Fort Bliss soldiers graduate from Penn State University

FORT BLISS, Texas (KVIA) -- 12 Army sergeants major from Fort Bliss are being recognized by Penn State University this weekend.

Officials said the sergeants major are graduating with master’s degrees in education that they earned online through Penn State over the past year.

The group received red, white and blue military honor cords during a ceremony on its main campus in State College, Pennsylvania, on Friday.

Officials said the sergeants major are part of the Sergeants Major Academy Fellowship program with Penn State’s online institution, Penn State World Campus. The fellowship provides scholarships through the Army for the sergeants major to complete a master’s degree in lifelong learning and adult education in one year. The courses are taught by the faculty from the College of Education at Penn State.

After graduation, the sergeants major will teach the Sergeants Major Course. It prepares the military’s next generation of leaders with skills they need on and off the battlefield.

Sgt. Maj. Daniel Venton is one of those being recognized.

“I thought it was amazing that a university well respected and well known and large as Penn State was working with the Army to help sergeants major get a degree from this university,” Venton said. “A master’s degree from Penn State is no small feat. It was a lot of hard work.”

More than 100 sergeants major have graduated from Penn State through the Sergeants Major Academy Fellowship program since it started in 2015.

Penn State has been offering education online for more than 25 years through Penn State World Campus, which has a comprehensive selection of more than 200 degrees and certificates.