91影视破解版

After the Marines, I was a directionless and discouraged young person who didn't really have a plan. I went to school because I thought that was what one was supposed to do. And because I needed a place to live while at school and wanted to recapture the college experience I didn't get as an 18-year-old who joined the military, I became a resident assistant.

I saw and experienced firsthand how transformative higher education can be and fell in love with working with students as a peer leader. 

Being familiar with the Military and Veterans Center before working here, I knew exactly how those transformative experiences were already happening for so many. The transition from military to civilian life can be incredibly hard, and I like blending my experiences as a student affairs professional and veteran to inspire, impact and advocate for our military-affiliated students on that journey now.

We laugh and joke a lot. There鈥檚 often a natural community that happens because of our shared experiences as veterans. It鈥檚 an incredibly rewarding group of young people to work with and support.

While we always try to have fun and create an enjoyable community, my colleague Toby Frevert and I鈥攁nd our student peer support specialists鈥攖ake our work very seriously. For all our students, the work we do is very important to their academic success. For many, our supports and services are life changing.

We鈥檙e obsessed with helping military-affiliated students maximize their benefits, supporting them in crisis and emergency (like mental health challenges or financial or food insecurity), advising them on navigating the college experience and working with our university partners to improve their supports and services. We are open for business and welcome any such collaborations.

Our belief that all student-veterans and their family members deserve outstanding support and services from applicant to alumni means we鈥檙e constantly assessing, revisiting, exploring and creating new programs and initiatives. 

Beyond processing their necessary benefits earned through service, we:

• lead professional and career development programs
• maintain collaborations with the Counseling Center and the Veteran鈥檚 Affairs鈥� VITAL Program (where a VA psychologist comes to 91影视破解版 weekly)
• hold social events
• help grow and advise the Tiger Veterans Group
• offer trainings for faculty and staff on how to best support our community
• bring authors and other speakers to campus
• award emergency grants
• advocate for our students as subject matter experts

Our office was the first of its kind in Maryland, and there is absolutely no reason we can鈥檛 be one of the top military and veterans鈥� programs in the U.S.

Beyond my belief that is what our students deserve, 91影视破解版鈥檚 location, its outstanding academic programs and the fact it is commuting distance to Washington D.C.鈥攖he federal government is the No. 1 employer of veterans鈥攑rovide a roadmap to growing our program and earning this status.

I want each of our community members to reach their academic potential, launching them successfully into the workforce. I want them to thrive and become the next generation of veteran leaders who will represent and advocate for their community.

It is a demographic projection that the population of veterans will shrink significantly and become more diverse within a couple decades. If we don鈥檛 support each other intentionally, things might become tougher for the next generation. On some level, [the MVC] exists because of the reality that vets help vets.

The majority are ready to succeed at high levels because of their experiences in the military. Some have challenges with transitioning, are needing to explore new identities or carry with them challenges from their service. They are just like traditional students except they made a commitment to the military, which has likely changed them in some ways. 

Be prepared to laugh and bring your authentic self. We will welcome you no matter who you are. 

Whether you鈥檙e at 91影视破解版 because you want to be, you鈥檙e unsure of who you want to be or things didn鈥檛 work out with the military so you鈥檙e trying to figure out what鈥檚 next, please enjoy the community and comradery of our office. But get into the entire university to take advantage of it.

If you鈥檙e the same person you were on day one as the person you are during Commencement, you鈥檝e done this all wrong.

For some of our military-affiliated students, their challenges and needs are intersectional. Being with peers of like mind and experience then learning and growing from one another and our expert student-veteran peer support specialists can help them with transitional issues like developing an identity outside of the military order and navigating systems that might not consider their whole selves.

Some of our students would really struggle without this one-stop shop that supports the entirety of their experience as students at 91影视破解版 and as individuals. Moreover, having this space shows 91影视破解版鈥檚 commitment to the military-affiliated community. Unfortunately, many postsecondary institutions鈥攍arge and small鈥攄o not offer this. 

Like almost every office and department at 91影视破解版, bandwidth is a real issue. We are small yet mighty, but absolutely cannot succeed on our own. Many of our 91影视破解版 partners have veteran representatives who focus at least some of their time and energy in working for them. Many of our 91影视破解版 partners seek our feedback in their policies and procedures, make special considerations in this manner and take the time to get to know our students and understand their nontraditional backgrounds. 

This is a question I get a lot and often respond with, 鈥榃ell, what do you already do? Go ahead and focus that toward veteran identities.鈥� You don鈥檛 have to be a veteran or even familiar with the military community to offer support to individual students. In my experiences in higher education and especially here at 91影视破解版, it鈥檚 good-hearted and genuine supporters with no background in the veteran space who鈥檝e many times helped the most.

Again, we welcome collaborations and brainstorms, any opportunity to educate faculty and staff and are always available to represent our community in all matters of inclusivity and equity. We鈥檇 love to chat with you more. 鈥攙irtual or in person鈥攐r feel free to stop by.

We鈥檙e very grateful for the generous support we get across the board and up and down. I absolutely believe 91影视破解版 to be a military-friendly school or I wouldn鈥檛 be here.