thedrifter
01-23-08, 07:12 AM
From combat to classroom
Napa Valley College seeks to help returning vets overcome campus struggles
By JILLIAN JONES
Register Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
For 23-year-old Dustin Harnois of Napa, the transition from combat veteran to college student will take more than just a few No. 2 pencils and a couple of three-ringed binders.
For Harnois, who joined the Marines on his 18th birthday, college is like another world.
He’s traveled the globe, seen Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. He’s seen death, and picked up pieces of his friends after their Humvee was hit by an explosive. He’s seen the bodies of those he’s had to kill.
And now, after four years with the Marines, he’s feeling his way back into life as a civilian, specifically, as a student at Napa Valley College.
Harnois is one of about 50 identified veterans who attend NVC, a school that saw its first surge in enrollment when World War II ended just five years after the campus opened its doors. And with so many men and women overseas today, instructor Mary Shea said the college is preparing for what could be a “potentially big group coming through.”
Tuesday, the college held a workshop for students and administrators to raise awareness of veterans services on campus. Speakers included Bucky Peterson, special assistant to the chancellor of the California State University and a liaison to the Secretary of Education for military veteran education; as well as other veterans counselors and veterans themselves.
According to Peterson, California has more veterans than any other state, and more men and women serving in the military and Armed Forces than anywhere else.
“We ought to lead the nation in educational opportunities for veterans,” he said. “And I’m not sure that we do.”
“We want this population on our campuses,” said Joanne Vorhies of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. But, as she pointed out, it’s not an easy process.
“I kept hearing from combat vets that they were more afraid of stepping onto a college campus than they ever were in Iraq,” said Catherine Morris, veterans counselor for Sierra College. Veterans, she said, deal with disabilities, isolation, anxiety and frustration when they return from service. They often don’t know about their eligibility for benefits, and they are met with an overwhelming amount of paperwork and bureaucracy.
In the midst of all that, they’re supposed to learn all over again how to be students.
‘Totally estranged’
Harnois said he faced his share of demons when he returned from Iraq. He recalls the anti-military sentiment that caused him to feel “totally estranged from society.” He lost touch with most of his friends, turned to drinking, and sought help for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Today, Harnois said he’s doing well, and his grades are “exceptional.” Readjusting to civilian life certainly hasn’t been easy though; it’s a battle he said most students don’t have to overcome, and one that most don’t understand.
“Is there anything we can do better or anything we should be aware of?” asked one NVC official during the workshop.
Ret. Sgt. Casey De Medeiros, U.S.M.C, said that as far as staff at NVC was concerned, “I’ve never had one problem, not one,” but students, he said, don’t seem to relate to veterans. Before long, discussion of a student group for veterans on campus was under way. Conversation opened up about the need for better communication in the community. The topic sparked a dialogue, as well as a call for educating the public about the obstacles veterans face, and many left the workshop with new ideas for improving resources for veterans at NVC.
Harnois said he is encouraged by the workshop, and feels now that veterans are a priority at NVC. “Before, I never thought it was,” he said, “Now, I feel it’s a good thing.”
“Napa College could be a very, very good resource for veterans,” said Shea, adding, “If we don’t use that drive and discipline of these guys and girls, it’s a loss of something precious. They’ve paid their dues. … Now, let them reap the benefits of it.”
Ellie
Napa Valley College seeks to help returning vets overcome campus struggles
By JILLIAN JONES
Register Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
For 23-year-old Dustin Harnois of Napa, the transition from combat veteran to college student will take more than just a few No. 2 pencils and a couple of three-ringed binders.
For Harnois, who joined the Marines on his 18th birthday, college is like another world.
He’s traveled the globe, seen Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. He’s seen death, and picked up pieces of his friends after their Humvee was hit by an explosive. He’s seen the bodies of those he’s had to kill.
And now, after four years with the Marines, he’s feeling his way back into life as a civilian, specifically, as a student at Napa Valley College.
Harnois is one of about 50 identified veterans who attend NVC, a school that saw its first surge in enrollment when World War II ended just five years after the campus opened its doors. And with so many men and women overseas today, instructor Mary Shea said the college is preparing for what could be a “potentially big group coming through.”
Tuesday, the college held a workshop for students and administrators to raise awareness of veterans services on campus. Speakers included Bucky Peterson, special assistant to the chancellor of the California State University and a liaison to the Secretary of Education for military veteran education; as well as other veterans counselors and veterans themselves.
According to Peterson, California has more veterans than any other state, and more men and women serving in the military and Armed Forces than anywhere else.
“We ought to lead the nation in educational opportunities for veterans,” he said. “And I’m not sure that we do.”
“We want this population on our campuses,” said Joanne Vorhies of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. But, as she pointed out, it’s not an easy process.
“I kept hearing from combat vets that they were more afraid of stepping onto a college campus than they ever were in Iraq,” said Catherine Morris, veterans counselor for Sierra College. Veterans, she said, deal with disabilities, isolation, anxiety and frustration when they return from service. They often don’t know about their eligibility for benefits, and they are met with an overwhelming amount of paperwork and bureaucracy.
In the midst of all that, they’re supposed to learn all over again how to be students.
‘Totally estranged’
Harnois said he faced his share of demons when he returned from Iraq. He recalls the anti-military sentiment that caused him to feel “totally estranged from society.” He lost touch with most of his friends, turned to drinking, and sought help for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Today, Harnois said he’s doing well, and his grades are “exceptional.” Readjusting to civilian life certainly hasn’t been easy though; it’s a battle he said most students don’t have to overcome, and one that most don’t understand.
“Is there anything we can do better or anything we should be aware of?” asked one NVC official during the workshop.
Ret. Sgt. Casey De Medeiros, U.S.M.C, said that as far as staff at NVC was concerned, “I’ve never had one problem, not one,” but students, he said, don’t seem to relate to veterans. Before long, discussion of a student group for veterans on campus was under way. Conversation opened up about the need for better communication in the community. The topic sparked a dialogue, as well as a call for educating the public about the obstacles veterans face, and many left the workshop with new ideas for improving resources for veterans at NVC.
Harnois said he is encouraged by the workshop, and feels now that veterans are a priority at NVC. “Before, I never thought it was,” he said, “Now, I feel it’s a good thing.”
“Napa College could be a very, very good resource for veterans,” said Shea, adding, “If we don’t use that drive and discipline of these guys and girls, it’s a loss of something precious. They’ve paid their dues. … Now, let them reap the benefits of it.”
Ellie