Andrea Muresan was frantic when she approached her criminal justice professor, John Siler, at Georgia Perimeter College.

Her military orders had been changed and she was due to be deployed to Afghanistan within a week with only two classes left to graduate.

“I was so worried and had no idea what I would do,” says the 22-year-old specialist in the U.S. Army Reserves. Luckily, Siler had the perfect solution—Muresan would take her last two classes online while in Afghanistan.

“I’m nervous because I have never taken a class online before, but I really appreciate that Georgia Perimeter College is willing to work with me,” said Muresan, who lives in Lawrenceville. “I’m thankful that the administration is willing to help me out so I can graduate on time.”

Muresan will spend Christmas overseas.

“My family and I are disappointed that I won’t walk across the stage at commencement. But my biggest dream is to earn an associate degree at GPC and transfer to a four-year institution, and I will still accomplish that,” said Muresan.

Muresan hopes to one day become a U.S. marshal and eventually work for the FBI.

According to Siler, finding a creative solution to help Muresan graduate on time is part of the college’s larger military outreach initiative. The Military Outreach Center at GPC offers special orientations that are tailored to the needs of veterans, service

projects, a student veterans club, first-year experience seminars and academic support. The center serves as a liaison to all services so that veterans receive the latest information and can make a seamless transition from active duty to college life.

GPC has one of the largest populations of veterans of the University System of Georgia’s 35 member schools, serving 800 veterans each year.

“It is part of our mission to help our military members, their families and dependents gain the education and skills needed to thrive in their communities,” Siler said. “We are honored to do our part of our service members, because at the end of the day, we want them to be successful.”