Message from a Veteran

As a military veteran, reading Dr. Susan Salvador’s blog “Serving Our Military Heroes” I was pleased to learn that an organization such as ACPA is making our military veterans a priority. It also caused me to think about my experiences returning to the classroom and the challenges that are faced by other veterans that make the decision to pursue a college education.

I am a veteran of the first Gulf-War in the early 1990’s. I returned to earn both my undergraduate and graduate degrees upon completing my four-year enlistment. I have been in higher education for close to ten years now and every day work with college students including military veterans. I feel the combination of these experiences allows me to better recognize and understand the barriers many of our veterans, both young and old alike, face as they make this transition to the classroom. I also identify with the challenges we face as professionals in the field of higher education as each of us aim to best serve these students.

Recently, I met with a veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I did not know he was a veteran until later in our meeting. His transcripts showed an academic performance that was less than stellar in his first attempt at college but after a several year break and subsequent return his grades showed dramatic improvement.

This student showed very little emotion and it was difficult to get a read on him. As I was attempting to learn more about him he shared little. As we discussed a gap in his education he revealed he was in the military and served in the war. He was very hesitant to do so. But his willingness to open up and share with me changed when I explained my background including my status as a veteran of the first Gulf War and my pursuit of education after serving in the military.

While I know my experiences in the military did not impact me to the degree as it has him, his willingness to discuss his situation instantly changed. He openly discussed the scars he bears from the war, the services he is receiving to overcome some of his barriers, and how his life has been impacted by what he witnessed and experienced during war. He became an entirely different person. He was open, engaging, and his level of confidence appeared to change instantly.

I share this story because I often wonder how I would have handled this situation if I was not a veteran? Would this student have opened up to me or given me the real opportunity to help him if I could not identify myself as a veteran? Would he have opened up to me if I was a veteran but did not serve during a time of war?

My experiences in the military are not as traumatic as this student’s were but I am guarded and often unwilling to divulge my status as a veteran of the first Gulf War. So I understand his reluctance to share his background. I can’t say for sure why but I never quite feel comfortable sharing this information.

How many other veterans are unwilling to share their background? How often do we encounter a student without ever realizing what burden they bear regardless of veteran status? What about their families… the father, the mother, the husband, the wife, the child, the brother, or the sister of those veterans who did not return or returned a different person? These are just some of the challenges those of us in higher education face every day.

I do not believe you have to be a veteran to assist a veteran. But I do believe we need to be sensitive, compassionate, and allow the student to move at his or her own pace through the process. I would like to say we must be empathetic but I am cautious to say this because sometimes it is too easily confused with pity. I can guarantee these heroes are not seeking pity. But we do need to recognize the sacrifices our veterans and their families make especially during a period of war or conflict.

Thank you for your commitment to our military veterans. It is organizations like ACPA, operating on a national and international level, which can make a difference. It is people like those who are members of ACPA and have a true desire to make a difference who will impact the successful transition of our military veterans.

Sincerely,


US Gulf War Veteran

Become Part of the Conversation

Greetings… Since assuming the role of President I have outlined the initiatives that I plan to focus on throughout the coming year. To view more detailed information on these initiatives you may link to an earlier blog post. They include:

1) Meeting the needs of student veterans of the armed forces and their families;
2) Learning and understanding more about community colleges, community college students as well as the faculty and student services staff working with these students;
3) Continuing the globalization of ACPA; and,
4) Strengthening our ability to serve students as their stresses and pressures challenge their success.

I am inviting you to become a part of this conversation. If your campus has been active in offering services or you have been involved in ways that address any of these areas please share at ACPAPrez@gmail.com. I would like to learn of these efforts and the related outcomes. Feel free to also include suggestions and/or ideas that have not yet been implemented—serving as good ‘food for thought’.

As our convention 2011 theme encourages: Be more scholarly… be more purposeful… be more insightful… be more thoughtful…yes-- be more of what makes you who you are!

Susan M. Salvador
President, ACPA
Vice President, Student Services
Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY

Serving Our Military Heroes

On Saturday, March 4, 1865, at his second inaugural address, President Abraham Lincoln spoke of providing support and services for the veterans of the Civil War. Lincoln concluded his address in 1865 summarizing his belief that the United States should provide for those who served in the Civil War. He stated as a country the United States should “… care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan…”

Nearly 150 years later higher education is faced with this charge for our post 9/11 military veterans. The challenge begins with the vast and varied needs of our military veterans. ACPA has identified meeting the needs of our veterans and their families as a priority. Past ACPA President Tom Jackson and I, along with the leadership within ACPA have listened to our membership in seeking to address these challenges. The need grows each day as more and more veterans are making the decision to change their lives through education.

With the approval from Congress, on August 1, 2009 the new GI Bill era began. The new GI Bill covers up to full tuition and fees for in-state public universities in addition to financial support for housing and books for post 9/11 veterans who decide to pursue a college or university education. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) expected a significant increase in the number of veterans returning to school due to these increased benefits. We have certainly witnessed such an increase here in Rochester, NY, not only at Monroe Community College (MCC) but also at our neighboring institutions, in addition to the entire State University of New York (SUNY) system.

The military and the US Government made a monumental step in attempting to meet the financial needs of these veterans transitioning to the role of students. But this is just a hint of the challenges and obstacles these students and their families may face.

Researching the policies and regulations in addition to the best practices and narratives on this subject matter brought me to the VA website. The quote I referenced above from Abraham Lincoln was brought to my attention while researching the VA website. I found the Mission Statement, Vision, and Core Values all to be reflective of our goal to assist veterans through a successful transition and experience on our college and university campuses. I ask that we reflect on these as we consider how our campuses can better meet these needs. The VA lists the following about their department (found online at http://www4.va.gov/about_va/):

VA Mission Statement
To fulfill President Lincoln's promise “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s veterans.

Vision
To provide veterans the world-class benefits and services they have earned - and to do so by adhering to the highest standards of compassion, commitment, excellence, professionalism, integrity, accountability, and stewardship.

Core Values
Compassion: We will treat all veterans and their families with the utmost dignity and compassion. We will provide services in a caring manner, with a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

Commitment: Veterans have earned our gratitude and respect. Their health care, benefits, and memorial service needs to drive our actions

Excellence: We strive to exceed the expectations of veterans and their families. We strive to perform at the highest level of competence and take pride in our accomplishments.

Professionalism: Our success depends on maintaining a highly-skilled, diverse, and compassionate workforce. We foster a culture that values equal opportunity, innovation, and accountability.

Integrity: We recognize the importance of accurate information. We practice open, truthful, and timely communication with veterans, employees, and external stakeholders. By carefully listening and responding to their concerns, we seek continuous improvement in our programs and services.

Accountability: We will perform in a manner at all times that makes us accountable, responsible, and answerable to veterans and their families, our leaders and other employees as well as external stakeholders.

Stewardship: We will ensure responsible stewardship of the human, financial, and natural resources as well as data and information entrusted to us. We will improve performance through the use of innovative technologies, evidence-based medical practices, and sound business principles.

I trust that each of us can share our belief in these statements found on the VA website. But we also know that words or programs identified by the VA alone cannot meet all of the needs of our students. These are students who at times wear both the emotional and physical scars of war and conflict, scars that we cannot always visually identify.

There are a handful of resources available online that provide a deeper understanding and further insight into our goal to best serve our veterans and their families. I hope to share more in the future but I wanted to provide a brief list of articles I feel are worthy of our attention. They provide insight and perspective from various points of view:

1) POV: Veterans Returning To College Aren’t Victims, They’re Assets By Peter Katopes
2) Valuing Veterans By Rose Sachs and the CTC Team
3) Soldiers in the Classroom By Mike Rose
4) Course to help transition veterans into civilian life By Stacy Quillen-Armstrong

Among the online resources that I found the most touching was “Half of Us.” For those of you not familiar with this website it is an online resource focused on depression and similar mental health topics faced by college students every day. It also has an area dedicated to military veterans. The site includes first person accounts from veterans as they return to college. I encourage you to visit this website at http://www.halfofus.com.

This conversation will continue as we support our heroes as they take the next steps in their lives as college students.

Dr. Susan Salvador
ACPA President 2010-2011
acpaprez@gmail.com