Transcript Military Mentor

Supporting Transitioning and Returning Service Members
Higher Education Staff Learning about Veterans
Presented by Dr. Hamaria Crockett, Cedar Valley Community College & Eric Wheeler, Monroe Community College
Context: Faculty, Administrators and Staff Serving
Veterans in Higher Education
The Challenges
Veterans (Service Members) may:
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Feel uncomfortable with the lack of structure and goals compared to military life
Miss the adrenaline of physical and life-challenging situations
Become overwhelmed with the college process
Worry about finances/Trying to do too much
Push to be perfect in work and other areas of your life
Become annoyed with others who seem more easy-going or less detail-oriented
than you
• Feel isolated and alone, as if no one understands you
• They maybe different now
• They may NOT want to be associated with the military
The loss of friendship, purpose, identity, structure, and
income is enough to push most people to their limits.
Throw in an unfamiliar social system…no clear chair of
command… and students and faculty who can’t even
imagine the student veterans’ experience, and you have a
deeply alienating environment for many of them.
--Alison Lighthall
It is important for faculty, administration, and
staff members understand the challenges that
a Service Member/Veteran may face during
transition from the military to college.
SUPPORT SERVICES AT MCC
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Partnerships with Veteran Outreach Center and other external organizations
Military Mentoring Program (MMP)
Enriching Advisement Workshop
Courageous Children’s Summer Camp
Supporting Transitioning and Returning Service members (STARS)
***Veteran Services Office***
STARS
• Develop and implement a comprehensive program of
professional development training for Faculty and Staff
that integrates military culture in a systematic approach to
Student Success.
• Uphold a standard that all faculty and staff will have a
basic understanding of this student population.
BEST PRACTICES
Research has found that when college faculty and staff
understand a few core principles about student veterans,
the experience is much more positive for everybody,
according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Program Overview
Administration and Staff
• Military Culture
• Transition to Civilian
and Academic
Culture
• Understanding Veteran
Benefits
• Veterans Health Care
• Supporting
Development
(Psychological)
Needs of Veterans
Teaching Faculty
• Military Culture
• Transition to Civilian
and Academic Culture
• Veterans in the Classroom
• Veteran Health Care
• Supporting
Development Needs
of Veterans
Military Mentor
• Connecting with someone
at the community college
that would be deemed the
Military Mentor.
• Goals of the Military
Mentor
• Military Mentor
Qualifications
• Military Mentor
Responsibilities
Your School’s Current Polices
• Hurdles of enrollment/admissions
• Disability accommodations
• Converting Military Experience into College Credit (i.e. College Credit for Heroes)
• Integrating student veterans to campus culture
• Design specific courses for student veterans
• Older Veterans (Plus 50)
• Preparing faculty to teach student veterans
• Student veteran centers
• Needs of student veteran families
• Career Exploration/Advising and Helping Veterans Select a Program of Study
Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop
bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped
leading them. They have either lost confidence that you
can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a
failure of leadership.
--General Colin Powell
Thank you!
Q&A!
Dr. Hamaria Crockett
Dallas County Community College
[email protected]
Eric Wheeler
Monroe Community College
[email protected]