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Las Vegas military spouse awarded university scholarship

Jaymee McClain had almost given up on going back to college, feeling she would never be able to surmount the challenge of raising two kids on a single military paycheck.

That changed in an instant on Thursday, when she was selected from 175 military spouses for a full-tuition scholarship to Southern New Hampshire University.

“It was really a big shock,” McClain, 28, said Monday of the award by the nonprofit Operation Homefront. ““We have two small kids so it wasn’t something we had as an option … financially.”

McClain, wife of Creech Air Force Base Tech. Sgt. Gavin McClain, learned of her selection during a dinner event Thursday at Red Rock Country Club.

The Las Vegas woman hasn’t decided yet what degree she’ll pursue through online studies, but she said she’s torn between history and psychology.

Southern New Hampshire — listed among the top 15 percent of military-friendly colleges in the nation — is an 85-year-old nonprofit, regionally accredited private university with 70,000 students and more than 200 undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs, available on campus and online.

Operation Homefront is a national, nonprofit organization that supports tens of thousands of military families annually.

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2

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