Transitioning to campus

New center opens in Montview Student Union to help student veterans

Liberty University heads into the fall semester with the recently opened Veterans Center, located in the Montview Student Union, providing support to the many student veterans both on and off campus.

The Office of Military Affairs, according to Student veteran liaison Jon Norman, aims to work with the new Veterans Center to provide support for online students who may not get the opportunity to visit the campus and experience the benefits of the center.

“We have our Military Affairs Facebook page, and there’s a lot of communication that goes on through there,” Norman said.

“I think eventually, just looking into the future, our student veterans’ organization could potentially become one of the largest student veteran’s organizations in the nation because of our online program.”

SUPPORT — Student veterans took advantage of the tools provided at the new center. Photo credit: Caroline sellers

SUPPORT — Student veterans took advantage of the tools provided at the new center. Photo credit: Caroline sellers

Norman said he is so far pleased with the new space because it has been able to double the amount of time he spends with students.

“It just gives us a place where veterans that normally wouldn’t meet each other are meeting, and it’s really providing times where we talk about our military careers, what we’re doing now, and what we’re doing in the future,” Norman said.

“It provides a place for us to have deeper conversations that go into the philosophy of what we need to do to help new transitioning students.”

Norman also said he is able to help student veterans with transitioning from active military to
campus life.

“A lot of vets will struggle transitioning from active duty military to civilian education,” Norman said.

“If you can imagine, you’re being told what to do from sunup to sundown, and then you come in and you have your class schedule. … So managing that time in between is what I help with.”

Student veteran RJ Martinez joined the Army when he was 18 years old and earned an associate’s degree before attending Liberty.

Having the veterans center available, he said, has helped him balance being a guardsman and a student at the same time.

“I was commissioned into the Virginia National Guard as an infantry officer and coming here to Liberty from a military experience was kind of a clash, but I wanted to come here and I’ve really enjoyed it since,” Martinez said.

“In terms of being a guardsman and a student, I mean it’s really good because a lot of my teachers are willing to work with me.”

Students such as Martinez have the option to pair with faculty members for further support and advice throughout the semester.

“I wanted to find a way to take our faculty who have been military, someone who has done professionally what our student veterans are looking to do, and allow them to work with students to help them see college as not just a route to a degree, but a route to a career,” Norman said.

“The program really depends on not only the faculty but the veterans themselves taking it seriously.”

For Norman, though, the veterans center is the most recent addition that has given him new opportunities to connect with student veterans on a new level.

“I love it,” Norman said. “I definitely have one of the best jobs in Military Affairs. I’ll meet with students that are having really tough times, and being at Liberty, I’m able to pray with students which is a blessing. It’s just really a lot of fun to be able to motivate a veteran and help and reach out to them in a way they can comprehend, so they can become successful in school.”

Conley is a news reporter.

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