How Student Veterans Are Finding Their Place at Elmhurst

Veterans Support Coordinator Nathan Bradshaw talks with Student Veterans Association President Mikala Marcussen-Abuharb. // Photo by Serhii Mahula

Nathaniel Mesa served for four years in the military as an intelligence systems technician at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He enlisted at 18, shortly after graduating from high school, and viewed the military as a career path that would set him up for future success.

Mesa found his first year at Elmhurst pretty difficult. He said starting college required a significant change of mindset.

“In the military there is a sense of camaraderie, while in school it feels more individualistic and harder to establish relationships, especially as an older student,” Mesa said.

Elmhurst University — which enrolls 55 military students, including veterans, students actively serving, and the children and spouses of veterans — was recently named the second-best university in the Midwest for serving veterans, according to the U.S. News & World Report report released on Sept. 22. Still, the transition from military service to college life can be challenging for many student veterans.

Mesa is currently a senior at EU majoring in psychology, something he described as his passion. He wants to work with active military members, their families, and veterans.

“I mostly chose joining the military as a stepping stone for my career. I wanted to gain work experience by being in a leadership position, where I could reinforce discipline,” Mesa said. “I always wanted to help people out with common stressors such as anxiety and sleep disorders.”

Mesa explained that transitioning from the military to college meant more independence, as college students have more freedom and less structure than military personnel.

“I was trying to change from the military mindset to the academic mindset, which is more assignment and research based,” Mesa said.

He also said that during group projects, he’s noticed that classmates sometimes rely on veterans to complete much of the work, leaving them with a heavier workload.

Mesa explained that in the military, people hang out with their team during the duty day and even afterwards. He said that among colleagues there is a lot of trust, and it’s easier to form friendships. But college felt pretty alienating. To him, it was easier to just establish surface-level relationships with his college peers.

The age difference between him, as well as other veterans, with other students also plays an important role in making those connections more difficult. Mesa said he sometimes feels like he’s more in place with the professors.

“You can talk with people in class, but I have not experienced or seen too much engagement with veterans and other students outside of that,” Mesa said.

Despite the differences and challenges of transitioning to college life, Mesa has found support through EU’s various resources, including Veterans Affairs (VA), which sends a representative to talk with student veterans about opportunities and benefits that they can use each month. He also said he appreciated faculty’s support during the transition, and that they have been especially helpful by setting him up for his future career interests such as grad school.

“I think where we are right now with resources, we are doing pretty well,” Mesa said.

Among the resources available on campus is the Jans Family Veterans and Military Center — also known as the Veterans Lounge, located in the Health Sciences Building — which not only provides student veterans a place to find resources but also allows them to recharge, connect with fellow veterans, and build relationships.

The center is also currently building a new video games lounge and is close to finishing it.

Mikala Marcussen-Abuharb is the president of the Student Veterans Association (SVA). Marcussen-Abuharb was in the Navy for six years as a machinist’s mate, stationed in Bremerton, Washington; and Norfolk, Virginia; and was deployed for seven months in 2018 to Southeast Asia and the Middle East. She is currently a senior majoring in biology. She also does VA work study.

As president of the SVA, Abuharb helps coordinate different events such as the “Lopez Barbeque” in the spring. The name “Lopez” comes from siblings who attended Elmhurst University and were both presidents of the SVA.

Marcussen-Abuharb makes sure every morning that the center is unlocked and has enough snacks and drinks.

“Bringing veterans together is the center’s primary mission, as well as giving them support and a network of people they can relate to,” Marcussen-Abuharb said.

For Marcussen-Abuharb, being a student veteran at Elmhurst has been an overall good experience. She highlighted the support system she received once she first came to Elmhurst

“I think we have a really positive environment here, and a very good job of fostering a good experience for people,” Marcussen-Abuharb said.

Marcussen-Abuharb remembers struggling on her first test at EU. She found that the support she had within the veteran community made her realize she wasn’t the only one going through challenges in the transition to college, and that it was a matter of getting back on track after not studying for six years.

For her, going to the center and being able to relate to other student veterans helped a lot.

“It is hard going from a job where if you mess up people die, to suddenly sit in a classroom,” Marcussen-Abuharb said.

Both Marcussen-Abuharb and Mesa believe that although they have found a community here, they still encounter stereotypes due to them being part of the military.

“I know that there were some ideas on campus that veterans are not very supportive people,” Marcussen-Abuharb said.

Marcussen-Abuharb explained that since the military is often associated with rightwing ideas, people might have assumptions and generalize ideas such as that one. Mesa said that there are common misconceptions.

While the center offers a welcoming community, Marcussen-Abuharb is especially excited about its evolution.

“When we were under old management, it was more just about community, and today we are really trying to push the work study, give veterans the opportunity to earn money, connecting them with benefits and bringing in counselors,” Marcussen-Abuharb said.

She explained how the center has helped give a lot of veteran students knowledge of VA resources such as Veteran Readiness and Employment, a VA program that helps disabled veterans get back into the workforce or live more independently. Marcussen-Abuharb also mentioned how every other Tuesday, VA counselors connect with veteran students in a pizza event at the center to help them connect with these resources.

Even though adjusting has been challenging for Marcussen-Abuharb and Mesa, they said they have been able to get support when needed. Marcussen-Abuharb mentioned how last semester a student got redeployed from the reserves.

“The veterans services were really good at helping her organize her classes while she was gone,” Marcussen-Abuharb said.

Veterans Services helped work with the professors in order to help coordinate assignments so the student could still graduate on time while having to be deployed.

Green Zone Ally Training is in development this fall semester, a program designed to instruct faculty on how to deal with student veterans in situations just like these. The center has also helped students to get the typical college experience. Marcussen-Abuharb mentioned one student going to the center asking to have an orientation.

“We pushed a lot and were able to make it so that veterans could choose which orientation they wanted to go to. This was the first semester we did a veterans orientation,” Marcussen-Abuharb said.

Veterans Support Coordinator Nathan Bradshaw and student veteran Mikala Marcussen-Abuharb walk out of the Veterans Lounge. // Photo by Serhii Mahula

When it comes to veteran students considering enrolling at EU or current students, different resources are available, including an updated website for veterans, a person dedicated to veteran students in admissions, additional priority registration, and financial services such as the yellow ribbon program to help with VA benefits and counseling.

Nathan Bradshaw, the campus veterans service coordinator, manages the Jans Family Veterans and Military Center and serves as a connection between veterans and various university departments, including admissions, financial services, academic affairs, and student affairs.

Bradhsaw explained that once a month there is a veteran service office around campus that helps students file disability claims, as well as a VA social worker who helps students gain access to healthcare benefits.

“I want student veterans to know that there are people here to support them through the process of going to school, and if they ever have a question we don’t know the answer to, we will find it for you,” Bradshaw said.