Selected for the highly competitive Military Commissioning Program to attend nursing school at UMass Dartmouth, Gregg will be stationed at Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida after graduation
At age 29, after serving in the U.S.Navy since high school, Mark Gregg enrolled at UMass Dartmouth as a sophomore nursing student. He was selected by the U.S. Navy for the Military Enlisted Commissioning Program, which allowed him to attend school full-time while remaining on active duty. He will graduate with a GPA close to 4.0. Upon graduation, he will be commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps stationed in Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Florida. Gregg and his wife, Lauren, are the parents of two children.
"I am proud to be a part of the College of Nursing & Health Sciences Class of 2022. Since the pandemic began, we have had to adapt and overcome unprecedented obstacles right in the hear of our clinical experiences. The pandemic taught us resiliency and how to adapt to changes, which are critical nursing skills. To persevere through all of that and be able to come out on top at the end is a tremendous achievement for us all."
Can you share why you joined the Navy and what your experience has been like?
o I joined the Navy right out of high school in January 2010. I grew up in a small town and just wanted an opportunity to get out and explore new things and new places. So, when my best friend had a Navy Recruiter stop at his house, I decided to talk to him as well. We both signed up after that and somehow, we ended up being placed in the same Division in bootcamp and somehow, coincidently, our assigned racks (beds) were directly next to each other. We almost made it through the entire 2 months of bootcamp without the Recruit Division Commanders figuring out that we knew each other and that we had been best friends since we were young. Also, my dad and Grandpa served in the Navy, my brother served in the Army, and my other Grandpa served in the Air Force. So, there’s a family tie to military service.
After bootcamp, my best friend and I were split up since we chose different jobs when we signed up. After I finished my training and graduated as a Hospital Corpsman, I was sent for specialty training in San Diego, CA to become a Surgical Technologist. Towards the end of my school in San Diego, I was told that I had been selected to go to another follow-on specialty training in Camp Lejeune, NC to become a Field Service Medical Technician. I learned combat trauma medicine while I was there, and we wore the Marine Corps uniforms (Corpsman are Marines medical support). I went through weapons training, hand-to-hand combat, wilderness survival, and a whole bunch of other fun things. I went from learning to be sterile in Surgical Tech school to a crash course in mud and dirt medicine.
Once I finished school in North Carolina, I reported to my first official duty station at Naval Health Clinic New England in Newport, Rhode Island. I was there for two years working as a Surgical Tech and that is also where I met my (now) wife Lauren. I left Newport, RI and reported to Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for my next duty station. While there I worked with the Joint Medical Group and at the Naval Hospital as a Surgical Technologists. I was promoted quickly while I was there and became the Leading Petty Officer for the Directorate of Surgical Services. I loved the leadership and mentoring aspect of the job and I still got to work in the OR. I loved the fishing, boating, and beautiful ocean waters there.
Lauren stayed in Rhode Island during that time, and we would only see each other every few months, whether she came to Cuba to visit me, or I flew to Jacksonville, FL and she met up with me there. I ended up proposing to her during one of our visits in Jacksonville, FL. I was in Cuba for 18 months total, then I got stationed in Newport, RI again. While stationed in Rhode Island the second time, my primary roles were in leadership and management of Surgical Services and mentoring young Sailors, which is what I loved and what I was good at doing. During my time there, I submitted two applications for the Military Enlisted Commissioning Program. It was an exciting moment when I found out and it was the turning point in my career that led to where I am at now.
What is the Military Enlisted Commissioning Program?
The Military Enlisted Commissioning Program (MECP) that I was selected for is an extremely competitive program. The Navy only selects 35-45 individuals each year out of the thousands of applications submitted from both the Navy and the Marine Corps worldwide. The application process takes months to complete everything and mine was about 90 pages when I submitted it.
One of incredible benefits of MECP is that you receive new orders to attend nursing school, which is your sole job and focus. I got paid my normal Active Duty paycheck to focus 100% on academics. There were only a few military requirements that I needed to complete; the bi-annual Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA), my annual Physical Health Assessment (PHA),and online General Military Training (GMT) modules. I was also eligible for advancement/promotion while in school, which requires me to take a Navy-Wide-Advancement-Exam once per year.
What drew you to nursing?
I have always been drawn to medicine since I was little. I grew up a couple of houses away from the volunteer fire station and whenever there was an emergency, the loud fire house siren would wale and echo across the town. I used to run over there at times and open the ambulance or fire truck doors for the firefighters and EMTs before they would get there. That prompted me to become an EMT-B at the age of 16. I learned and saw a lot while working with the volunteer rescue squad that I had grown up around. Then I joined the Navy and became a Hospital Corpsman. From there, I worked side-by-side with great nurses that taught me so much, which inspired me to want to become one of them. And now here we are.
Why did you choose to attend UMassD?
UMassD has an excellent Nursing Program and ranks high for NCLEX passing rates. It was close to Rhode Island, so my wife and two kids didn’t have to move anywhere. I also really liked the school architecture and how it looked when I toured here.
I have loved being a student here. There are great people, great resources, and great food! The nursing program has been excellent, and I have had many great professors that always encourage us and help us to be successful.
Do you feel well prepared for a nursing career based on the education you received here?
I absolutely do. Of course, I’m nervous and feel anxious about being a brand-new nurse, but I have learned so much and feel like I have been given the skills and confidence to be a great nurse.
Do you have a favorite class or professor at UMassD and why?
Even though it was probably the hardest class, I really enjoyed Pathophysiology. I l thought it was cool connecting the dotsas to why things happen in the body and how it is all broken down into the cellular basics and then upward. I can’t say I have a favorite professor because I had so many great ones.