degree programs. “Using TA was easy and intuitive,” Mathess explained. “I had about three quarters of my bachelor’s completed before I joined, and was able to finish it while in the Air Force.” Mathess will transfer in July on permanent change of station orders to Bethesda, Md., where she will attend school full-time at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences where tuition and associated academic costs will be funded by the Air Force. Following successful completion of the program, graduates will apply for acceptance to the USUHS medical school or civilian medical schools. “Once accepted for an approved medical school, participants will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the Medical Services Corps,” Zabawczuk said. “As fourth year medical students, those lieutenants will be eligible to apply for medical residencies approved by the Air Force Health Professions Education Requirements Board.” Other participants and their current assigned units are: Staff Sgt. Shane Berger, Davis Monthan AFB, Ariz. Senior Airman Leslie Gore, Joint Base Andrews, Md. Senior Airman Ashley Halverson, Travis AFB, Calif. Tech Sgt. Almaz Jamankulov, Fort Belvoir, Va. Staff Sgt. Verity Oltjenbruns, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Staff Sgt. Amber Powell, Beale AFB, Calif. Tech Sgt. Sean Smith, Chantilly, Va. A veteran of seven years in the Air Force and after one and a half years at Goodfellow teaching linguistics, Mathess is looking forward to the next stage in her career. “I’m glad I could do this through the Air Force,” Mathess concluded. “Though there are programs outside the military that could have got me there, I wanted to stay in the Air Force. I recommend everyone to look carefully at all the programs the Air Force has to offer, you can chase your dreams and still continue to serve!”