Veteran education

Veteran Roman Moreno was active in the military for five years. Like so many veterans, he needed a whole new life when he returned from Iraq.

College was the threshold to a new career and a new world, but the transition wasn't easy.

"The atmosphere was a little overwhelming. It was daunting because other people don't understand," Moreno said.

Moreno's not alone. In fact, those are the very reasons the Falcon Veterans Association at the University of Texas Permian Basin exists.

After years of work, the association cut the ribbon Tuesday for its new Studies and Activities room to help veterans make the transition back to normal life in college.

"They left the military as a leader, leading whole platoons, and when they come home they can't relate," FVA Vice President Danielle Garms said. "These guys have seen hand-to-hand combat and see people blown to bits."

Trying to relate to young students who have no idea what the veterans have been through can be very frustrating for the ex-combatants, she said.

The club and the new room at UTPB will help veterans make the transition more smoothly by offering networking opportunities and the chance to just vent their frustrations, Garms said.

UTPB Provost and Vice President for academic affairs Bill Fannin said it is part of UTPB's responsibility to help veterans.

"Clearly veterans have provided a great service the country, so the least we can do is make our resources available to them," Fannin said. "It's our responsibility to take care of all of our students in every identifiable group."

Ector County Veteran Service Officer Joe Rickey said Veterans Affairs has an education program and a vocation rehabilitation program for veterans that pay for tuition, books, supplies and tutors.

Rickey works for the county to help inform veterans on how they can access their benefits, and he is an advocate of education when veterans walk into his office at the County Annex building.

After he informs them what is available to them from the government, he refers them to veteran outreach employees at both higher education institutions in Odessa.

He said he thinks education is essential for returning soldiers because they can contribute back to the community. Soldiers have a hard time with transition, and the education program enhances the country's ability to produce a bigger college-going culture, he said.

A Vietnam veteran himself, Rickey used the GI Bill to get a master's degree in psychology so he could do what he does now - help others in the community.

He said colleges spend money to reach out to veterans because they are simply recruiting people to attend their school just like any other identifiable group of interest. It is not merely because they feel they owe it to the troops.

"It does make me angry when people say ‘why do you think this is owed to you?' I don't. I just need a little help," Garms said.

She's been trying to go to school for 11 years and said most academic scholarships have an age cap.

"Where do you go at that point when your whole life has been changed from an injury? You go back to school and start over," she said.

FACT FILE

>> The funding of the new Falcon Veterans Association Studies and Activities Room was made possible entirely by donations from local veterans.

>> The Falcon Veterans Association doesn't just reach out to help UTPB students, it would like to help more veterans in the community as a source of information and a support group to connect with people in similar situations. E-mail them at falconveteran@yahoo.com to connect.

>> There are 75 known veterans receiving benefits at UTPB. There are more veterans, but the club doesn't have a count because they don't receive benefits.

>> Congress made some changes to the GI Bill that will expand services. The changes should start taking effect this year some time.