Photo by Keith Gilliard/SC State
A chance meeting at a South Carolina State University event put cybersecurity major Keshawn Burns on a path he never expected – a $181,000 scholarship and a job for during and after his education. “Since I was a kid, I always said I was never joining the military, and then it just kind of happened,” said Burns, who hails from Columbus, Georgia. “It’s how the tables flip, how God can change your desires and your heart. All of a sudden, I wanted to join the Coast Guard.”
That chance meeting occurred at the SC State Career Center’s annual Internship Day with U.S. Coast Guard Recruiter Edwin Colon-Melendez, who informed Burns about the Coast Guard’s College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI).
“The Coast Guard was the last table I wanted to visit,” Burns said. “I wasn’t the best dressed because I didn’t have much at the time. I was guarding the area where people were eating so they wouldn’t sneak food in and out, and (Colon-Melendez) approached me and said, ‘I like how you look.’
“We just got to talking, he gave me his information, and it came down to this,” he said. On April 2 at SC State’s annual Honors and Awards Convocation, Colon-Melendez and other Coast Guard officers presented Burns a check for
the first year of his scholarship.
“There’s just a lot to take in right now, and I think if I keep putting my best foot forward, I’ll be able to achieve my goals in a faster manner. I’m just really blessed right now,” Burns said after the presentation. “I’m so happy right now, not only for myself, but I can also help my kids when I have them in the future.”
Those chosen for the CSPI enlist into the Coast Guard, complete basic training during the summer and receive full funding for up to two years of college. Upon receiving a bachelor’s degree, a CSPI graduate attends Officer Candidate School to earn a commission and start a career as a Coast Guard officer.
CSPI funding includes not only payment of tuition, books and fees, but also repayment of student loans, a full-time Coast Guard salary, housing allowance and medical benefits.
“It takes a lot of pressure off,” Burns said. “I don’t have to worry about trying to find a scholarship for this, trying to find a scholarship for that. I don’t have to worry about where food is going to come from. I don’t have to worry about how I will pay my bills. I’m so thankful.”
As a cybersecurity major, Burns was one of four SC State students was one
