University of Phoenix Alumna and Air Force Veteran Julie McAdoo Pursued Education to Fulfill Dream of Entrepreneurship

University of Phoenix, a subsidiary of Apollo Education Group (Nasdaq: APOL), is saluting University of Phoenix military students and alumni this Independence Day. Today, the University recognizes Air Force veteran Julie McAdoo. With an Air Force family as her foundation, in 1999 McAdoo decided to serve her country as well and joined the Air Force as a C-130 navigator.

“University of Phoenix is honored to serve our nation’s service members, veterans and their families in providing them both education and career resources to help them achieve their educational and professional goals,” said University of Phoenix Military Relations Vice President retired Army Col. Garland Williams. “The University is proud of Julie McAdoo and how her hard work and dedication to obtaining her education helped her achieve her professional goal of opening her business as she transitioned into the civilian sector.”

Throughout her military career, McAdoo did two tours to Iraq between 2004 and 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She remembers flying the night of the first Iraqi election in January 2005 and looking down on a firefight in Fallujah. She has spent time in Southern Iraq, Qatar, and Kuwait flying missions to deliver supplies and machinery to the Air Force.

In 2006, McAdoo decided to separate from the military to raise her children while her husband continued to his military service. In 2010, she enrolled in the MBA program at University of Phoenix. McAdoo knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur, but did not know exactly what type of business she wanted or how to get started. She credits University of Phoenix for giving her the confidence and knowledge to open her cleaning service, Refresh Your Nest Cleaning Services. Now that her husband is retired, McAdoo and her husband started a second cleaning service, Office Pride Commercial Cleaning Services.

Although McAdoo is busy as a spouse, mother and entrepreneur, she also dedicates herself to giving back to the military community. She devotes her time helping active-duty service members bridge the military/civilian hiring gap, and also looks to hire veterans and military spouses at both of her companies.

“My University of Phoenix MBA program helped me professionally as I transitioned into the civilian world. It gave me the context to understand and translate what I knew of military organizations into the civilian counterparts,” said McAdoo. “It also helped me build my team of advisors to make my company succeed. I learned enough about the different aspects of a business to know where my strengths are, when I needed to consult an expert, and when I needed to hire and train an employee to take over certain business functions. My University of Phoenix MBA has been an excellent springboard for me to launch and grow my companies.”

For more information on how University of Phoenix degree programs for active-duty service members, veterans and their families, visit www.phoenix.edu/military or www.apollo.edu/learnmore.

About University of Phoenix Military Division

University of Phoenix Military Division works directly with active military members, their spouses, and veterans to help them balance frequent deployments, relocations, and training schedules while obtaining their degrees. University of Phoenix Military Division students can access classes online or at more than 100 University of Phoenix locations, giving military students an opportunity to choose the learning environment that is most conducive to their educational success. More information can be found at www.phoenix.edu/military.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is constantly innovating to help working adults move efficiently from education to careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant and engaging courses, and interactive learning can help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. As a subsidiary of Apollo Education Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL), University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world. For more information, visit www.phoenix.edu.