Meeting Veterans halfway and learning from the military community on campus

In light of Veteran’s Day last week, The Stute interviewed a handful of alumni, current students part of the Stevens Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, veteran students, and others. These individuals have worked on various projects to empower and engage the military community on campus and have cited the Stevens Veteran Office (SVO) and Professor Dr. Donald Lombardi as key players in their successful educational experience at Stevens. They also provided key suggestions and insights to the non-military community on how to better engage with veterans and the military community on campus. 

Veterans Kevin Landers ‘14 and Joshua Hwang ‘22, who were both part of the Marines before attending Stevens, spoke of their gratitude towards the SVO regarding the Yellow Ribbon Program, which substantially improved their Stevens experience. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the Yellow Ribbon Program helps pay the remainder of “private, foreign, or graduate school tuition fees that the Post 9/11 GI Bill does not cover.” This substantially reduced the financial burden that came with transitioning to an academic career post military life. For Landers, skills he learned in the Marines complemented what he learned at Stevens, leading to a successful post-grad career in private equity. Being handed a significant amount of responsibility as a 19-20 year old, the Marines encouraged Landers to “trust [his] instincts,” and he explained that Stevens only helped him build on that confidence.

The ROTC community on campus is also seeing continued success. Lt. Jennifer Lloyd ‘21 is currently an active duty Cyber Second Lieutenant, part of the basic leadership course (BOLC) on the software developer track. She was the first 2LT to commission into the cyber branch from Seton Hall’s ROTC program. Even though the veteran/ROTC community represents an even smaller cadet of the Battalion at Seton Hall, Stevens cadets have “consistently been ranked in the top 10 in [their] respective ROTC classes,” according to Lt. Lloyd. Another student in the ROTC program, Cassandra Ball ‘22, has grown through  leadership roles and is now in a staff position, which is the highest rank for an ROTC Army cadet. She explained her current position has led to outreach events with associations like My Lady Sorrow and American Legion.

While not a veteran or a ROTC cadet, Elsa Bley ‘24 has had the unique experience of watching her father serve in the U.S. Air Force. Bley noted that while students may not see a large veteran population on campus, “the biggest population on campus are children of veterans.” A large part of Bley’s summer 2021 research project was involved in studying how universities and campuses can better support their military-affiliated communities on campus. Bley is delighted to know that ROTC/veteran students receive priority registration because students “receive funding only for a certain number of semesters.” These opportunities, in Bley’s opinion, are the small steps to improve the veteran/military experience on campus.

Another veteran, Kristopher Trautz ‘22, was part of the I&E Select Scholars Program this past summer and had the opportunity to engage with the veteran community on campus, revamp the SVO website, and help take part in the development of the “Green Zone” training program. Trautz believes that combined with the daunting challenges of being a first-generation student, and mental health stigma about veterans can feel isolating at times. “Green Zone” program is something that Trautz is “happy” came out of his experience, as it provides sensitivity training to staff and faculty for veterans on campus.

Landers, Hwang, Trautz, Bell, Bley, and Lt. Lloyd all encourage the Stevens community to not be afraid to strike up a friendly conversation with a veteran. Bley encourages students to reach out because she “thinks a big thing is to take advantage of different people having different experiences than you.” On a similar note, Hwang expressed,  “I will never meet another group of people like I have met there. The worldly experiences were the most influential to me.” 

After entering the BOLC software developer track in the Army without a mentor to guide her, Lt. Lloyd hopes to be a mentor to her fellow cadets at Stevens, as “it’s really important to network and share your experiences with others who have similar interests.” Ball is appreciative of the leadership experiences she has gained, and is “grateful for the connections [she] has made thus far and will continue to in the future.” Trautz hopes for continued advocacy and student engagement with the help of the SVO in engaging and supporting the military community on campus.