Who is Anthony Washington Sr.?

Anthony Washington Sr. is a U.S. Army and Maryland Army National Guard veteran, a coach and official of more than twenty years, and the founder of After Today, LLC. He builds leadership training, athletic recruiting education, and people-first AI systems for student-athletes, families, schools, and organizations. He is based in Pennsylvania and works primarily across Pennsylvania and Maryland.

What does Anthony Washington Sr. do?

He works in three connected areas: athletic recruiting education that gives student-athletes and families a repeatable daily process, leadership training for first-time supervisors and public-sector leaders, and people-first AI and workflow implementation for organizations. He also speaks and runs workshops for schools, teams, and districts.

What is athletic recruiting infrastructure?

Athletic recruiting infrastructure is the repeatable system a family or program uses to manage recruiting — film, academics, communication with coaches, eligibility tracking, and follow-up — instead of relying on exposure events and luck. Anthony teaches recruiting as infrastructure so progress comes from a daily practice rather than a seasonal scramble.

What does people-first AI implementation mean?

People-first AI implementation means adopting AI to improve the work without displacing or sidelining the people who do it. In practice that means starting from the actual workflow, keeping a human accountable for decisions, training staff on the tools they will use, and setting guardrails before scale — not buying software and hoping the team adapts.

Who are Anthony's programs designed for?

Student-athletes and their parents, high school and grassroots coaches, athletic programs, schools and districts, first-time supervisors, public-sector leaders, and organizations that want leadership training or help implementing AI without leaving employees behind.

Does Anthony Washington Sr. provide leadership training?

Yes. He trains first-time supervisors and team leads on the first ninety days, difficult conversations, accountability, and building trust, drawing on his military service, public-sector supervision, and coaching experience. Training is delivered as courses, workshops, and organizational consulting.

How can a school, district, or organization work with Anthony?

Schools, districts, and organizations can book speaking engagements and workshops, bring in leadership training for supervisors and staff, or engage him on recruiting support and AI and workflow implementation. Start on the contact page and say which of those you need.

How can I book Anthony Washington Sr. to speak?

Send an inquiry through the contact page with your event date, audience, format, and location. The speaking page lists topics, session formats, and the audiences he speaks to most often.

Where is Anthony Washington Sr. based?

He is based in Pennsylvania and works primarily across Pennsylvania and Maryland, with virtual sessions available beyond that area.

Home › Blog › American Military University Provided More Than My Degree

American Military University Provided More Than My Degree

commentary · September 21, 2026

Does American Military University get the credit that it deserves? Not a bad career for a guy who earned his degrees at American Military University.

Not a bad career for a guy who earned his degrees at American Military University.

I say that with pride because those degrees became part of a much larger story.

My education, service, and professional accomplishments include:

Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. Earned through American Military University.
Master of Science in Sports Management. Earned through American Military University.
Army and National Guard veteran.
More than two decades in public service.
Supervisor.
Instructor.
AFSCME Local 3661 Union president.
AFSCME Shop Steward.
College coach.
Recruiting coordinator.
Business owner.
Author.
AI and systems consultant.

Today, I am retired from service with the State of Maryland, and I am using that experience to teach, build, write, and create the next chapter on my own terms.

Each role represents work, responsibility, lessons, and people whose lives intersected with mine. Those accomplishments did not happen simply because I earned a degree. My education gave me a foundation that I continued to build upon.

I share this because someone reading may be questioning whether their educational path is good enough.

Perhaps you attend an online university, started at a community college, or returned to school after raising children, serving in the military, or spending years in the workforce. Someone may have made you feel that your education counts less because your path looks different.

Your circumstances may have shaped how you pursued an education. They do not diminish the work you put into earning it.

Online Learning Made Education Possible Alongside Real Life

I remember the stigma surrounding online learning. People questioned whether an online degree was legitimate, whether the coursework was rigorous, and whether employers would respect the credential.

Those questions sometimes turned into assumptions about the people earning those degrees.

What those conversations often overlooked was the importance of access.

I needed an educational path that allowed me to continue working, serving, and handling the responsibilities of a full life. Online learning gave me that opportunity.

Flexibility still required commitment. Having access to coursework did not mean someone else would complete it for me. I had to make time, manage competing priorities, and follow through.

The opportunity mattered because I was willing to do the work it required.

My experience taught me several lessons that extend beyond a diploma.

1. Choose an Education That Fits Your Goals and Responsibilities

Choosing a school deserves careful thought. Consider its reputation, accreditation, program quality, cost, flexibility, and preparation for your intended career.

Ask practical questions:

Does this program meet the educational requirements of the work I want to pursue?
Can I manage the schedule alongside my existing responsibilities?
What will the full program cost?
What academic and career support is available?
How will I apply what I learn?

Anyone considering AMU can review its official accreditation information as part of that research.

A program can look impressive and still be the wrong fit for your circumstances. Choose a path you can sustain and an education that serves a clear purpose.

2. Turn What You Learn Into Something You Can Demonstrate

A degree tells people what you studied. Your work shows them how you think, communicate, solve problems, and follow through.

Look for opportunities to apply your education before and after graduation. Complete a project, improve a process, teach a skill, or take responsibility for a result.

Someone studying management can practice organizing a project and supporting a team. Someone studying criminal justice can examine how policy affects the people responsible for carrying it out. Someone studying sports management can help plan an event or support an athletic program.

The goal is to build a connection between knowledge and action.

Your education becomes more useful when you can explain what you learned, show how you applied it, and evaluate the result.

3. Recognize the Experience You Already Bring

People who return to school sometimes focus on how long they have been away from a classroom. They may overlook everything they learned during that time.

Military service, employment, parenting, coaching, and community involvement can provide valuable experience with responsibility, communication, conflict, and decision-making.

That experience does not mean you already have every answer. It gives you something to examine through a new lens.

Let your experience inform your learning, and let your learning challenge what you think you already know.

Growth requires both confidence in what you bring and enough humility to recognize what you still need to learn.

4. Allow Your Career to Grow Beyond Your Original Plan

My degrees provided a foundation. They did not describe every role I would eventually hold.

Public service taught me about people and accountability. Coaching taught me about preparation and development. Leadership taught me that decisions affect lives beyond your own. Business ownership continues to teach me how to turn ideas into useful work.

Those experiences build on one another.

The ability to teach can help you lead. The ability to coach can help you develop employees. The ability to analyze a problem can serve you in government, business, or technology.

You do not have to know every chapter of your career before you begin. Pay attention to the skills you are developing and the places where those skills can make a difference.

5. Keep Learning After Graduation

Graduation marks an accomplishment. Continued growth requires effort long after the ceremony.

Ask better questions. Seek feedback. Admit when you need help. Build new skills. Reconsider your approach when the evidence shows it is no longer working.

My work with AI and systems requires that same willingness to learn. Prior experience gives me perspective, but new problems still require study, practice, and sound judgment.

A credential can represent what you accomplished at a particular point. Your continued effort determines how you build on it.

Your Path Deserves Serious Effort, Not an Apology

My education mattered. My failures, opportunities, mentors, and continued effort also shaped who I became.

No degree guarantees a particular career, and effort does not remove every barrier. A school’s reputation can influence which opportunities become available to you. Your responsibilities, resources, relationships, and timing can also affect the path.

You still have decisions you can make and abilities you can develop.

Do not diminish your education because it looked different. Put it to work.

Build evidence of your ability. Help people. Solve problems. Give yourself permission to grow beyond the role you hold today.

I am proud of my degrees. I am proud of my military service, my public service, the people I have taught and coached, and the businesses and work I continue to build.

You should be able to acknowledge your accomplishments, too. Recognizing how far you have come can help you see what you are capable of doing next.

American Military University is part of my story. What I did with that education helped shape the rest.

If my experience has prompted you to consider your next step, explore American Military University. Compare your options, ask the questions that matter, and choose a path you can commit to.

The degree mattered. What I did with it mattered more.

Not a bad career at all.

I am not finished yet.

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