USG Service Excellence Award – Outstanding Leader (Administrator level)Mark Eister, Director of Military Outreach

Georgia Perimeter College

SERVING THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED

MILITARY LIFEHot, desolate, sand-blown deserts; thick, humid jungles; hidden bombs in the roadways; sudden gun shots from unseen snipers; separation from home, family, and friends; living and sleeping in close quarters with strangers - your new “assigned” family; regimented and structured time; few options and decisions to make; single focus and purpose - fight or flight; constant state of preparedness stress.

For the following numbers of Americans and Georgians, that was – or is – their daily life.

1.4 million: Active duty men and women serving in US military 1.1 million: Reserve personnel serving in US military 2.5+ million: Number that deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan 774,000: Number of veterans in Georgia; The State of Georgia has the fifth largest active

duty military population. 6,525: Number of veteran students in the USG using GI Bill benefits 1,256: Number of National Guard/Reserves using VA educational benefits in GA 1,100+: Number of military-affiliated students attending Georgia Perimeter College

(GPC) each semester

SITUATION: Coming Home Can Be Hard

The transition from serving in the military and being at war to adapting to the civilian realities of attending college or starting a new career can be overwhelming for veterans. They are moving from a very structured and regulated lifestyle to one of considerably less structure and predictability. The men and women exiting our military are experiencing a very different way of life when they return home, often reeling from the physical and emotional pain of health problems, ruined relationships, unemployment or lost opportunity. For a vast number of our veterans, those challenges, combined with the formidable task of applying to and attending college, are just too much to attempt alone. Student veterans require assistance from someone who understands their situation; someone who can truly help them make a successful transition and adjustment to civilian and college life.

In addition to the inherent challenges of making a major life transition, many veterans also suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and/or TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). As a result of multiple deployments to warzones in Iraq and Afghanistan, conservative estimates indicate that over 20% of veterans suffer from PTSD, TBI or both. This clearly impacts many student veterans, causing them to feel completely overwhelmed, frustrated and even lost. Having someone personally support and assist them is critical to their success, both academically and beyond. From the first time the veteran contacts the college, to applying, registering and

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enrolling in classes, to ensuring they have all the tools and resources they need to be successful, Mark Eister and GPC’s Military Outreach Center are there for them.

INTRODUCTION: Informed

Mark Eister, a 21-year veteran who served a tour in Afghanistan, knows these challenges all too well and goes the extra mile in serving Georgia Perimeter College’s more than 1,100 military/veteran students each semester.

Mark was hired as GPC’s Director of Military Outreach to address the College’s vision for an inclusive environment that meets the unique needs of military/veteran students and their family members while helping them reach their goal of completing college. Mark knew what needed to be done and immediately began creating a model Military Outreach Center (MOC). Mark knew the success of the MOC relied on an increased college-wide awareness of the educational and social challenges facing military-connected students in addition to ways and means to better serve student veterans.

In a short three years, Mark has created, implemented, and expanded the Military Outreach Center’s various services and programs. Mark and his staff provide a full array of resources and services for active duty military, National Guard & Reserve, veterans, dependents, and survivors, in addition to actively facilitating the recruitment and admission of military and veteran students and their family members.

Mark established strong and active partnerships with all College departments and faculty, as well as with neighboring community partners. In doing so, he has garnered support (grants and in-kind donations) for the MOC, GPC and all student veterans.

TAKING ACTION: Responsive

GPC has a growing number (1,100 students in Spring 2015) of military-connected students spread across five campuses and Online. Mark Eister realized his original three Military Outreach staff members, located only on GPC’s Clarkston campus, simply could not provide the personalized, interactive service Mark knew all student veterans needed. He sought community support and submitted a comprehensive and detailed grant proposal to The Marcus Foundation. His proposal was approved in 2014, resulting in a three-year, $632,000 grant entitled Veterans Advocacy Initiative. Through the grant, Mark:

Opened four additional Military Outreach Centers across the College, one on every campus;

Hired three additional full-time staff – Military Student Advocates (MSAs) – to provide an onsite professional veteran contact at each campus;

Provided a substantial Veterans Emergency Relief Fund for students dealing with temporary financial crises so that they would be able to continue their education;

Added 20 additional military scholarships per year for GPC veterans and family members; and

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Provided advertising funding to attract even more military students to Georgia and GPC from across the country.

Mark’s vision and strategic plan produced the immediate expansion of services and support to all GPC student veterans. As a result of this action, along with the following programs and strategies developed and managed by Mark, the USG Director of Military Affairs and others have recognized GPC’s Military Outreach Center as a model for the State. GPC's Military Outreach Program is regionally and nationally recognized as a leader in student veteran services, wherein Mark is routinely invited to assist other colleges and universities across the state and the nation to help them develop their own veteran programs. This past year, Mark gave formal presentations to hundreds of staff and faculty on GPC's Military Outreach program at conferences across the region and nation, including GACRAO-Georgia Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, SACRAO-Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, AACRAO-American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, ACPA-American College Personnel Association, and NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

STRATEGIES FOR SERVING MILITARY STUDENTS: Respectful, Supportive, and Accessible

Calling All Veterans (CAV) ProgramWith the additional MOC staff, Mark was able to fully implement innovative programs including the CAV (Calling All Veterans) Program in which all military students are contacted personally by the students’ onsite Military Student Advocates during the first week of each semester - over 1,100 students per semester. The students themselves have expressed both surprise and appreciation that the MOC department contacted them to offer assistance and let them know exactly who to call when they had any problems or challenges during the semester. The CAV program provides the students with an opportunity to have their questions answered then and there, before they ran into trouble. This is exactly the type of proactive approach that is needed across Georgia colleges and universities that will enhance retention and graduation rates and support the Complete College Georgia Initiative.

Green Zone Training ProgramFor the third year in a row, Mark provided the “Green Zone” Training Program to GPC staff and faculty. He created the training program through a grant from the Aurora Foundation and delivers it via both video and classroom settings. Mark designed the program to help faculty and staff understand the issues and challenges facing student veterans so they could better serve and connect with them and become more engaged in the military/veteran community. Now when student veterans see Green Zone emblems on office and classroom doors, they know that the staff or faculty member in that space is Green Zone-trained and can offer assistance specific to military students. Awarding of the grant initially required 150 GPC Staff and Faculty to voluntarily participate in the Green Zone Training by the end of the grant period in December 2015. Through Mark’s outreach efforts across all College departments, more than 800 GPC Staff and Faculty completed the Green Zone Training by October 2014. (That is five times the

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number of employees and more than a year ahead of schedule.) Such a strong and enthusiastic response signifies a culture of support for military students that could have only been realized through Mark’s leadership, initiative and passion for serving student veterans.

Green Zone post-training survey results indicated that over 98% of participants felt the Green Zone training provided them with a ‘better understanding of student veterans and their challenges,’ with 97% feeling ‘more confident and better equipped to assist veterans’.

Mentoring Veterans Program (MVP)On the heels of the Green Zone Program, Mark developed a mentorship program entitled MVP (Mentoring Veterans Program), which pairs Green Zone-trained faculty and staff members with new or struggling student veterans. Each semester, over 30 student veterans receive personal, one-on-one mentorship and guidance from their MVP Mentor, giving the student someone to go to with any challenges they may face throughout the semester. Mentors and students alike continue to indicate their satisfaction in the program, indicating a higher level of student success and retention over what might have resulted without the MVP Program.

Mark personally mentored a veteran who was suffering from severe PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and seriously contemplating suicide. The student shared this very personal information with Mark because of the trust that had been built between the two. Mark quickly took action by arranging for immediate professional assistance, followed by in-patient care which ultimately resulted in saving the young man’s life. This student veteran now proactively reaches out to other veterans who are suffering from PTSD or other challenges, building their trust, much as Mark built with him, and helping them get to a better place.

Military Withdrawal ProcessMark recognized that many military-connected students, particularly those using VA benefits, were withdrawing from classes without understanding the significant impact that course withdrawals could have on their financial aid and VA standing. In 2014, he collaborated with a team from GPC’s Advising, Counseling, and Retention, Institutional Research, and Information Technology departments to implement a process in which military students seeking to withdraw from any course must first receive counseling from one of the Military Student Advocates (MSA). The end result is a very quick and efficient system: one of the MSAs personally contacts each military/veteran student who is requesting a course withdrawal; has a conversation with the student to explain the ramifications of withdrawing; and appropriately advises the student before approving or rerouting the student’s withdrawal request. This new system not only reduced military student course withdrawals, but also decreased the number of calls from students to other GPC staff with questions as students’ questions were answered even before they were formally withdrawn.

USG’s Adult Learning Consortium (ALC)Mark is one of only two GPC staff selected to be members of USG’s Adult Learning Consortium (ALC). He regularly attends ALC seminars and workshops where he not only learns to better

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serve military and other adult learners at Georgia Perimeter College, but provides input and guidance that supports ALC’s goals and initiatives system-wide. His active involvement in the ALC has inspired innovative solutions to current and future challenges, both for students at GPC and for students attending colleges and universities across the State.

GETTING RESULTS

As a result of Mark’s service excellence leadership and innovation programs to connect with military students, GPC has seen an increase in its retention rates for full-time, transfer and continuing freshmen, as indicated in the statistics below:

Fall Semester 2011-2012 Retention Rate for Full-time Freshman Veterans - 53%. Fall Semester 2013-2014 Retention Rate for Full-time Freshman Veterans - 61% (8%

increase)

Fall Semester 2012-2013 Retention Rate for Full-time Transfer Freshman Veterans - 41%. Fall Semester 2013-2014 Retention Rate for Full-time Transfer Freshman Veterans - 55%.

(14% increase)

Fall Semester 2012-2013 Retention Rate for Full-time Continuing Freshman Veterans - 40%. Fall Semester 2013-2014 Retention Rate for Full-time Continuing Freshman Veterans - 43%.

(3% increase)

Additionally, Mark and the Military Outreach Center increased the number of known military-connected students they serve year-to-year, from a population of 775 in Fall 2012, to 875 in Fall 2013, to more than 1,100 students in Fall 2014.

GEORGIA PERIMETER COLLEGE: A Truly Military-Friendly College

Mark’s leadership and the efforts of the MOC staff have garnered the Military Outreach Center three separate designations as a top Military Friendly school. The label reflects the College’s efforts to provide outstanding educational opportunities and support to veterans, active duty troops, and their families.

The MOC was selected by Military Times ‘Best for Vets’ for 2014-2015, one of only five USG schools to make this distinguished list.

For the fourth year in a row, GPC was selected by Victory Media as a “Military Friendly School.” This distinction placed GPC in the top 15% of schools in the nation serving military and veteran students and their family members.

GPC earned ‘Top Military Friendly Institution’ honors for 2014 by Military Advanced Education (MAE) of KMI Media Group.

With GPC’s Military Outreach Department’s remarkable successes under the outstanding efforts and leadership of Mark Eister, it is no mystery why GPC’s Military Outreach Department is a

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highly desirable “jewel” in the eyes of Georgia State University as it consolidates with Georgia Perimeter College.

Mark has done a remarkable job as the Director of Military Outreach and has managed to pull all of the essential logistics together to execute full implementation and creation of a national model. Mark understands and provides excellent Customer Service at every turn, whether to students, staff, faculty or outside organizations. He is highly respected by all and his positive demeanor and ability to connect with others has greatly benefitted both GPC and the entire State of Georgia. Mark has done an exceptional job in developing and expanding Georgia Perimeter College’s Military Outreach Center in the context of creating appropriate services, hiring staff, strategic planning, center awareness, building partnerships, identifying grants and in-kind sponsorships, and attending appropriate trainings, workshops, conferences and symposiums. His passion for the military, as well as his ability to remain current on events and trends regarding military concerns, allows Mark and the MOC to be in the prime position to meet military students’ needs for years to come.

As a veteran himself, Mark understands service and endeavors to Serve Those Who Have Served. Mark Eister truly is the Outstanding Service Excellence Leader of the Year in the University System of Georgia.

Mark Eister’s influence and outstanding servant leadership is captured in the numerous news stories that follow – from enhancements to awards to students’ successes, including a dog-gree (See final story.)

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Georgia Perimeter College NewsroomMark Eister: Supporting Service Members

Mark Eister spent 21 years in the U.S. Army before coming to Georgia Perimeter to develop the Military Outreach program. (photo by Bill Roa)

by Rebecca Rakoczy

Afghanistan in the early 2000s was a hotbed of insecurity. The Afghan people had participated in their first Democratic election, but there also was a Taliban insurgency causing pockets of unrest in the region.

It was to this area, and to Bagram Air Base, that Sgt. Maj. Mark Eister was assigned with the 25th

Infantry Division. Eister, who is now Georgia Perimeter College’s director of Military Outreach, had been given a mission that involved diplomacy and morale. He was assigned to foster support of the Afghan people and the government leaders, as well as to motivate and inspire U.S. and allied troops.

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“Our unit went to some very remote places in Afghanistan.” In 2004, one of the missions of the 25th Infantry Division was to track down insurgent Taliban and Al-Qaeda members in the mountainous terrain of that country.

The mountains of Afghanistan were a far cry from Eister’s first post in Fort Dix, N.J.—and quite a bit different from his first assignment—playing in a U.S. Army Band.

It was 1990 when Atlanta native Eister, and his wife, Tina, joined the Army. “We both always wanted to serve in the military—there was a strong tradition in both of our families,” Eister says. “Both of my brothers and my father served, and my wife’s dad is a Vietnam veteran.”

Playing the saxophone was Eister’s passion, and he was able to combine his desire to serve his country and his love of music by becoming a member of the Army Band.

Eister and his wife were stationed at military installations throughout the United States, from Fort Dix to Fort Lewis, Wash. Sometimes, they received separate post assignments, but they luckily were never too far from each other, he says.

“I served in Army units across the country and around the world,” Eister recalls. “In addition to performing ceremonial music for U.S. and ally troops, I also performed for numerous dignitaries, from U.S. presidents (such as George W. Bush) to foreign dignitaries serving in at least 18 different countries.”

The role of musician didn’t preclude Eister from participating in combat training with his unit or from receiving his college degrees. He received his associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees while in the Army. “All of my civilian education was while I was on active duty,” he says.

When the couple was stationed at Fort Lewis, they started a family. His wife made the decision to leave the military, but Eister continued.

When Eister earned the rank of sergeant major, he transitioned to serving in an observation role for the Army, inspecting and evaluating military units to determine their readiness for war deployment. It was in this role that he was stationed at Fort McPherson, and returned to Atlanta with his wife and four children.

He worked with National Guard and Reserve units slated for deployment, evaluating their preparedness and helping them make necessary changes. “We looked at everything from weapons to physical fitness to administrative readiness,” says Eister.

“Many of the Guard and Reserve units had not been deployed for quite a while, and they were preparing for deployment based on outdated Cold War tactics,” he says.

Eister retired as a U.S. Army sergeant major in 2011. In 2012, he was hired to build Georgia Perimeter College’s Military Outreach program into a model within the University System of Georgia.

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Every semester, the program serves some 800 veterans and their dependents. Under Eister’s leadership, the college has been recognized for four consecutive years as a Military Friendly institution.

Eister’s passion for the program is apparent. He has logged thousands of miles in his trusty van, visiting military bases across the nation to meet service members and also to present at conferences geared to the military, veterans and their families.

“I love to travel for the school,” Eister says. “And when I go to these conferences, I talk about what military-friendly means. Are you just military-friendly on paper—do you just want to enroll students—or are you really helping students? GPC is extremely supportive and has allowed me and the Military Outreach Center staff to build and grow the program to what it is now.”

Eister lives with his wife and two of his four children in Kennesaw. The military continues to play a personal as well as a professional role in his life.

**********GI Jobs.com names GPC Military Friendly School

For the fourth year in a row, Georgia Perimeter College has earned the Military Friendly School designation from GI Jobs.com. The label reflects the college’s efforts to provide educational opportunities to U.S. veterans, active-duty troops and their families. The 2015 Military Friendly Schools list was released Sept. 23 and can be found at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com.

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GPC serves more than 1,100 military-related students each semester, making it one of Georgia’s top choices for veterans and their families, says Mark Eister, GPC’s military outreach director.  

“With its five campuses and online courses, GPC remains a first choice for military members, veterans and their families in Georgia,” says Eister. “Our Military Outreach Center provides military and veteran students with comprehensive academic and transition assistance, counseling services, tutoring and learning labs and professional resource support services. Our goal is to honor our military and veterans for their service and fully assist them in an effective transition into college or civilian life.”

Among the programs offered through GPC’s Military Outreach Center is the Green Zone military awareness training for GPC staff and faculty. This program helps faculty and staff better serve veterans and their dependents. “If a veteran sees a Green Zone sticker on an office door, that means that the faculty or staff member has been trained to assist veterans or help point them in the right direction,” Eister says.

In addition, the college has a veterans mentoring program and staff and faculty military training workshops. Georgia Perimeter College also is part of Soldiers2Scholars, a University System of Georgia program that combines the efforts of numerous USG military outreach programs.

**********GPC named ‘Best for Vets College’ by Military Times

Georgia Perimeter College has been named a “Best for Vets College” by Military Times. GPC was among 140 colleges nationwide achieving this distinction.

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“Best for Vets: Colleges 2015” is an editorially independent news project that evaluates the many factors that make an organization a good fit for service members, military veterans and their families.

Mark Eister, GPC's Military Outreach director, was pleased by the ranking. “Our goal is to offer our student veterans ‘A to Z’ assistance, from the first time they call or visit inquiring about the college, to preparing to graduate GPC.  We are here to help them apply for and use their VA benefits, advise them on what program of study and courses they should take, get tutoring help, assist them in searching and applying for a job – you name it.  We’re here to help them with whatever they need to be successful, both inside and outside the classroom."

In its fifth year, the ranking is the most comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military students’ success rates. The Best for Vets survey requires schools to meticulously document an array of services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to military and veteran students and to describe many aspects of veteran culture on a campus.

“We factor in what is, to our knowledge, the most detailed school-by-school data on veteran students’ academic success anywhere, including graduation, retention, persistence and course completion rates,” says Amanda Miller, editor of Bets for Vets. Two years ago, only 11 percent of the hundreds of schools surveyed could provide that level of detail. This year, that figure is up to 45 percent. “By recognizing only the schools that do the most, we believe we’re helping to raise the bar in veteran student services.”

For the full Best for Vets: Colleges 2015 rankings, go to: www.militarytimes.com/bestforvets-colleges2015.

The rankings are published in full in the issues of Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times on newsstands the week of Nov. 10; in the November issue of Military Times EDGE magazine; and online at MilitaryTimes.com, ArmyTimes.com, NavyTimes.com, AirForceTimes.com and MarineCorpsTimes.com.

Military Times’ series of Best for Vets survey-based rankings includes: Colleges, Career & Technical Colleges, Business Schools, Franchises, Employers and Law Enforcement.

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Easing the Transition for Military Students

Dr. David Snow, the University System of Georgia’s director of military affairs, and GPC Foundation Board of Trustees member Liane Levetan look over brochures after the announcement of the Marcus Foundation grant. (photo by Bill Roa)

 by Rebecca Rakoczy

Adapt. It’s a familiar word for military veterans who saw conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. They learned to roll with the changes of multiple deployments. 

But life after the military isn’t the same as taking orders from a commanding officer. Becoming a college student can require a significant transition.

Christopher Tucker personally knows the challenges military students face returning to the civilian world. Tucker served in Iraq and Kuwait and is among the more than 1,100 veterans, active military, Guard, Reserve and military family members now enrolled at Georgia Perimeter College. Now in the Army Reserve, he splits his time between classes on GPC’s Clarkston campus and his job as a veterans peer navigator, helping veterans and their families at a Catholic Charities of Atlanta office in Chamblee. He hopes one day to become a personal trainer.

 

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GPC student and veteran Christopher Tucker participated in the program and talked to guests attending the Marcus Foundation grant announcement. (photo by Bill Roa)

“It can be very hard for veterans coming back to school—or coming for the first time,” Tucker says. “Some are young and trying to make it [financially] off the GI bill; they work full time and go to school. It’s a different lifestyle than the military. Once financial hardship comes, sometimes they just drop out and don’t come back to school,” he says.

More than money

Outside of the financial adaptation, there is the psychological aspect, Tucker says. Many military students and veterans have experienced combat and dealt with situations that require extreme discipline. They can be frustrated by a seeming lack of respect and understanding among their peers, he says. 

“Think of two young men —one who has served in the military for years and is coming to college for the first time; the other is coming to college after high school. There is a level of immaturity there (with the non-military student), and that’s irritating for veterans in those classrooms and can be stressful.” Tucker noted that military students and veterans need to learn how to adapt to the changes as well and not be so hard on their fellow students. 

Because of the challenges veterans face coming back to school, it’s important for the students to know they are welcome, says Dr. David Snow, the University System of Georgia’s director of military affairs. 

Veteran students add a great deal to the learning community, says Snow. “I firmly believe our military and veteran students provide a global perspective and tend to be highly focused and motivated.” 

That’s where GPC’s Military Outreach services come in. Since 2012, Georgia Perimeter College has provided a Military Outreach Center for student veterans, active military and their families. The Military Outreach Center helps students navigate their military or veteran benefits while becoming familiar with the less-structured environment of college.

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To that end, GPC Military Outreach Director Mark Eister developed mentorship programs that pair former military faculty and staff members with veterans. He’s developed a video training program, known as the “Green Zone,” to help faculty and staff understand some of the issues facing veterans. And, for the past three years, he’s fully staffed one outreach center on Clarkston Campus and provided a part-time military student advocate on Dunwoody Campus.

These efforts have garnered the Outreach Center three separate designations as a top Military Friendly school. The label reflects the college’s efforts to provide educational opportunities to U.S. veterans, active-duty troops and their families.

 Expanded physical presence

More was needed, however. Without a physical military outreach presence on each campus, it was difficult to address the needs of all military students and veterans attending GPC, Eister says.

That changed this spring, thanks to a generous grant from The Marcus Foundation. The three-year grant provides funding for three full-time military student advocates, creates numerous additional military scholarships and establishes a Veteran Emergency Fund for students dealing with temporary financial crises. The goal is to help military students stay in school.

“The Marcus Foundation grant will provide essential, one-on-one support for every veteran and military-related student at Georgia Perimeter College,” says Eister. “Our military student advocates will offer personalized advice and guidance to each and every student veteran, including our online military students.”

 

Mark Eister, military outreach director for GPC, presents a special flag display prepared for the Marcus Foundation in gratitude for its support. (photo by Bill Roa)

Eister noted it is “one thing to say you care about veterans, their education and their future; it is quite another to put your money where your mouth is and make it a reality. The Marcus Foundation grant will greatly extend the college’s ability to help veterans and military students transition to college life and move forward in their careers.”

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In mid-March, Eister was able to hire three military student advocates to staff the Decatur, Dunwoody and Newton campuses. Laura Meyer, Decatur; Lorretta Arrington, Dunwoody/Alpharetta, and Nathan Gholston, Newton and online, join Clarkston’s military outreach coordinator John Douglas, as military student advocates.

 “GPC has been a leader in meeting the needs of veteran students,” says the USG’s Snow. “Mark has led the effort, and I frequently use his programs as reference when other schools approach me concerning the establishment of veterans centers, outreach programs, and community partnerships.”

Gholston, one of GPC’s new advocates, was hired to support military students at the Newton Campus as well as military students enrolled online. With more than 26 years in the Army, the retired first sergeant has “walked the walk” of many of the veterans and military students coming to college.

 “It’s important to have someone to be here for them to connect with, for them to come in and talk about nearly anything that is on their mind and to learn from someone who can relate to what they’re saying,” says Gholston. “In the military, everything is time and organization, and you need to get things done in a set time. It’s a different world outside the military, and no one knows exactly what you’ve been through.”

**********Marcus Foundation grant will aid GPC student veterans

New Military Student Advocate Lorretta Arrington speaks with Dr. David Snow, military affairs director for the University System of Georgia, after the Marcus Foundation grant announcement. (photo by Bill Roa) by Rebecca Rakoczy

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Student  veterans, active military and their families at Georgia Perimeter College will receive more personal attention, increased scholarship opportunities and potential help in emergencies, thanks to a Marcus Foundation grant.

The grant was officially announced Tuesday, March 17, during a special ceremony held on the GPC Decatur Campus.

The three-year grant, the first of its kind at the college, will employ three military student advocates, one on each of GPC’s Decatur, Dunwoody and Newton campuses. The grant also will provide 10 scholarships per semester for military veterans and a veterans emergency fund for student veterans who encounter financial emergencies that could affect their ability to attend college.

Georgia Perimeter serves more than 800 student veterans and their families.

“Teaming up with the Marcus Foundation, we will be able to do more for our military students and work to make a greater educational impact in their lives,” says Mark Eister, director of GPC’s Military Outreach Center program.

Established in 2010 and funded through a grant from the University System of Georgia, GPC’s Military Outreach Center currently is housed on Clarkston Campus. The grant will physically extend the center’s programs and assistance to all GPC campuses, Eister says.

“The Marcus Foundation grant will provide essential, one-on-one support for every veteran and military-related student at Georgia Perimeter College,” says Eister. “We’ll be able to hire military student advocates to be positioned on each campus, where they will offer personalized advice and guidance to each and every student veteran, including our online military students.”

Eister noted that the new veteran emergency fund for student veterans will give financial assistance to active duty, guard, reserve, veteran or military dependents.

 “It is one thing to say you care about veterans, their education, and their future; it is quite another to put your money where your mouth is and make it a reality,” Eister says. “The Marcus Foundation will greatly extend the college’s ability to help veterans transition to college life and move forward in their careers.”

The grant will remain active for three years and is not expected to be affected by GPC’s consolidation with Georgia State University, Eister says.

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Marcus Foundation Grant Will Help GPC Serve More Student Veterans

Lorretta Arrington, the GPC Dunwoody Military Student Advocate, who also will serve Alpharetta student veterans, speaks during a program announcing the Marcus Foundation grant. (photo by Bill Roa)

by Rebecca Rakoczy

Student veterans, active military and their families will be the beneficiaries of a three-year grant from the Marcus Foundation, helping them receive better assistance in achieving their educational goals.

The grant enables the college to employ three military student advocates – one on each of GPC’s Decatur, Dunwoody and Newton campuses, and also will provide 10 scholarships per semester for military veterans. It also will provide a Veterans Emergency fund for student veterans who encounter financial emergencies that could affect their ability to attend college.

Georgia Perimeter College serves more than 800 student veterans and their families.

“Teaming up with the Marcus Foundation, we will be able to do more for our military students and work to make a greater educational impact in their lives,” says Mark Eister, director of GPC’s Military Outreach Center programs.

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Established in 2010 and funded through a grant from the University System of Georgia, GPC’s Military Outreach Center currently is housed on the Clarkston Campus. The grant will physically extend the center’s programs and assistance to all GPC campuses, Eister says.

“The Marcus Foundation grant will provide essential, one-on-one support for every veteran and military-related student at Georgia Perimeter College,” says Eister. “The Military Student Advocates on the Clarkston, Dunwoody, Decatur and Newton campuses will offer personalized advice and guidance to each and every student veteran, including our online military students.”

Lorretta Arrington, the GPC Dunwoody Military Student Advocate, will serve Dunwoody and Alpharetta student veterans in her role.

Eister noted that the new Veteran Emergency Fund for student veterans also will give financial assistance to active duty, Guard, Reserve, veteran or military dependents who face unanticipated financial challenges that could impact their ability to remain in college.

**********Military Advocates Bring Understanding to their Role

A grant from the Marcus Foundation is making it possible to increase the presence of military student advocates at GPC. From left, Clarkston military outreach center coordinator John Douglas, Dunwoody/Alpharetta advocate Lorretta Arrington, Director of Military Outreach

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Mark Eister, Decatur advocate Laura Meyer and Newton/Online advocate Nathan Gholston. (photo by Bill Roa)

 By Rebecca Rakoczy

 Thanks to a generous, three-year grant from The Marcus Foundation, GPC hired three full-time military student advocates to staff the Decatur, Dunwoody/Alpharetta and Newton campuses. The grant also creates numerous additional military scholarships and establishes a Veteran Emergency Fund for students dealing with temporary financial crises. The goal is to help military students stay in school.

In mid-March, GPC Military Outreach Director Mark Eister hired Laura Meyer to serve Decatur Campus; Lorretta Arrington to serve Dunwoody and Alpharetta campuses and Nathan Gholston, for the Newton Campus and GPC Online. The three join Clarkston’s military outreach coordinator John Douglas, who serves Clarkston Campus, as military student advocates.

Here are closer looks at each of the advocates:

Clarkston Campus: John Douglas helps steer veterans to their benefits

 

John Douglas, center, talks to Jerry Silvio and Liane Levetan, members of the GPC Foundation Board of Trustees. Douglas is military outreach center coordinator on Clarkston Campus. (photo by Bill Roa)

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Allen Douglas needed help. The Army veteran and former warrant officer from Lithonia was coming back to school for the first time in 30 years and trying to figure out how his educational veteran’s benefits worked. He learned that the classes he took during a short stint at a North Carolina technical school didn’t count on his college transcript.

That’s where John Douglas came in. John Douglas (no relation to Allen) is a former Army officer who has been working in Georgia Perimeter College’s Clarkston Campus Military Outreach Center as a coordinator for the past year, helping students navigate the veterans benefit system and coordinate their course needs, among other issues.

“I call him the other Douglas,” says Allen Douglas with a laugh. “A lot of guys [veterans] don’t know what their [educational] benefits are, and I now encourage them to go to him—he’ll keep them on track.”

The “other” Douglas, with a career that spanned more than 17 years in the military, is intimately familiar with the needs of veterans from all walks of life. “I was stationed in Germany for six years and was in Kentucky for another six years at Ft. Campbell, Ft. Knox and the ROTC department of the University of Kentucky,” says John Douglas. He served in other roles in ROTC throughout the years and is a graduate of the Airborne and Air Assault Schools and the Command and General Staff College.

Commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduating from the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, Douglas also has a master’s degree in American Studies from Mercer University.

Now, Douglas lives near Social Circle, and when he’s not assisting veterans and their families on the Clarkston Campus, he works as a public servant for Newton County and the state. Since completing his Army career, he has been elected to the Newton County Board of Education in 1998, the Georgia House of Representatives in 2002, the Georgia Senate in 2004 and the Newton County Board of Commissioners in 2012.

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Decatur Campus: Laura Meyer provides a seasoned advisor’s perspective

Laura Meyer, right, enjoys a laugh with Toya Kelly at Decatur Campus. Meyer says she wants to meet students now so they will already know her when they need her. (photo by Bill Roa)

Laura Meyer comes to the military student advocate position as the wife of a Navy veteran—and as a seasoned student advisor at Georgia Perimeter College.

Meyer started working at the college when GPC was still known as DeKalb College. “I was a student affairs counselor in 1996,” she says. “In 2003, I had my second child and quit to stay home for a couple years and then returned in 2007 when my youngest started pre-kindergarten.”

Meyer became a part-time student advisor on the Clarkston Campus for eight years before she was hired this year as the military student advocate for Decatur Campus.

While a student advisor at Clarkston, Meyer says she often saw veterans who didn’t think to identify themselves as such. Today, the college has a “check” button on the admissions site that allows veterans to identify themselves as military. That helps advisors connect them with the right benefits, she says.

“I tell veterans, without identifying themselves as such, they might have missed some opportunities,” Meyers says. “There are certain rules and regulations about using benefits, and I want to make sure they are doing everything they can do to maximum their educational funds.”

Avoiding unnecessary courses is one way to help maximize those benefits, she says. “I am hoping to help these students from application to graduation and be there to help through the whole process,” she says.

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She is looking forward to meeting more veterans on campus to tell them about GPC’s military outreach services and opportunities, such as scholarships.

“I like to meet as many of the veterans now when they may not need me, but they’ll know where I am when they do.”

Meyer has a master’s degree in higher education from Florida State University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Appalachian State University. She lives in Snellville with her husband and two boys. When she is not meeting with student veterans and their families, Meyer enjoys hiking and biking with her family.

 Dunwoody Campus: Lorretta Arrington uncovers needs as she reaches out

 

Lorretta Arrington talks to her son, Ashton J. Simpson, at Dunwoody Campus. Not only was Arrington in the military, but also her son, an Air Force veteran and GPC student. (photo by Bill Roa)

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Lorretta Arrington had never been to college when she first stepped onto Georgia Perimeter College’s Clarkston Campus three years ago. A 16-year veteran of the U.S. Army and mother of three, Arrington came to GPC as part of the federal Veterans Retraining Assistance Program.

This May, she graduates from GPC as an Honors student and will continue her studies online at the University of Georgia, where she will major in business administration. She also will continue working at Georgia Perimeter in her role as the Dunwoody military student advocate, advising the 300 student veterans and military-related students n that campus.

“The VRAP program was a government retraining assistance program that was put together due to the recession—there were a lot of veterans that were out of work,” Arrington says.

Arrington was one of the veterans who had lost her business due to the recession. An athlete and marathon runner, she and her husband had owned two fitness centers in Conyers. Both closed. She heard about the federal program and knew it was the right time to go to school. (The federal program ended in March 2014.)

Although it was the first time she had been in college, Arrington became involved with student veterans immediately. She served as president of GPC’s Student Veterans Association and received two scholarships from the Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association and the Military Outreach scholarship.

With her military training behind her and graduation ahead, Arrington embraces the opportunity to continue to work with veterans and their families at GPC.

“Already, I’ve seen the benefit of having an office here and reaching out to these veterans and speaking to them directly,” she says.

Many veteran students are unaware of the benefits they can receive, she says. Many are first-time college students like herself. And while the aim is to help these students toward graduation, sometimes there is more she can do to help them.

“I called a young man and asked him how his classes were going. I found out he had colon cancer; he was ready to undergo surgery and had stopped going to class.”

Arrington knew what to do. She had previously worked as administrative assistant to the dean of academic services at GPC, so “I started the process of hardship withdrawal, since missing classes should be the least of his worries right now,” she says.

The hardship withdrawal is just one example, but many veterans have difficulty adapting to the classroom environment, Arrington says. “A lot of the military [students’] transition is dealing with a younger population that doesn’t have a respect for their country or their professors,” says Arrington. “They [veterans] have seen a lot (in combat situations) and get aggravated when someone is taking advantage of the situation.”

 

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During her career in the Army, Arrington often traveled to restructure offices for new soldiers accepting duties. “Military offices are very uniform, but everyone is different. I would go in and bring the offices back to code for the new assignee.”

She also worked at the Pentagon during Desert Storm. That assignment was sobering, she says.

“I worked in the office where they created death certificates and notified families,” Arrington says. “I walked away with an understanding that these aren’t just military personnel, these are real people, and, while I was going to leave the assignment, that’s where their stories ended.”

Arrington is passionate about helping military veterans and has contacted military students at Dunwoody and Alpharetta campuses to help them get the support they need. She has a particular interest in one of those students—her son is a veteran of the Air Force, and attends GPC Dunwoody.

Newton Campus/Online: Nathan Gholston enjoys giving transition support

Nathan Gholston explains services to Chase Brown. Gholston serves Newton Campus plus military students who take classes online. (photo by Bill Roa)

Nathan Gholston was following a family tradition when he joined the military right after high school.

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“My father was a Marine, my uncle was a Marine. My aunts and uncles have all served … . I saw the different things they were able to accomplish, and so I figured I would go ahead and join the military, even though I had the option of attending college at that time,” says Gholston, a former first sergeant who now serves as military student advocate for Georgia Perimeter College’s Newton and Online students.

Gholston joined the U.S. Army and served in Germany two times for a total of six years; He also served at Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Washington D.C.; Fort McPherson, Ga.; Scott Air Force Base, Ill.; and Fort Belvoir, Va. Gholston was trained as a mechanic but eventually retrained as an executive administrative assistant and as an intelligence analyst.

“I completed 26 and a half years in the Army,” he says. “I joke, ‘I did my four, can’t do anymore.’ I went to Iraq twice and went to Turkey to support Operation Northern Watch, back in 1998 under the first [President George H.W.] Bush.”

Gholston ended his military career at Fort Belvoir, as an intelligence analyst and came to Georgia to be near his brother and close family members. He lives in Gwinnett County.

Gholston is no stranger to academic life. He took advantage of using military Tuition Assistance (TA), which is available to active duty service members. He completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology and started on his master’s degree while serving in the military and was selected to the dean’s list, national dean’s list, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and Phi Beta Sigma Incorporated.

“I strived to show my kids they could accomplish anything they set their minds to do” says Gholston.

He looks forward to providing assistance and support to the more than 200 veterans and military students who attend the Newton Campus, as well as military students who take online courses.

“That’s what interested me most about this job,” Gholston says, “the opportunity to remain connected to and support veterans who are transitioning from the military and getting started with classes for the first time, or starting over again in college.”

When he’s not listening to or advising veterans, Gholston enjoys playing and raising his 5-year-old grandson, who lives with him. “I have two stepdaughters in college; I have three older children from a previous marriage who are all grown, and three grandchildren, one of whom stays with me.”

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GPC paves way for U.S. airmen to complete associate degrees

By Rebecca Rakoczy

For 10 years, Samantha Jorgensen longed to finish her associate degree. But life and its demands got in the way.

A master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and the Tennessee Air National Guard, Jorgenson was deployed multiple times around the globe. She also had a child, a daughter, who is now 4.

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Over the years, however, Jorgenson took a few community college courses and was just six credits short of completing her associate degree. But she could not find the time to go back to school.

“My husband is active duty Navy, and between his career and mine, along with deployments and raising a family, as well as completing my professional military education, I just didn’t think I could fit college in,” Jorgenson said.

Until this year.

Expecting her second child this August, Jorgenson knew she wouldn’t be deployed during her pregnancy. That’s when she decided to enroll in the Community College of the Air Force’s online partnership with Georgia Perimeter College.  GPC is one of just a few colleges in the nation selected to provide common core courses for the CCAF.

Upon enlistment into the Air Force, airmen are automatically enrolled in CCAF, said Mark Eister, director of GPC’s Military Outreach Center. As they move through their various technical schools relating to their military specialty, their training is applied toward a two-year degree.

However, the airmen still must complete a common core of courses that their military training does not cover. Georgia Perimeter provides the common core courses via GPC Online. Upon completion of the courses, the Airmen can receive their CCAF associate degree.

Jorgenson, who is an aircraft quality assurance inspector at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard base in Knoxville, Tenn., enrolled in the spring 2014 semester, with the help of GPC’s Military Outreach Center.

“Your staff and military student advocate, Chris Noerjadi, made this process very easy for me,” she said. “I had never taken anything online, but I was impressed.”

Jorgenson took a math course and an introduction to film course—both were more difficult than she anticipated, she said. But she found she liked the online format.

“The instructors were always available, and they always responded quickly. I learned a lot, and it was a lot of fun.” She received A’s in both courses.

In May, Jorgenson graduated with an associate degree in Applied Science Avionics Systems.

“I have met a goal I have been wanting to reach for a very long time. I only wish I had not waited so long.”

Jorgenson is ready to recommend the program to other airmen at her base in Knoxville. But she says she won’t wait so long for her next educational goal. “I want to go for my bachelor’s degree,” she says.

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Living the Military Experience course on tap for fall

by Kysa Anderson Daniels

Veterans attending Georgia Perimeter College are getting increased support, thanks to a new class designed especially for them.

Beth Wallace, a Dunwoody Campus assistant professor and veteran herself, says the Living the Military Experience course has a number of practical and intrinsic benefits, such as giving students a chance to bond with others like themselves. “This can, hopefully, carry over into other semesters and give them the advantage of having a network of support for student success,” Wallace says.

The new class is one of a number of the college’s GPC First Year Experience courses that give students an orientation to college life.

Veteran students will engage in topics such as learning styles and money management, as well as the development of critical thinking, writing and academic research skills. Another class topic is time management, which Wallace says can be particularly challenging after coming out of an environment with a great deal of structure.

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“Depending on their rank, many former military [personnel] are self-starters, but not all are,” she says. “However, because they have taken that step to begin or finish their education, this puts them ahead of the game already.”

Mark Eister, director of Military Outreach at Georgia Perimeter, is optimistic the class will serve as a huge help for students—and their families, noting that it’s open not only to veterans but also their relatives. “Take for instance, the daughter of someone who served in Afghanistan—some of those kids are carrying the same experiences and challenges as the military members themselves,” Eister explains.

In addition, Living the Military Experience will include a number of guest lecturers and workshops, such as one focused on resume writing. “They need to be able to transfer those skills acquired in the military into civilian terms,” Wallace says.

As for her own experience, Wallace served in the U.S. Marines Corps and rose to the sergeant rank, before using her VA benefits to attend college, first at Georgia Perimeter and then Georgia State University. She says she’ll rely heavily on a “been there/done that” approach when teaching sessions.

In addition to Wallace’s class at Dunwoody Campus, the course will be offered at Clarkston Campus, with Art Chapman, also a veteran, instructing. 

Along with Living the Military Experience, various other freshman orientation classes are being offered this fall, including The Power of the Individual, Finding Your Place (using social media), Problem Solving through Behavioral Economics, Navigating a Digital World and The Global Landscape.

For more information, contact Maryann Errico, interim director of the First Year Experience: merrico@gpc.edu or 770-274-5494. Fall registration runs until Aug. 15.

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GPC to celebrate student veterans during Veterans Day tribute

by Rebecca Rakoczy

Like many students at Georgia Perimeter College, Chris Tucker juggles a job and classes. His goal is to become a certified personal trainer.

While his evenings are spent in classes at Dunwoody Campus, the Army Reservist and sergeant spends his days helping veterans find employment and transitional housing in his job as a peer navigator for Catholic Charities, a nonprofit organization.

As a veteran who served in both Iraq and Kuwait, Tucker knows personally the challenges veterans face returning to the civilian world. “The biggest thing is just to be able to listen to them,” he says.

On Tuesday, Nov. 11, GPC will honor Tucker—and all veterans who have served the nation—during a special Veterans Day tribute at 11 a.m.

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The program will take place in front of A building on the GPC Clarkston Campus. Six hundred fifty flags will be planted in honor of the 650 student veterans currently enrolled at GPC. The event is being sponsored by the Student Veterans Association.

The Clarkston High School JROTC Color guard will present the colors and provide a musical accompaniment. Rose Gibbs, Student Veterans Association president; Mark Eister, GPC director of Military Outreach; and Rob Watts, GPC interim president, will give remarks. 

Seating will begin at 10:30 a.m., and the ceremony will begin promptly at 11 a.m. A reception will follow in the CN student center building. All veterans in the community are invited. For information, contact Loretta Arrington at Loretta.arrington@gpc.edu

**********Mentoring Veterans Program makes student veterans MVPs

by Kysa Daniels

James Ivory Howell understands what it means when Georgia Perimeter College is called a military-friendly school.

The 32-year-old Marine Corp veteran, now on track to graduate from GPC in May, has experienced firsthand the strides the college has made in supporting military students.

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Howell, an Alpharetta student who enrolled at the college in 2011, says when he first arrived on campus, it was difficult to find someone who specialized in guiding military and veteran students.

Not long after Howell’s enrollment, the college opened its Military Outreach Center, which provides resources and support services for active military members and veterans, as well as their spouses and dependents.

This past fall, Howell became one of 30 students to benefit from a newly launched Military Outreach Center initiative called Mentoring Veterans Program. Dubbed MVP, the program pairs the student veterans with faculty and staff who have volunteered to provide them with extra help.

“In a nutshell, the intent of MVP is to simply be proactive in engaging with student veterans, particularly those who are new or returning to the college scene,” says center director Mark Eister.

“The transition from military to college/civilian life has its own set of challenges, so having a mentor here at GPC gives the student veteran the opportunity to actively engage with someone throughout the entire semester, no matter what their issues or challenges might be,” Eister adds.

Howell agrees and credits his mentor, GPC faculty member Laura Lembeck, with keeping him focused. Lembeck, who earlier taught Howell math, is a volunteer mentor with the program.

“She helped me become a better student,” Howell says.

Specifically, Howell says Lembeck has assisted by providing consistent motivation and by teaching him study skills, something he says he needed because he’d been out of the classroom for so long.

Lembeck says being part of the mentoring program is a way for her to give thanks to current and former military service men and women.

“When I was assigned a former student of mine, I was elated,” she says. “James and I had a good relationship before this program, but now we have a more formalized structure within which to communicate.”

Undoubtedly, experiences such as Howell’s and Lembeck’s are partly why, for several years now, G.I. Jobs Magazine has named Georgia Perimeter a Military Friendly School. The distinction places GPC in the top 15 percent of schools in the nation offering military students the best services, programs, discounts, scholarships, clubs, networking and staff.

According to Eister, an additional 30 student veterans are receiving person support as part of the Mentoring Veterans Program for the spring semester.

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George Fellows Memorial Golf Tournament raises thousands for scholarships

by Rebecca Rakoczy

Golfers on their game—and some who were just there to putt— came out in force to raise money for Georgia Perimeter student book scholarships, support services and college programs. The event was the 18th annual George Fellows Memorial Golf Tournament held at Chateau Élan in May.

The tournament drew 188 golfers and was supported by more than 90 volunteers decked out in maroon “A Better Way Forward” college t-shirts. 

Predicted showers held off for the day, as golfers enjoyed the beautiful course in Braselton. Attending the event—and shooting a golf game score well below his age—was Dr. James Hinson, who celebrated his 90th birthday in April. Hinson, who was the second president to lead what was then DeKalb College and is now Georgia Perimeter, has attended 16 of the 18 golf tournaments since the tournament began, said Bill Covington, GPC development officer and committee chair for the tournament. 

Tournament attendees also bid on sports memorabilia, tickets and restaurant gift certificates during a silent auction.

The auction raised more than $4,000 specifically earmarked for the Military Outreach Foundation Fund, according to Mark Eister, Georgia Perimeter’s military outreach director. “This money will be used to fund everything from the GPC Military Outreach scholarship to special events, receptions and open houses sponsored by Military Outreach,” said Eister.

Launched in 1997, the annual Georgia Perimeter College Foundation fundraising event is named for the late George Fellows, a former DeKalb County school board member and the first official donor to the college foundation. Fellows was one of the original county school board members who helped found DeKalb College in 1964. Since the tournament began, it has raised more than $1.4 million for student scholarships and college programs.

The college’s upcoming consolidation in January with Georgia State University won’t change next year’s plans for golfers, said Covington.

 The 19th annual tournament is already booked for Friday, May 13, 2016, at Chateau Élan.

The 18th annual George Fellows Memorial Golf Tournament by the numbers: 188 golfers 92 volunteers $90,000 generated $4,231 earmarked for Military Outreach efforts

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Class of 2015: Wes McReavy graduating with help from dog friend

GPC student earns degree while his constant companion receives a ‘dog-gree’

When Wesley McReavy walks across the Georgia World Congress Center stage to accept his associate degree Friday, he will have his service dog, Kiah, by his side. The Iraq veteran, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, credits his successful college completion to his dog’s steady companionship.

by Rebecca Rakoczy

McReavy is one of more than 1,100 military veterans and their dependents who attend Georgia Perimeter every semester.

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Kiah accompanies McReavy everywhere and sits quietly beside him during class.(photo by Bill Roa

She’s an American boxer; he’s a former U.S. Marine and Army veteran. Since 2012, the two have been inseparable.

On Friday, May 8, the dog and the veteran will take the stage at the Georgia World Congress Center as part of Georgia Perimeter College’s 2015 graduation ceremonies.

Wes McReavy, who served his country for 13 years before coming to GPC, will receive his associate degree in psychology. And Kiah, the American boxer, and his constant companion in class and in the community, will receive an honorary “dog-gree.”

McReavy is grateful that Kiah will receive recognition. “My own degree would have been an impossible feat, if not for her,” he says.

Kiah is a service dog trained for McReavy, who has had post-traumatic stress disorder since his medical discharge from the Army in 2011.

Before Kiah, McReavy says he was always anxious and seldom left his home, the result of an extended stay during the war in Iraq.

But he wanted to go to college. His wife, a veterinary technician, suggested he try a service animal to help ease his anxiety. Kiah, a rescue pup, had already been trained as a service dog in a children’s hospital in New York. The couple was able to retrain the dog to respond to McReavy’s needs.

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Before Kiah, “I worried if someone walked up behind me and startled me,” McReavy says. “You want to know there’s a buddy there who has your back, and Kiah gives me a sense of security. Instead of that anxiety of not knowing that I’m safe, I am able to focus on her.”

He also was to focus on his studies, taking the dog to class every day. Kiah was well-known to many on GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, says McReavy. “She has friends I didn’t even know—she was friends with public safety and with the librarians.”

McReavy entered the Marines after graduating from high school. “I had my 18th birthday on Parris Island,” he says. When he left the Marines in 2003 after seven years of service, he found that he didn’t enjoy civilian life and reentered the military in 2006, this time in the Army. “I really had a hard time acclimating to life outside of the military—I didn’t seem to fit in,” he says.

He was deployed to Iraq as an ammunitions technician in 2006 and soon was sent to the middle of Baghdad. His unit was part of the surge of troops ordered by then President Georgia W. Bush to take the country from the Taliban, and he was deployed there for more than a year. “There was a big push to put a lot of us on the ground,” he says.

He left the Army through a medical retirement in September 2011.

Although McReavy is celebrating his GPC graduation in May during the Spring commencement ceremony, he already has transferred to Georgia State, where he is majoring in psychology and where Kiah is making new friends. He hopes one day to help other veterans, possibly working at the Veterans Administration, now the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“There is a real value in going back to school,” says McReavy.” It really is possible and something I initially never thought I would do. I would tell others—just take it one semester at time.”

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Georgia aggressive in helping veterans manage college hurdles Article reprinted from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 30, 2015:

Most people meet Wesley McReavy’s service dog, Kiah, before they meet him. And McReavy is fine with that.

A few years ago, McReavy was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome. Years in the military — including his last deployment to Iraq — had taken their toll, leaving the Marine and Army veteran with anxiety and uneasy feelings of being overwhelmed. Before Kiah and after a medical discharge in 2011, McReavy, 36, was content to spend most of his time at home, venturing out only when absolutely necessary.

His condition could have been a barrier to a college degree, but this year he earned one from Georgia Perimeter College. Working closely with the school’s military and disability services teams, McReavy was able to complete his psychology studies with help from Kiah, who provides body blocks between strangers and her owner, cutting the hypersensitivity that can still make McReavy uneasy in some situations.

That accommodation is one example of steps Georgia’s colleges and universities take to educate and graduate a significant part of the state’s population: veterans and their families, whose lives after the time in uniform can be difficult.

Nationally, the number of veterans who are homeless nightly is about 50,000, and the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 6.9 percent in April, higher than the 5.4 percent national average.

The Peach State is home to about 774,000 veterans and has the nation’s fifth-largest active-duty military population. About 9 percent of the state’s population is either serving or has served in the armed forces.

Earlier this month, McReavy was among more than 800 veterans to graduate from institutions in Georgia’s public college and university system. More than 960 military-affiliated students — either active-duty, reservists or veterans and their dependents and spouses — graduated this spring from the state’s technical college system. Final graduation numbers are still being calculated, but based on last year’s numbers, about 2.8 percent and 3.5 percent of University System and tech college system graduates had some military affiliation.

Georgia has been one of the most aggressive states at helping service members and their families. A returning veterans task force was started two years ago to better coordinate services offered by various state agencies, and a service and education center is planned for Warner Robins to help veterans and their families transition to civilian careers. Georgia was the second state in the country to offer in-state tuition to recent military veterans, their spouses and

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dependents receiving GI Bill funding, regardless of their residency; way ahead of an Obama administration requirement for all public colleges to do so.

Colleges here also waive fees for service members using military education benefits that don’t cover those expenses, and participate in federal and state grant and scholarship programs.

Within the past two years, the state’s university and technical college systems have also hired administrators — veterans themselves — for outreach efforts including training campus faculty and staff on dealing with military students and coordinating with area military bases.

Beyond academic and logistical challenges, veterans used to the discipline of the military are sometimes not used to the “unstructured environments of college,” said Patricia Ross, a retired colonel leading military affairs for Georgia’s technical college system.

“That’s one of our biggest complaints,” said Lacey Allen, 25, an Army veteran attending the University of North Georgia in Gainesville. Typical college experiences, such as instructors straying from their syllabus for impromptu assignments or discussions, can be disconcerting. “The structure we came from, appreciation of time and how much we value it … It’s very stressful when things ‘just happen.’ For us, that’s not OK.”

Schools like UNG have started student veteran organizations so Allen and her veteran colleagues can support each other through college’s ups and downs. For Allen, just getting to college was a feat. While on a training march with her unit carrying 30 pounds of gear, Allen fell, fracturing both her hips. She had recently been cleared to return to duty after giving birth to her son for what she thought would be a full military career. Instead, Allen received a medical retirement from the military at age 23.

These days Allen suffers from chronic bursitis in both hips and uses a cane to get around the North Georgia campus. She’s working toward a psychology degree, and plans to attend dental school after receiving her undergraduate degree as early as next fall.

That kind of perseverance makes veterans the perfect employees for Larry Ellis’ company, VetConnexx. Almost all employees of the customer service, call-center company in Atlanta are veterans. State education officials are working with companies like Ellis’ to provide training for workers and jobs for veterans now in college. “Our goals are to try to improve veteran unemployment,” said Ellis, a veteran and member of the state’s board of regents. The partnerships also lead to a more educated Georgia and keep college enrollment figures up, he said.

“There is a real value in going back to school,” McReavy, the veteran and Georgia Perimeter graduate, said. “It really is possible and something I initially never thought I would do. I would tell others, just take it one semester at a time.”

McReavy is already on to his next challenge. He is enrolled at Georgia State University and working toward a bachelor’s degree. And Kiah’s still right by his side.

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Georgia is home to 774,000 veterans and the nation’s fifth-largest active-duty population. Roughly 9 percent of Georgia’s population is either currently serve (Active, Guard, Reserves) or served (veterans). Georgia has been aggressive in helping service members and their families navigate the transition from military to civilian life and matriculate through state colleges and universities.

University System of Georgia by the numbers:

6,525 - Veteran students utilizing GI Bill benefits

1,478 - Eligible family members utilizing GI Bill benefits

1,256 - Members of the National Guard/Reserves utilizing VA educational funding

26 - Campuses with a student veterans organization

25 - Campuses with a dedicated veteran resource center/military outreach center

24 - Campuses with veteran/military recognition at graduation (cord, stole, tassel or uniform)

15 - Institutions named “military friendly” by GI JOBS magazine

9 - Campuses with priority registration for veterans utilizing GI Bill

5 - USG schools listed as “Best for Vets” by Military Times

Technical College System of Georgia by the numbers

2,457 - Veterans using GI bill benefits, spring 2015

1,904 - Military dependents using GI bill benefits, spring 2015

10 of 23 - Schools designated military-friendly

8 - Schools with student veteran organizations

6 - Schools with dedicated veteran centers

4 - Schools with special recognition (cord or pin) for veterans at graduation

3 - Schools included on “Best for Vets” list for 2015

Source: University System of Georgia and Technical College System of Georgia

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