Student Profile: Cameron Brigham

Many students graduate high school and decide to further their education by attending a university or technical college or jump right into the workforce. Cameron Brigham, freshman computer science major, did things a little bit differently.

After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the military where he served for four years. Brigham traveled extensively during his time in the military.

“I served in the Army from 2003-2007 as a Signals Intelligence Analyst,” Brigham said. “I was stationed first to Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Later, I transferred to Fort Meade, Maryland and while there, deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.”

Born in Plattsburgh, N.Y., Brigham was introduced to the military lifestyle at a young age. When he was 10 months old, Brigham’s family moved to Wichita and settled on McConnell Air Force Base. Brigham went through public school in Wichita where he graduated from high school in 2003.

After graduating, Brigham began experiencing difficulty at home and decided that he was not emotionally or financially prepared to begin studies at a university. For these reasons, and the desire to defend his country, Brigham enlisted in the army.

“I felt that defending our nation against the threat of weapons of mass destruction was paramount,” Brigham said. “This was in 2003 and the nation, myself included, had been sufficiently convinced that weapons of mass destruction were in Iraq. I don't know that I would join if I knew then what I know now.”

While serving in the army, Brigham hoped that he would be inspired as to what he wanted to pursue following his service. He figured that even if he was not inspired, the opportunity would allow him to gain invaluable life experience and earn money to eventually go to college.

Brigham felt that the most difficult part of his army experience was learning how to accept the orders of his superiors no matter how unnecessary they may seem at the time.

“The toughest part of the military for me was reconciling my better judgment at times and following what I thought were silly, unnecessary, or superfluous orders,” Brigham said.

“It really made me question the leadership of my superiors at times, though I understand that the reasoning behind orders is often not fully visible or clear to the man ultimately executing them.”

Brigham's friends believe that he has become a much more diverse and well-rounded individual through his military service.

"I know Cameron through swing society" said Camille Schmierer, senior theatre major, "I was actually really surprised because Cameron said that he did a little swing dancing in the military. He is just a very open and diverse person."

Once Brigham completed his service time in the army, he decided it was time to go to school. He decided on ESU for a number of reasons. Many of Brigham’s peers had already completed their degrees and were beginning careers.

Brigham also believed that the distance from his home to school was perfect in that it was too far for his parents to drop in unexpectedly, but close enough that he was able to easily travel home for the weekend.

Brigham was able to receive financial assistance for his education because of his military service. Brigham is a recipient of the Montgomery GI Bill. The GI Bill is a program which military personal can opt to participate in when enlisting. The program takes $100 from a serviceman’s monthly paycheck.

Brigham’s total was $1200. He is able to receive a bit above this amount each month that he is in class. The GI Bill is valid for 36 consecutive months and for 10 years after discharge from the military. Brigham also receives assistance from the Army College Fund.

Brigham is well received by his professors and is open and willing to share his military experiences with them.

“I’ve talked with him several times concerning course assignments and he has shared that he is ex-military,” said Charles Pheatt, professor of computer science. “He is a very pleasant fellow.”

This is Brigham’s first semester at ESU. He is a computer science major and hopes to minor in journalism. Brigham also hopes that one day he can take his passion for both computer science and journalism and make a career for himself.