After More Than 20 Years, Army Veteran Swanson Completes His Mission at Sandburg
Aaron Frey
Monday, June 28, 2021 11:35 AM
Campus News
Galesburg, IL
Dusty Swanson had long seen his wife Laura’s Monmouth College diploma displayed on a dresser in the bedroom of their Henderson home.
So when Swanson received his diploma after graduating from Carl Sandburg College in May with his Associate in Arts, he knew just the place to put it.
Right next to Laura’s.
“I felt pretty accomplished,” said Swanson, 44. “I’m not going to lie, I really did.”
A veteran of two different stints in the Army, Swanson understands the importance of completing a mission. He first came to Sandburg on the GI Bill in 1998 after enlisting in the Army out of high school. He left after a couple of semesters for a job with Ameren Illinois and has been there since, save for another stretch in the Army following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Swanson started at Ameren as a meter reader, became a lineman and now serves as an electric operations supervisor at the company’s Galesburg Operating Center.
But he realized moving up to other management positions was going to require an education to go with it. That brought him back to Sandburg in the spring of 2019, once again using the GI Bill to pay for his schooling.
“No matter how hard I were to perform right now, without certain types of degrees, I would not be eligible to go forward. I reached a point in my career where I needed more than just my experience. That's part one,” said Swanson, a 1994 Galesburg High School graduate. “Part two was I started something a while ago, and I was going to complete that.”
Swanson studied at Sandburg part-time while also continuing to work at Ameren and be a dad to his three kids (Aaron Swanson, 23; Kaela Hall, 15; and Mason Swanson, 7). He earned a spot on the College’s dean’s list twice and honors list once on his way to graduating, getting at least a 3.0 grade point average in all three semesters.
“Once I got back into it, there was no problem. I think it's all in how they receive you, and I felt received right out the gate,” Swanson said. “Sandburg, at no point in time, made it difficult for me to do all three things: to be a father, be a person with a successful job and to be a successful student.”
He also had some extra motivation along the way. With his oldest son also enrolled in college at the University of Colorado, Swanson set a goal of finishing his degree before Aaron got his, becoming the first person in his lineage to graduate from college.
“I had it in my mind that he was not going to beat me to at least one degree. We were on the road in that race, and I won,” Swanson said. “For me, it was really important to get that done. I wanted to kind of set that stage for my son and show him that even I can do it.”
With his Sandburg degree in hand, Swanson’s next mission is to earn his bachelor’s in business administration through an online program from the University of Illinois Chicago. After that, he said, “The doors just become unlocked for anything that I have going ahead.”
Sandburg was the key to opening them up — even after 20 years.
“There's nothing in the educational world that is in place to set you up for failure,” Swanson said. “Everything's meant for success, and everything is out there for you. Anybody can get right back on this horse and keep riding. Sandburg has always made me feel like if I don't mind putting in the time, everything's possible.”
Dusty Swanson places his Carl Sandburg College diploma atop a dresser in his Henderson home. Swanson first started at Sandburg in 1998 and returned in 2019. He graduated in May with his Associate in Arts.
Dusty Swanson attended Carl Sandburg College while continuing to work as an electric operations supervisor at Ameren’s Galesburg Operating Center. Swanson graduated with his Associate in Arts in May and plans to earn his bachelor’s in business administration through the University of Illinois Chicago.