PVCC assists veterans in transition from military to college life

With the next semester’s enrollment open, Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) will be welcoming the nation’s veterans to the campus. Veteran students present a unique challenge to faculty and present students, which is to help veteran students with the transition from soldier to student.

Transitioning from being a member of the armed services to becoming a college student can be a trying experience for students accustomed to military life. Veterans often find themselves detached from other students, with whom they may feel they have little in common.

Propelled by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, 2 million veterans, many of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan, are eligible for generous benefits that can amount to a full scholarship. Congress approved the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2009 to help veterans pay for college, creating an influx of returning veterans to campuses.

As an Army veteran and a current student, Ashley Weakley said she has not found her niche as a female veteran and a single mother at PVCC. “I graduated from high school in 2007 and went straight into the Army. Coming back to college a little older than most of the current students, is a difficult transition. Add being a single mother and a former member of the military into the equation, and I feel like I do not have anything in common with the younger students,” said Weakley.

As more veterans such as Weakley return to school, colleges across the nation are launching efforts to ease the daunting social, psychological and logistical transition from combat to classroom. Despite these efforts, many counseling offices do not have a veteran on staff, nor have their workers been trained in these issues, according to Ted C. Bonar, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology, part of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda. “It can be tough for a civilian provider to understand what vets have gone through,” said Bonar.

Veterans deal with the frustrations of navigating administrations in their schools and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which both have rules and procedures that can feel overwhelming to navigate. Veterans are required to take a certain number of credits in order to be eligible for the benefits. While tuition is due on a certain date, the GI Bill payment can arrive much later.

PVCC Student Veteran Organization (SVO) hopes to offer the support that veteran students look for. According to SVO’s mission statement, the club is there “to disseminate information to the PVCC community concerning veterans’ benefits. The club participates in and organizes projects, events and activities and provides a social group to help veterans adjust to and become successful in civilian and college life.”  Also available at PVCC is the Veterans Affairs Office, located in the Main Building. Staff is there to assist veterans with enrollment and with Veterans Affairs certification.

For more information on the SVO, students may contact Matthew Canfield at mjc2579@email.vccs.edu or Joyce Knight at jknight@pvcc.edu.