Veterans returning to school face a new challenge: the shift to college life.
During the last two years, UNM has seen a 38 percent increase of veterans’ enrollment, according to Student Veterans of UNM.
With the official end of the war in Iraq in 2011, many veterans, including Vice President of Student Veterans Army Sgt. Chris Duncan, have decided to return to school, or start college for the first time.
Duncan, a 32-year-old philosophy student, is one of the 1,070 veterans enrolled at UNM. He decided to start college in spring 2009, immediately after two years’ deployment in Iraq.
Duncan said he hopes to earn skills that will help him secure a job in the civilian world.
“Going to school was less stressful than having a job, in my opinion, so in going to school I’ve had a less stressful transition to civilian life,” he said.
On the day before he returned from Iraq, Duncan said he witnessed the death of three of his fellow soldiers after an improvised explosive device exploded near a Humvee he was driving.
Duncan, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, said he wasn’t aware of the full effect of post traumatic stress disorder on his ability to focus until he began at UNM.
“It took me awhile to recognize that I had PTSD,” he said. “I eventually recognized the issues with PTSD I was having and started getting help.”
To continue with his recovery and education, Duncan has taken advantage of the G.I. Bill, a federal program that assists military veterans not only by paying their tuition, fees and books, but also by giving them housing allowance.
During 2011, the government paid more than $55,000 for veterans residing in New Mexico out of the $8 million national total for educational and vocational expenditures, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Marilyn Melendez Dykman, director of the Veteran’s Resource Center at UNM, said higher education institutions across the country will experience significant student growth because 580,000 veterans are expected to return by September, 2012. Many are expected to attend college.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
From 2000 to 2010, the veteran population declined about 13 percent nationally because older veterans died. In New Mexico the number of veterans decreased by 10 percent, according to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics.
“The reality is that when veterans cannot find a job, or if the job does not pay enough, the best option is to use their G.I. benefits,” Melendez Dykman said. “And UNM is a great place to use them.”
Duncan completes his bachelor’s degree in May. Then, he plans to earn a master’s degree in philosophy and may even pursue a Ph.D.
Both Melendez Dykman and Duncan encourage veterans to enroll at school.
“I think veterans have a lot of experience that can be very beneficial in the American society,” Duncan said. “If you can help them to deal with their psychological or physical issues, then you can have strong and productive citizens that will reward our country.”
