What can a student veteran association do for you?

All college and university campuses should begin preparing for the increased number of student Veterans that will be attending their schools in the future.
As these men and women return to campus they are going to need a support system to help them succeed. One of the most successful support systems for these students is a Student Veteran Association on campus. This is just one way of helping them to succeed and bring them one step closer to a college education.
Does your campus have a Student Veteran Association? If not, below are a few reasons why a Student Veteran Association should be set up on your campus:

1. Peer-to-peer support for the returning Veterans on campus. This creates a tight knit community on campus for all returning Veterans. There is no better way for students to adjust to campus than with students who have recently experienced combat as they have. These Veterans need to be surrounded by people who understand what they have encountered in the past.

2. Main point of contact for all student Veterans. This point of contact should be either a faculty member or a member of administration who oversees all operations associated with the Veteran services at the University/College. This point of contact will be working closely with all student Veterans on campus. They will work with admissions, disability services, financial aid, housing, the counseling center, and the registrar's office to help these students better adjust to their life on campus.

3. A Freshmen Vet-Orientation should be set up specifically for returning Veterans. The Student Veteran Association should arrange for an Orientation program that helps this student population to become familiar with the Veteran-specific resources on campus, to get to know the staff who is most educated and understanding of their needs, and perhaps, most importantly, to allow them to recognize other Veteran students.

4. Proper awareness training should be provided for all faculty members and staff. The faculty members and staff need to be aware of the issues that these student Veterans are facing as well. Training needs to be put in place so they know how to reach out to their students and give them the support they need.

5. Increased awareness of Veteran-specific resources available to them on campus. For example, given that returning Veterans are usually in their early or mid-twenties, they typically do not want to be living with those freshmen who are 18 or 19 years old and right out of high school. So, this will help them find housing where other student Veterans live and consider grouping them together or nearby one another when requesting housing on campus.

It is very important for returning Veterans to have a strong support system in place when they return to school. Every University/College wants their students to succeed by graduating and having a Student Veteran Association in place will help them get one step closer towards their goal of graduating.

It is also important for their classmates to understand what these Veteran students are going through. It would be a good idea to have a key note speaker talk about his/her experiences while in combat with several guest students giving their insights on their experiences. Many students at the age of 18 haven't made executive decisions, experienced cultural differences, or gone out of the country and they don't understand what these Veterans have encountered. The student Veterans shouldn't feel alienated and by all means they should not be treated any different than other students on campus.

Help your student Veterans adjust to their life on campus by starting a Student Veteran Association. Remember, listen to the veterans and learn what works best from your students. The Aurora Foundation is working to help provide more support for those student Veterans on campus.

Suzanne Jackson
The Aurora Foundation