USC Spartanburg Graduate Joins Army



Left to Right. Carolyne Chelulei, Sgt. Keawanyda Speaks and Leslie Ann Sully talk about how the Army can help you learn new skills and help you reach your personal goals.



Carolyne Chelulei, 23, enlisted in the U.S. Army at the Spartanburg Recruiting Center December 2012. She is from Eldoret, Kenya and was able to join under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MANVI) program. She will leave for basic training at the end of April 2013. Next, she will complete her job training as a Behavior Health Specialist at Ft. Sam Houston in Texas.

She graduated from USC Spartanburg last July and started looking for a job in the U.S. She used the internet to find to learn about the MANVI program and then contacted Sgt. Keawanyda Speaks to find out if she qualified. “She was very helpful throughout the process and told step by step what needed to done and how long it would take,” Chelulei said of Speaks. Since Chelulei has a college degree, she will start in the Army as a Specialist instead of a Private.

This program allows non-citizens in this country to volunteers for the Army who don’t have lawful permanent resident status but are here legally. The person must have the needed medical or foreign language expertise to qualify for this program. The program initially began in February 2009 and ran for one year. It re opened in September 2012 and will run through May 2014 unless the Army jobs are filled before that time.

Chelulei is the first person to join under this program from Columbia Recruiting Battalion. She is looking forward to getting her career started. “I am happy to start working with a new (Army) family,” Chelulei said.

To learn more about this program or see if you can qualify, contact Sgt. Speaks at 864-357-7767.