At the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,many veterans filtered home to find education anentirely new battle.

Some had been dropped from their school’s roster;administrators citing the institutional absence poli-cy as a reason for the oust. Others stepped intoclassroom discussions where fellow students vehe-mently opposed the very war from which they justhad returned. Additional challenges faced wound-ed veterans as campuses struggled to find solutionsfor their disabilities, both physical and mental.

Although the first few years proved to be toughlearning curves for many universities and educa-tional institutions, a growing number have createdinitiatives to help better educate veterans abouttheir benefits, provide special service member ori-entations and even offer veterans-only classes.

Communication among and to veterans is quicklybecoming more effective, with many VeteransAffairs (VA) services jumping to Twitter andFacebook. Some universities have even createdtheir own veteran-focused blogs or multi-mediahubs. For example, San Diego State UniversityVeterans Twitter has more than 1,100 followers andmore than 200 people like the Facebook page ofStudent Veterans of Louisiana State University.

By Tara Puckey

18 w w w. A m e r i F o r c e . n e t

Back to SchoolYour Education

Photo: U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Dustin Dulier assistsan Airman at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.Dulier is an aerospace propulsion instructor and pro-ductions superintendent assigned to the 373rdTraining Squadron. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior AirmanMaria A. Ruiz

When their military duties are finished, many vets headback to the classroom to face a new set of challenges.

Helpful Websites: www.studentveterans.org Student Veterans of America

www.gibill.va.gov GI Bill information

http://iava.org Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

www.roa.org Reserve Officers Association of America

www.dantes.doded.mil Defense’s Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) web site.

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Staff Sgt. Russell Silver, an Armyreservist who is now pursuing amaster’s degree, realized quicklythat several years of military serv-ice put him at a disadvantage whenit came to his education.

“I had to accept that my time in themilitary almost degraded my aca-demic abilities,” Silver said. “I hadpoor studying habits and had todiscover that staying up for severaldays on a mission is significantlydifferent than staying up to performsuccessful academic thought.”

In class, Silver struggled to fit withstudents several years younger,noticing they weren’t familiar withthe rigid and often difficult ways ofthe military. He, like many others

at colleges across the country, waspassionate about finding a way toestablish and belong to a studentveteran community.

And so student-led organizationsbegan to emerge, striving to pro-vide additional services to fellowveterans by building on the alreadyestablished common bond. Onesuch organization, StudentVeterans of America, a tax-exemptorganization run by current andformer service members, strives toaddress veteran needs on campusand advocate on behalf of veteransat state and national levels. SVA

went national in January of 2008,working with only 20 chapters. Todate, the organization is composedof 347 chapters across the nation,each led by a veteran dealing withthe same challenges as the rest.The SVA Facebook page has morethan 1,400 fans.

“During my deployment, I was heldto incredibly challenging expecta-tions: always busy, always account-able,” Spc. John Newton said. “Itsounds ridiculous now, but therewas no way to prepare myself forthe lack of responsibility I would befaced with when I returned home.”

But the lack of responsibility didn’taffect him for long. Newton doveinto a challenging course load,marked with honors and awardsand was elected president of thelocal SVA chapter, Veterans@IUPUI,on the Indiana University PurdueUniversity Indianapolis campus in2010. Newton and the groupworked closely with a newly estab-lished office at the university, theOffice for Veterans and MilitaryPersonnel, to propose a servicemember-specific orientation coursethrough the school.

“The OVMP has and continues toserve as a remarkably influentialmedium,” said Newton, “[by] voic-ing the concerns of student veter-ans to administrators in hopes ofeasing the transition and makingtheir presence known to anyincoming student veterans whomay be struggling.”

Progress isn’t just taking place onemotional and physical fronts. Thelink between academics and veter-ans grew stronger when, in 2009,the first honor society was estab-lished for student veterans in two-and four-year institutions of highereducation.

The SALUTE Veterans NationalHonor Society, headquartered outof Colorado State University, stands

www.Ame r i F o r c e . n e t 19

Twitter Chatter@studentvets - Student Veterans of America

@DeptVetAffairs - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

@the_USO - Official USO

@iava - Iraq and AfghanistanVeterans of America

@TAPS4America - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors

@VA_OEF_OIF - VA outreachfor OEF/OIF/OND Veterans

@GIBill_Info - GI Bill info site

@vetshelpingvets - Swords to Plowshares

@GIJobsMagazine - GI Jobs Magazine

@VeteranAdvocacy - Veteran Advocacy Project

@PetsforPatriots -Connecting veterans and pets

@therucksack - IAVA essential “Goodie Bag”

@missioncontinue - The Mission Continues

@BlueStarFamily - Blue Star Families

continued on page 20

Challenges are not

always overcome

with the help of the

university or peer

organizations, but by

the love and support

of friends and family.

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for Service, Academics, Leadership, Unity, Tributeand Excellence. Chartered institutions can inductmembers to different tiers based on GPA, butupward mobility is encouraged.

“We’ve seen a lot more interest since the SALUTEinduction,” Newton said. “I think it’s importantfor veterans to realize they can have the samerecognition in their education.”

Recognition also comes from outside educationalinstitutions, as veterans lean on family andfriends for significant support. When Capt. Jason

Pfeffer decided to return toschool at the University ofIllinois Urbana-Champaignto pursue his MBA, heknew it would be difficultfinding the time to juggleschool, work and militaryobligations. He also knewthere would be challengeswithin the classroom.

“Sometimes I feel that myclassmates don’t alwaysshare the same attitudetoward leadership that Ido,” Pfeffer explained.“They get frustrated easilyand don’t always listen ifthey disagree.”

Challenges are not alwaysovercome with the help ofthe university or peer

organizations, but by the love and support offriends and family. Pfeffer knows his support sys-tem is always there to help him overcome thehurdles and Newton, whose wife originally sug-gested he return to school, always stands behindhim.

“She knew I could do it and excel at it from thebeginning,” Newton said. “But don’t tell her Iadmitted to her being right!”

20 w w w. A m e r i F o r c e . n e t

continued from page 19 Federal Law ProtectsStudent Veterans

Federal law and regulations protect active duty, National Guardand Reserve military personnel who attend post secondary edu-cation institutions if they must miss classes because of militaryorders. But officials expect it to take a while to educate schoolson service members’ rights.

Commander Wayne L. Johnson, JAGC, USN (Ret.), reviewedthis law for the Reserve Officers Association, and explained whatit means to National Guard and reserve members:

“On August 14, 2008, President George W. Bush signed intolaw the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, Public Law110-315. Section 487 of that Act accords the postsecondaryeducation student whose education was interrupted by voluntaryor involuntary military service the right to readmission to the edu-cational program. These new requirements apply to any educa-tional institution that participates in title IV federal student finan-cial aid programs, including Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, and theFederal Work-Study Program.

“This … law applies to the student who is a member of theNational Guard or Reserve and who is called to active duty invol-untarily or volunteers for an extended period of active duty. Thelaw also applies to the student who starts an educational pro-gram (often part-time) while on active duty and who then mustinterrupt the educational program because of a deployment or aPermanent Change of Station (PCS). The law also applies to astudent who interrupts his or her education to enlist in a regularcomponent of the armed forces. Such a person is entitled, as amatter of federal law, to resume the educational program later,either during or after the person’s active duty service.

“It should be noted that the subject statute and its implement-ing regulations are heavily based on the Uniformed ServicesEmployment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), a federalstatute that protects service members’ and veterans’ civilianemployment rights. Among other things, under certain conditions,USERRA requires employers to put individuals back to work intheir civilian jobs after military service. USERRA also protectsservice members from discrimination in the workplace based ontheir military service or affiliation. The new law regarding insti-tutions of higher education affords similar protections withrespect to educational programs.

“The law does not apply to National Guard service under stateauthority, and the law does not govern an educational institution’spolicies about absences from class to attend inactive duty train-ing (drill weekends).”

For more information on the law and how it pertains to you,visit www.roa.org

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen gives a thumbs up to Texas A&MUniversity students after receivingan Aggies football jersey in CollegeStation, Texas, Sept. 30, 2010.DoD photo by Mass CommunicationSpecialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley,U.S. Navy.

Tara Puckey is a freelance writer and military

spouse who recently graduated from Indiana

University Purdue University - Indianapolis.

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