Veterans group eases transition into college

John O’Connor is currently serving with the United States Air Force, but wants to start college full time as soon as he can.

Over the past two years in the Air Force, the 21-year-old has become acquainted with the life of an airman.

“I must serve until 2011, and I don’t know if I will go longer,” said O’Connor, a Portland native. “Afterwards, I want to go to college because it’ll help me find a good career beyond the service.”

But O’Connor said he worries that the transition from military life to college will be difficult. The Portland State Student Veterans Association (SVA), a student group that formed last year, tries to ease the transition for soldiers by offering PSU students who have served in the military a means of meeting and communicating with fellow student veterans.

Director of SVA Jake Meeks said that there are currently 130 people on the group’s mailing list and around 25 regularly active members. The group has held fundraisers and social events for people interested in learning more about military life and their student group.

“We want to dispel the myths about the military and help ease the transition for service members back into the civilian lifestyle,” Meeks said. “We give them a place to be around people who speak their language.”

Meeks worked with fellow veterans and PSU students Shane Herman, George Verdugo and Tyler Joki to form and operate the SVA. They work with all branches of the military and hold meetings for veterans and other interested parties every other Wednesday from 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. in Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 326.

“I’d also like to thank SALP [Student Activities and Leadership Programs] adviser Shannon Timm for helping us get started and showing us the ropes of working as a student group,” Meeks said.

Information and Academic Support Center adviser Chris Goodrich works closely with incoming veterans and said he estimates that 500 former service members are registered during any given term. He is working with the SVA to set up a summit with local Portland programs as a means of determining what resources are available to local veterans.

“What I’m talking about putting together is a summit with service providers such as labor, employment, health care and education groups in the area, be them federal, state, county or private,” Goodrich said. “We want to answer questions about who’s working with whom and how best to collaborate in easing the transition for veterans into our community.”

The Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which has previously worked with PSU in researching malaria vaccines, will likely participate in this summit. No date has been officially set, but both Meeks and Goodrich expect to set a date near the end of spring term.

Meeks said he also expects the summit to raise awareness for veterans overall, saying that PSU President Daniel Bernstine mentioned nearly every minority group except veterans during his new student orientation speech when Meeks enrolled. Meeks said that few veterans are aware of their governmental benefits that follow service and he wants to use the summit to boost awareness of such benefits.

Portland State also has a chapter of the Guard Officer Leadership Development (GOLD) program, designed to offer courses and advisory to students interested in how the military operates. The program’s director, Col. Earnest Smith, is a professor of military science and holds various courses on military leadership, tactical knowledge and physical fitness training.

“The military is a very large and complicated machine and what we do is educate students on the structure of the military,” Smith said. “If a student has questions about the rank system, what a Black Hawk Down is, how a convoy is attacked or how much a Humvee weighs, we’re here to answer them.”

The GOLD program office is located in the basement of the extended studies building at Southwest Mill and Ninth streets in the Park Blocks. Registration for their courses can be done on Banweb at the start of each term.

The program is affiliated with the Oregon Army National Guard and students who enroll and complete courses held by the GOLD program and graduate guard training have the option of becoming commissioned officers. Smith said the program is not specifically meant to recruit students into their service or to become a secluded group for military-minded students.

“We’re not a bunch of John Waynes who want to sell the military life,” Smith said. “When people approach us, we don’t just puff out our chests and beat them. Rather, we do what we can to work with young men and women to help them understand what the service is all about.”

O’Connor said that college is not his only option. He said that if he were offered a promotion in the military, he would love to stay in the service.

“I’d want to be promoted,” O’Connor said. “Why would I leave? I love being in the service and they pay for my education while I’m here. Ultimately, I just wanna be happy.”