For many students, military enlistment can feel like one of the few affordable paths to higher education. But for Connor Kouterick, a freshman at West Virginia University, another path emerged.
Through the Peaceful Futures Scholarship from Peaceful Options for Training and Careers (POTC), Kouterick found financial support that allowed him to pursue college without military enlistment. The scholarship offers students considering alternatives to military service a way to pursue education and careers rooted in peace.
Connor Kouterick by Jodi Anderson
When Connor Kouterick, a freshman at West Virginia University, saw a National Guard recruiting ad in his university dining hall, he was intrigued by the educational benefits.
“I had a good conversation with the recruiter,” he said. “I needed the funding, so I began to actively consider it.”
But concerns about deployment, conversations with family, and a desire to pursue a different path led Kouterick to consider an alternative to military enlistment.
That path led him to the Peaceful Futures Scholarship, a scholarship awarded through Peaceful Options for Training and Careers (POTC).
POTC is a ministry project of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Central Committee. Its mission is to help young adults find viable and meaningful alternatives to military enlistment.
“POTC reflects our call as followers of Jesus to be peacemakers by providing information to young adults that allows them to seek vocations or educational opportunities that honor their decision not to enlist in the military,” said Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, MC USA denominational minister for Peace and Justice.
Connor Kouterick
Kouterick, of Quarryville, Pennsylvania, is pursuing a career goal of becoming a supply chain manager for a medical facility. Although military service seemed like one way to help pay for school, Kouterick was worried about the potential for deployment, which could interrupt his studies. His parents were also not in favor of the military option, prompting him to take time to think and pray about his choices.
Then, Kouterick received an email from a pastor friend who told him about the POTC scholarship and urged him to consider Jesus’ call to love our neighbors more deeply. The pastor was Joshua Nolt from the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Brethren in Christ Church. Nolt wrote, “This scholarship is a prophetic investment in the lives of young people – reminding them that choosing peace has tangible rewards.”
Kouterick decided to apply for the scholarship, writing that “I felt that God was calling me to pursue a different path…one that allows me to contribute to society in a way that promotes service, care and positive impact in my community. I know the POTC scholarship won’t equal what I could get from the National Guard, but I trust that God will look after me.”
“I felt that God was calling me to pursue a different path…one that allows me to contribute to society in a way that promotes service, care and positive impact in my community.”
POTC Steering Committee member Max Lewis said: “In these troubling times, if POTC is able to help even one person avoid taking a human life, or being killed or witnessing killing, our project will be successful.”
A scholarship supporting alternatives to military enlistment
For students weighing how to pay for education without military service, the Peaceful Futures Scholarship offers another option.
The Peaceful Futures Scholarship awards up to $10,000 over two years to young adults who choose college or vocational training instead of military enlistment, opening doors to meaningful, sustainable careers rooted in peace.
The scholarship can be used for:
- Trade or vocational school
- Job training or certification programs
- College or university tuition
Applications for the 2027-28 academic year will be accepted Dec. 1, 2026, through Feb. 28, 2027.
Learn about the Peaceful Futures Scholarship
Matching grant doubles donations in 2026
With a limited-time matching gift pledge, every dollar donated in 2026 — up to $10,000 — will be matched, doubling the impact to a total of $20,000. Together, these funds will make it possible for two new students to receive scholarships in the next two years.
Donate to the Peaceful Futures Scholarship
Written by Titus Peachey and MC USA Staff