Graduating student veteran makes use of a Yellow Ribbon award

While working in the health care technology industry after eight years in the U.S. Navy, Alice Wu felt that something once central to her career was absent: public service. Pivoting to a service-oriented path, she considered applying to the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), given its robust focus on public policy for driving societal change. However, for Wu to jump ship, financial support from the Yellow Ribbon Program would be essential.

Penn’s participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a voluntary agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to support tuition expenses for eligible veterans, empowered Wu to set sail for Penn. In 2023, she was accepted to SP2’s Master of Social Work (MSW) program—and she received a Yellow Ribbon award to help cover the cost.

“Service was one of the things I missed most about the Navy; even though active duty was no longer a path I wanted to pursue, I needed to do something that was bigger impact,” says Wu, set to graduate with an MSW degree this May.

“I wouldn’t be pursuing something like this if it weren’t for Yellow Ribbon.”

Several Penn schools and programs set aside Yellow Ribbon funding annually for veterans and their beneficiaries who qualify for post-9/11 GI Bill support. The VA matches Penn’s award for each recipient. Penn’s recent program expansion in this area is especially useful for graduate student veterans, with multiple schools now offering unlimited slots.

Combined with GI Bill funds, the Yellow Ribbon award enabled Wu to take a vital step in her return to service-related work.

“I would feel stuck in a different career path if it weren’t for the Yellow Ribbon and the GI Bill, because I just simply would not be able to afford making that change,” says Wu, who focused her MSW studies on public service and foreign policy. “The fact that I can come to Penn and do this, especially to pursue this kind of degree—it is life changing.”

Finding purpose in public service

Wu’s passion for macro-level social work arose from years of military leadership and immersive experiences. In 2013, she graduated from the University of Missouri–Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in history; she also completed the school’s NROTC program, thereby commissioning as an ensign in the Navy.

Initially, Wu was stationed at Everett, Washington, as a surface warfare officer aboard the USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60). By 2015, she was relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, to serve on the USS Philippine Sea (CG-58). She finished her active-duty tours managing the Pacific Fleet’s acoustic surveillance programs at Commander, Submarine Group 7 in Yokosuka, Japan, from 2018 to 2021.

Leading diverse groups of sailors, living in different countries and states, and managing complex international missions all seeded Wu’s interest in how government policy shapes foreign affairs. Specifically, she wants to implement policy-driven solutions that address the varied needs of people in American society, including rural populations, working class families, small business owners, and migrant and refugee communities.

“If you want to make societal change, you have to understand how to make policy impact,” Wu says. “That was something I really wanted to get a better grasp on—how to impact government and other agencies at a greater scale, to effect that kind of bigger change I wanted to see in society.”

After finishing active duty, Wu felt the culture shock that many veterans face amid the transition from military to civilian life. Taking a few years to soul search while working in the private sector helped solidify her desire to improve society through public policy and social services. “The military [can be] a very insular community,” Wu says, “and so I think coming out of that, you really have to discover who you are as a person.”

Wu credits the Navy for imparting a sense of adaptability, structure, and discipline that prepared her for success at Penn.

“The military really taught me how to examine myself, how to approach other people, how to learn what motivates all of us,” Wu shares.

Building policies for societal benefit

Next steps for Wu are twofold—with the first phase involving continued Yellow Ribbon support. After graduation in May, she plans to continue her education with the one-year Master of Public Administration (MPA) program offered by the Fels Institute of Government in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies at Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences.

Then, equipped with an MSW and MPA, Wu envisions starting a career in state government with the long-term goal of effecting international change. Her experience in the military, social work field, and health care industry will help set the stage for this multifaceted work.

“I want to combine all three of [these] together to hopefully make some good change for people,” Wu says.

Wu notes that she has veteran friends across the University—including students in the Wharton School, the Graduate School of Education, the Fels Institute, and Penn Carey Law—who rely on the Yellow Ribbon Program for tuition support.

“I don’t think many of my veteran friends that are here at [Penn], and in other institutions, would be able to pursue graduate education if it weren’t for the Yellow Ribbon Program,” Wu says. “I know I certainly wouldn’t be.”

Looking ahead, two things are certain: Wu is determined to ask difficult questions and help bridge differences on the road to a fairer, more just world for all.

“How do we chart a path to success with so many different groups of people, so many different interests, so many different goals? How do we get to where we want to go? That’s [a] fundamental problem I think that every society is trying to figure out, every person is trying to figure out,” Wu says. “Success remains yet to be seen, but it doesn’t stop me from trying.”