Editor's notes: This is the eighth in a series of articles written by students who were enrolled in Jennifer Bloom's spring 2008 graduate course in the higher education and student affairs program at the University of South Carolina. As part of her course syllabus, Dr. Bloom required each student in her class to submit an article to The Mentor or other publications for consideration.

In this article, a fictional “Jimmy” represents a composite of three military veterans attending a large public university. The author interviewed them as research for this article.

Introduction

High school graduation came around and Jimmy had no idea what he wanted to do. A few of his friends talked about joining the U.S. Army, so he decided to enlist instead of going to college After several years serving with the military in Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other parts of the world, he returned home and is in the middle of his junior year in college. He works two jobs, goes to school full time, and provides for his wife and 10-month-old daughter. Many veterans like Jimmy are taking advantage of their military benefits by using the GI Bill to fund their college educations (Paulson & Krippner, 2007). However, veterans and their advocates are finding that few campuses are adequately prepared to respond to this surge in enrollment (Calvan, 2007).

It is imperative that academic advisers understand this student subculture, because the number of veterans is expected to continue to grow exponentially in the coming years, and they will all qualify for money from the GI Bill (Calvan, 2007). In addition, these students face unique challenges as they transition from the battlefield to the classroom. This article will explore some of the adjustment issues that veterans face when they enroll in college and will provide specific suggestions for academic advisers to help veterans optimize their development and become engaged learners on campus.

Adjustment Issues

Adjustment to college can be challenging for veterans because as nontraditional students they may have trouble connecting with traditional college-age students, and they often have to balance multiple responsibilities. In addition, many veterans have lingering psychological issues from their military service that can impact their success on campus.

Non-Traditional Student Status

Veterans are typically considered to be nontraditional students due to their age and life experiences before attending college. Jeremiah Peterson, an Iraq veteran, said, “It's a unique position to be in, different even from other adults returning to school after time away. The dropout rate for veterans is extremely high” (Rocker, 2007, p. 1). Therefore, understanding this population and how to appropriately approach and encourage these students is vital.

Advisers should talk to their veteran advisees and ask them how they are adjusting to civilian life and to college. Advisers should also try to connect veterans with appropriate groups on campus. For example, one idea is to create a multi-dimensional mentorship/friendship program. This program could include assigning a current Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) student to each veteran. Even though most ROTC students have not been deployed yet, they will have training in common and a shared military vocabulary. The veteran can then feel helpful to the ROTC student by explaining what to expect in war, and the ROTC student can be the veteran's friend and listen with a more sympathetic ear about the veteran's past experiences.

Balancing Multiple Responsibilities

Many veterans come back from war and start a family, or they started one before they went to war. Jimmy describes his experience: “I have been working for seven days a week for the past nine months without a day off. I have no normal days. Every day is a challenge inside and outside of the classroom.” Being a nontraditional student with a family and a job can make staying focused on school difficult. In order for these veterans to efficiently function in their busy environments, they have to work well with others and form an active support community. Bannerman (2006) confirms that veterans need independence, but they also need a support network. Advisers can play key roles in encouraging students to network on campus, make new friends, and become engaged in appropriate activities. “Interdependence means respecting the autonomy of others and looking for ways to give and take with an ever-expanding circle of friends” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 48).

It is also important to remember that programming activities for these students will likely need to be different than those designed for traditional college-age students. Veterans are often more mature and focused. “School is a mission to accomplish—my job,” Jimmy said. “I used to party and have a good time, but I'm a serious student now.” He went on to describe that school felt like a job, because he was being paid through the GI Bill to study and get his degree. For many traditional-aged students, the stereotypical college experience consists of staying up late and eating pizza, but these activities will likely not appeal to veterans. Any social activities should be well planned and tailored to the specific needs of this population. For example, childcare should be available during events, even if the spouses of the servicemembers take care of each other's children. It is important to find out the needs of these veterans in order to make the social time a productive, task-achieving time as well.

Mental Health Issues

Research shows that many veterans who are in college do not adjust well (Paulson & Krippner, 2007). Many of them bring back from combat duty significant mental health problems. When servicemembers return home they are often rendered speechless when it comes to giving a first-person report of their experiences and the emotions that war evoked. In the article Life in Iraq, one soldier stated, “I came back knowing I could handle anything, but I was wrong. I had seen so much destruction and so much death. I couldn't relate to the students—all those happy people on campus who had no idea what was happening in Iraq” (Hoskins, 2006, p. 4). In addition, many of them grapple with communicating what they are feeling. “Perhaps there was a repression and suppression of the combat experiences preventing a first-person report” (Paulson & Krippner, 2007, p. 46). This inability to express one's emotions suggests a lack of emotional management on the part of the soldiers who struggle to return home. Paulson & Krippner (2007) explain:

The veteran's worldview usually is one of living in an unpredictable world that is undergoing constant, threatening change. He has seen so much death, so much suffering, and has been forced to live so closely with insecurity that he can no longer feel secure. Often, the veteran feels his life has no positive meaning, no purpose, and no direction, once he has experienced war. (p. 88)

These intense emotions need effective management, and many veterans require help to learn how to do so. Academic advisers can play a key role in referring students to counseling centers on campus to ensure that their mental health needs are met.

Being in the military has caused Jimmy to be more focused than the students around him, which causes him to feel isolated. “I really value my college education more than a few of my peers,” he said, “and I believe that I look to get more out of it. I also take advantage of every opportunity possible, even if I am not fully interested. This is a trait that I learned in life that has paid off considerably.” Jimmy also described how he studies a lot more now because he realizes the importance of being focused since coming back from war. Due to his isolation, Jimmy describes that he has not “been able to find community and that has been hard.” The instant community that many traditional college students experience eludes these nontraditional veteran students.

In addition to including an ROTC member in the veteran's mentor/friendship network, veterans should be encouraged to also include a faculty member and a counselor in that network. The faculty member would serve as the servicemember's contact for academic questions as well as a valuable mentor with whom he or she could develop a mature interpersonal relationship. In an ideal scenario, the faculty member would also be a military veteran. The assigned counselors would be available to talk to the veterans about how they are managing their emotions and encourage them to have healthy relationships with their classmates.

Each month all veterans on campus and their mentors could be invited to a meeting. This would give them the opportunity to develop camaraderie among themselves and emulate the emotional bonds they had with members of their units in Iraq or Afghanistan. This camaraderie would then, through programming at this monthly meeting, foster healthy, accepting relationships.

Conclusion

Academic advisers should be aware of the strengths that veterans bring to campus. Many veterans discovered their purpose and life goals while in the military. Jimmy said, “I have experienced life and I believe that my experience gives me an edge in maturity.” He continued by saying, “I also feel that I have more of an open mind to new and challenging concepts.” Advisers can help veterans identify these strengths by pointing out the skills and abilities that they acquired in the military.

“Developing purpose entails an increasing ability to be intentional, to assess interest and options, to clarify goals, to make plans, and to persist despite obstacles” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 50). Therefore, college advisers working with former servicemembers should draw upon the military member's past experience. Keep the veterans focused on how the skills they acquired in the military are transferable to civilian life. For example, Jimmy learned through his military job experience that he loved numbers and all aspects that go into statistics. He found that his passion involved working in the intelligence arena. If he had not joined the military, he would not have known that about himself. “We discover our vocation by discovering what we love to do, what energizes and fulfills us, what uses our talents and challenges us to develop new ones, and what actualizes all our potentials for excellence” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 50).

In conclusion, college advisers should handle this sub-group with care due to the struggles related to being a nontraditional student and beginning college with possible psychological challenges. These men and women can succeed and thrive in their college careers if placed in the right environment and advised with special sensitivity. “Clear and specific objectives to which personnel pay attention and use to guide the development of programs and services have a powerful impact” (Evans, Forney, & Guido-DiBrito, 1998, p. 40). Advisers can play key roles in helping U.S. veterans successfully complete their college educations by encouraging them to form networks of friends and colleagues, directing them to campus mental health resources as appropriate, and creating programming that is unique to their needs, responsibilities, and schedules.