Mid-October, Justin Smith Ph.D., joined us on our campus to discuss the cultural transition veterans face going from active duty to being a student. He shared with us a number of important differences and challenged some stereotypes they face and the obstacles in getting started in their academic programs.
At a high level, he shared that there is a gap between what many perceive them capable of and what they are actually accomplishing as students. At the workshop, several veteran students shared some of the challenges they faced in the incongruencies between military and college cultures. Justin also spent time reminding us that these veteran students have tremendous amounts of leadership and life experience and that classrooms can benefit from this breadth of knowledge. Though, we were also cautioned to not assume the students know more about college, academics and getting through the admissions process because they are older. They may still run into many frustrations in the enrollment process, which can be further compounded by other system requirements through the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
Justin also shared a couple of helpful handouts to improve the Veteran experience.
We hope you’ll consider joining us in Winter term for discussions about PTSD and veterans, and in the spring to learn about improving veteran retention.
For the full recorded event see the link below: