Erin DeGregorio ’16
Students from the “Exploring Multiculturalism, Diversity, and Human Rights” First Year Seminar class organized “From Soldier to Student,” a panel discussion about the return of veterans to higher education, on Monday, April 11, in the Key Auditorium of Roger Bacon Hall. The goal of the event was to obtain a greater understanding of the strengths and challenges veterans and student-veterans face when returning back to college campuses after being deployed in war.
Presentation coordinators Anthony Andrade ’19, Nikolas Boesenberg ’19, Leanne Isabelle ’19, and Stephanie Lopez ’19, reached out to three local veterans to speak about their involvement in the armed forces, their experiences after coming home from war and transitioning back into civilian life.
“When we had to choose a topic to focus on for our First Year Seminar class, this one stood out to us,” said the students of the First Year Seminar class. “By reaching out to our veterans and networking among their resources, we hope we can create a better and smooth transition for our veterans who wish to pursue further education.”
Sean Tuckey, who was deployed to Kuwait in 2003 and fought in Iraq with the 2nd Tank Battalion of the U.S. Marine Corps, now works in the V.A.’s Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND) program as a re-adjustment counselor. After returning home, he pursued graduate school part-time to “help settle back [into society],” and earned a Master’s degree in Counseling and Community Psychology from Sage Graduate School.
Sean Cochrane, who was deployed to Iraq in 2005 as a U.S. Army combat engineer, is a Siena student in the Social Work program and has an internship off-campus. He attended Schenectady Community College (SCC) prior to Siena, and elaborated to the audience that, “while it was difficult [at first], community college was a good transition for me coming out of the military.” But when it came to Siena, the size of the school and the overall feeling of comfort were the determining factors for his transfer decision.
Cochrane also expanded upon the services Siena provides here for veterans, like the opportunity to use study rooms and the Veteran lounge. Additionally, throughout the academic year, student-veterans have easy accessibility to support services provided on campus, including the Center for Counseling and Student Development, the Career Center, and the Office for Students with Disabilities and Veteran Affairs. Currently there are 15 veteran-students attending Siena.
Troy Huggard, who first enlisted into the military right out of high school in 1989 and became a Desert Storm veteran, is a full-time student at SCC and veteran liaison for the Saratoga Warhorse Foundation. He is so dedicated to pursuing his education that he travels four days a week from Cambridge, Massachusetts in order to attend SCC classes.
“I thought the veterans panel last night was terrific, and I was very grateful to Diana Strock-Lynskey and her students for organizing the event,” commented Meg Woolbright, First Year Seminar director and “War” seminar professor. “Many of my FYS: War students attended the lecture and they said it really brought to life the problems we’ve been reading about that our returning veterans face. The panel put a human face on the issues that veterans face when they return from war.”
During the Q&A portion of the event, all of the esteemed panelists unanimously agreed that community members and even Siena students should get to know veterans and their culture. They also encouraged those in the audience to consider looking into supporting local veteran programs, which ultimately help veterans with post-traumatic stress, depression, aggression, and post-traumatic growth.
The Psychology Club, Social Work Club, Saratoga Warhorse Foundation, and the Office for Students with Disabilities and Veteran Affairs at Siena College co-sponsored the event.
