Get to know a veteran

You noticed him when he walked in to class, and you couldn’t help but stare.  He walked in your intro Freshman Mathematics course as a student at 25 years old, but instead of blending in, he looked more like a tattooed, rugged, misplaced bouncer with premature wrinkles from the sun and hidden scars under his shirt.  You couldn’t understand why he seemed stressed and guarded so you decided not to say hello.  As you took another sip of your overpriced latte, and continued chatting with your friends you couldn’t help but wonder about his mystery. It may be hard to understand, but he noticed you as he took inventory of his entire situation and everyone in it. He sits in silence hoping he will “blend” and that just someone will say hello so he feels like he may belong. He sits in the corner
with his back to the wall for security in silence, hoping he can make it through class without over-reacting if one of your classmates drops an aluminum water bottle on the concrete floor.  He misses HIS friends; the people who took bullets for him instead of drank coffee with him.  The people who made him feel “normal” and is just hoping that he will learn how to do Math when it doesn’t relate to warfare.

This is how I felt my first day at Utah State.  Some people ask me what it is like to be a student Veteran, and when I say “I don’t know how to explain it”, this is why. I do not want to speak on behalf of “Veteran’s”, or what it is like because honestly all of us are different.  But what I can encourage you to do, is to get to know a Veteran! I can tell you from my personal experience, when we return from combat and go to school we are looking for a connection.  Something to make us feel normal, accepted and to better ourselves. I have been in the military for over 6 years, and proudly can say that I just graduated with my Bachelors.  It took me twice as long as normal. This was not because I was unmotivated, in fact I have two kids, work full time as well as took 12-15 credits every semester I was in school! This happened because when I was called for training, or to go on deployment to Afghanistan, school came after fighting for our freedom.

While many of you  may see veterans as nobodies who volunteered to do a dangerous job because they lacked other options, the fact of the matter is that simply getting into the military requires meeting demanding thresholds of physical and mental health, passing a criminal background check, and having a high school diploma. After selection, many wash out during entry-level training. I’m by no means arguing that every man or woman who’s ever served in our armed forces is a stellar person. But the selection process weeds out the weakest elements, and the training and mentoring system inculcates work habits and social skills that are invaluable in coping with life.

So that being said, I am not going to expand any further on Veteran’s or my individual experience but instead I am going to encourage you each to get to know a Veteran or reach out to one as this Veteran’s day approaches. I wish you all luck in the rest of your semester, and happy holidays!

— SGT Keli Anderson is a police woman for North Logan Police.