Scott Glover: I deployed to Afghanistan in 2013/2014. I was an Artillery Forward Observer. I would be embedded with infantry types and help coordinate all the indirect fires, so your artillery, mortars, naval gunfire, aircraft — anything that’s not basically you pulling the trigger and shooting, I was responsible for.

Big takeaways from that is, it took a lot of schooling to get to that level, almost a year and a half of school before they would even let me do my job. Even after that, there was different levels that you had to get to, so I was always either teaching a class to other people or receiving a class. So, I got into the atmosphere of teaching in that classroom setting and still being able to do my actual job on top of that so, a lot of time management comes into that. There was several weeks where I probably got like four hours of sleep just cause I had so much to do that day. But as for coming to App and what I take away from that, from life, is I’m never late for anything, and I just, I’m able to see like the bigger picture of stuff whenever I come into a situation.

The most misunderstood thing about veterans, I think it’s the misconception that we’re, especially for Marines, people just think we’re kind of dumb. They don’t think we’re as educated as everybody else, which there's a bottom echelon, like everybody knows, but there’s a bottom echelon for everything. But, your average Marine is usually pretty smart, your average, like, off branches really. Interesting fact, one of the higher veteran populations at App right now are Marines. Normally we do quite well in our courses so, it’s just a very weird stereotype because they think that we came out of high school and went to that instead of just coming straight to college. I don’t know; there’s some kind of negative stereotype with that.

Why App? I lived in Bristol, Virginia, so that’s just right over the mountain and growing up, I always wanted to come to App. I loved the football, loved the atmosphere, loved the mountains. I wasn’t able to come here right out of high school because one, I wasn’t a good student, and two, I didn’t have the money. So, military kind of helped for that on both counts. I do love App. I love the atmosphere and everything I knew I’d love about this place I end up loving.

The military, especially the Marines, definitely did shape me into being a better student. They, they definitely instilled that discipline into me, to where I take more time in deliberating proper courses of action in the regards to doing this paper first, this paper second and this paper third, or I can get here on time for this class and then do the work for this class. So, giving me that kind of bigger picture scheme, being able to understand the progression of my day, and then the discipline to, [if] my alarm goes off at six, I will get up at six, not hit the snooze button eight or nine or 20 times, like I do on the weekend.

Before, I was not a good student. Since coming here, I’ve definitely succeeded at being a good student. I think right now I’m at 3.17 GPA, which if you’d asked any of my high school teachers, they’d probably be pretty surprised that I’m in college.

Marina Ruff: I joined right out of high school. My first duty assignment was Fort Bliss, Texas. I spent about two years there and then I re-enlisted and was stationed in Hawaii where I worked at an urgent care clinic. So, I got to work both in the more combat medical training area and I got to work in a clinical setting as well.

I think the most misunderstood thing about veterans is that we all just want to shoot things, that we’re hardheaded. I think that’s the biggest thing. We’re not. We’re just normal people. We don’t all love guns. I know veterans that don’t like guns. (laughter) I don’t really have the dark humor that lots of veterans have. So, I get picked on for it. So, we’re not all the same.

I chose App State because I was looking for a college to attend right after I got out and I wanted one that was military friendly. I did some research and App State kept popping up, and I did some research on the website and I saw they had a whole student veterans organization and that kind of drew me to it. I actually wanted to come here so bad that I didn’t even apply to any other colleges. I just applied to App State and really hoped I got in.

I chose to be a nurse, nursing major, because I was a medic in the Army and I wanted to pursue more medical training because I really enjoyed it. I wanted to expand my knowledge in the field.

My service in the military helped me attain certain skills like respect; that’s a big one that I notice a lot of students have a lack of here. Discipline, time management and things like that — stress control, that’s a big one. So, the military can be very stressful and college is too, so I kind of learned how to handle it while in the service, so coming out here, it’s very manageable.

I come to the student veterans resource center to study and get away from kind of the chaos that’s on the rest of campus. A lot of the students here are younger than me, and when they study, I notice they are not very focused. They talk, they’re on their phones, they listen to music and they get loud, and I can’t study like that. I come here for peace and quiet, and if I do feel social or like I want to talk to someone, I know the people that are here I can relate to and they are always going to talk about something I enjoy, and there’s free coffee. I love coffee. I come here every morning to get my coffee.

The thing I value the most at the Student Veteran Resource Center, other than the free cup of coffee, is the camaraderie that I miss from serving in the military. I wish that more veterans knew about the benefits that App State offers for student veterans.

Grayson B. Farmer: I just got here this fall. I just got off active duty in July. I was in the United States Army and when I left the Army, I was a specialist. I was a paralegal in the Army for 5th Special Forces Group. So, we had a little bit different mission set. But, being a paralegal, I drafted legal reviews. We used those legal reviews for different concepts we were doing, whether it be strikes on enemies or just concepts for training in general. I was looking to go be an attorney. I actually took the LSAT, got accepted to Duke, and decided I didn’t want to be an attorney any more. So I switched up.

One of the things I think that’s most misunderstood about veterans is sometimes you get a response that veterans, you know, you just go into the military to kill people, basically. Like, if you’re in the infantry, or whatever, or if you didn’t deploy, that you aren't really a veteran. There’s a common misconception about that, but being a veteran isn't all about deploying. It’s about you wanting to serve your country and do something for your country while putting it first and not yourself.

So, I am here at App. One thing, I’ve grown up around App. You know, I’ve been coming up here since I was a kid. Both of my parents are alums. It’s close to the house, and the reason I picked marketing is actually because I already own a business. So owning that business, I was wanting to see how I could market that business even better.

From being in the military and how it can shape you to be a better student would be the things you have learned or experienced through the military, whether it be time management or working as a group with other people to solve issues. And then from the leadership point of it, especially if you have been through whatever job you were put in, and some people have had to experience leading other people in training or combat.

So, here in the center at App, you meet other people. I have met several people that I’ve bonded with, but there’s actually a guy here in the center that I was stationed with in 5th Group. He goes to App as well. It’s good to meet new people and, you know, find out that other people are from where you’re from and have common interests, but it’s also good when you didn’t realize that somebody you know is here as well.

So, since the Veterans Center has been open over the past year, the reason I like to come up here would definitely be it is a quieter place to study or do work if you need to do work. It is also a very good place to just kind of get away from things and have a conversation with other people that can relate to some of the experiences that you have had and just, you know, shoot the bull.

Elizabeth Morales: I am currently an active member of the Air Force Reserve. I joined when I was a senior in high school, which was in 2014, and I am currently still in. My current rank is E4, which is senior airman. I have not been deployed. We were just on our deployment cycle, but usually they take into account the students who go to college, and they try not to pull them out of school. So, that’s really nice. My responsibilities for the United States Air Force Reserve — I am an air transportation journeyman, which means that I onload and offload cargo and passengers onto the aircraft.

Some of the big takeaways that I have received from the military include respect, time management and a chain of command. You always want to be respectful to those above you, and try to get to your classmates first, and then your teacher, and then if you have to go up higher, you can do that. I am also in a sorority, so we have our president, we have our executive members, and so I kind of tie in my Air Force life with my sorority life and I make sure everything is going to the person who it’s supposed to go to, and you don’t just immediately go to the top ranking official.

I think the thing that’s the most misunderstood about veterans is that we are all the same. Because it is all one military, but there’s a lot of things that the Air Force does that the Marines do not do, or the Navy doesn’t do. Everyone always thinks that for a certain group there’s a stereotype as well. For example, I always get, “Oh, so are you a pilot?” (laughter) Which is not the case, at all. Student veterans, most of them get the stereotype of being old or being very gung-ho about the military. Some of them are not, and they get a lot of backlash from different political groups that don’t respect them on campus because of their history, even though they probably just did it for the education benefits, which is why they are here, so. (laughter)

I chose App because my older sister went here. I came here a lot with her. I really like doing things outdoors so this was the perfect college for me, and I chose my major because I was previously a nursing major and that’s still what I want to do with my career after college. But for the time being I thought psychology would be a good secondary option because I think mental health is just as important as physical health. So.

My service in the military has shaped me to be a better leader in basically all of my aspects in college. I have taken on a lot of leadership positions, which I never would have thought I would do coming into college. I actually received an award three months ago, and it was the Top Three Airmen Award for Leadership. A lot of it had to do with the Air Force and my college experience with leadership and I don’t think I would have been able to get that award had it not been for one, the Air Force, and for two, the extracurriculars that I do on campus. I think it has shaped me to be a better citizen as well because the military is always trying to push you for awards and to get the awards you have to do leadership experience, you have to do your job well and you have to do volunteer experience, which I do a lot of volunteer experience and with the volunteer experience I have become a better citizen and I feel like I am giving back to the community.

I think the one benefit of coming to the Resource Center that I would value the most is the community. We all have a certain aspect of our lives that not every college student goes through. We have all gone through the little thing that we have gone through which is basic (training). And the military whether you are still in or you’re out or in ROTC because ROTC students do come here actually now which is awesome, I think that the community and being able to understand each other and having them be able to understand me when I say, “Oh I have drill this weekend.” Because everyone is always like, “What’s drill? What is that?” It’s a lot to explain, but everyone here understands already, so that’s nice.

Chandler Turner: I am currently in the North Carolina National Guard. I am currently an E3, hoping to become specialist soon. I have not yet been deployed, but it is coming up soon. So, in the National Guard I am a 15 Papa, which is an aviation operation specialist. I talk to pilots and help them out with anything they need, and I am anticipating becoming a pilot soon, putting in my flight packet, and going on to become a Black Hawk pilot. Getting deployed with this unit, I will be going to Afghanistan.

So, one of the things that people misunderstand about veterans is our weird sense of humor; it’s a dark sense of humor, and not a lot of people get that. We’ve been through a lot of things, and the sense of humor, just making jokes out of everything, makes it easier to deal with.

I chose App State because I knew people that were coming up here, and it just seemed like a great fit. I love the mountains, I love the outdoors, I love being outside. In my major, I’ve just always loved the way people thought. I like knowing how people think, stuff like that.

The Veterans Resource Center is just a great place to hang out with a lot of different people from different backgrounds. It gives some different perspectives on life. You get people from all different branches. It gives us a place to fit in. Personally, I like the space to fit in with people that are like me.

I think App provides a lot of different great qualities for veterans. They have the priority registration, they have all of these different things that are available to us. I think they’re doing a great job.

Eric Gormly: When I was in the Marines, I served in Iraq twice in 2006 and in 2009, and then I did a joint services training with the South American Special Forces that lasted about a month and it was in Peru, and then I also helped with Hurricane Katrina relief. My actual job in the Marines, I was a cook, but whenever we would deploy, that was already contracted out, so I was infantry when I deployed.

Probably the biggest takeaway that I had was motivation to complete tasks, especially when it came to education. I was never really that motivated of a student. I was a decent student in high school, but I just didn’t have a lot of that direction. And so, I think the Marines really instilled that sense of motivation and mission accomplishment, which really helped when I got to college and just in life in general — in a career and everything.

One of the most misunderstood things about veterans is, in a normal civilian world, a lot of civilians think about the negative things that veterans bring with them. Whether it be PTSD or just any kind of experience that they had, they always seem to think about the negative side of that and not so much the positive effects that military had on folks’ lives, like how it maybe made them better or the leadership qualities that they bring the places they go, the maturity level to their counterparts, the world experiences, so, the outside views that they bring into certain situations and things like that.

So the opening of the Student Veteran Resource Center on November 11th, 2016 has been a huge impact on the student veteran population, and I would like to think the general student population of Appalachian State. Since it’s opened, we’ve had over 3,000 single visits; now those are made up of, you know, sometimes repeat students and things like that, but 3,000 visits into the center. I would honestly say we’ve quickly outgrown the center already. And some of the things that we’ve brought here, in just that short year, we’ve brought tutoring into the center; we’ve brought career development; they have a representative that comes here into the center; we’ve provided multiple student veterans with employment opportunities.

I think the number one thing that the center has done for the student veteran population is it’s given them a sense of camaraderie on campus that they, I’m not gonna say that they wouldn’t otherwise have it but, they wouldn’t necessarily know where to seek that out and where to find those other student veterans. You know, they can walk in here and they immediately know that the folks working in here, myself as a full-time employee, the student workers, the other students who are in here, they all have military experience, so it’s just kind of something familiar and one thing that you know you’ll hear a lot of student veterans say is that they, when they get out of the military, they built that brotherhood, that sisterhood with all those folks in the military. They get out, they’re going to an unknown place, like a university, especially in northwest North Carolina up in the mountains where they might not know anybody, and being able to walk into this center and immediately find a little bit of common ground, that’s a great thing for those student veterans.

So one of the things that my position really, was the focus of my position when I was hired, was to bring a central point of contact to Appalachian State, for the student veterans. Since I just graduated in 2015, with my recent experience of making that transition from military to school, to higher education, and now to civilian life, you know, it really helps me to bring that to the students. So, my advantage is that I can look back at the things that maybe I missed out on, or thought that would’ve been very useful for me to know and I can pass that along to the students.

The military, they’re trying to do a much better job of helping them with these transitional resources and things like that, their benefits, counseling and things. But, they don’t know the situational aspects of things, so, when a student comes to Appalachian, it’s a little bit different than them going to a community college, or them going Duke, or even Chapel Hill or somewhere like that. So it’s all situational as far as what benefits they can use, how they can use them, what’s the best way to use them, and different things like that.

Appalachian State University has come a long way in the year that I’ve been here, a little over a year that I’ve been here, as far as helping student veterans. They’ve always done the most to help student veterans. Before I got here, they had priority registration for student veterans, which enables the student veteran to enroll in classes a little bit before their counterparts, the juniors, sophomores, freshman. That works a few ways: with the common age of veterans are between 24 and 32, you might have competing priorities such as work, a family, so building your perfect schedule helps manage those other things, and also [with the] GI bill, you need a certain number of hours to get paid the right amount and everything.

There’s a Military Affairs Committee on campus that has been around, so they were actually the initial push of the student veteran resource center. It just so happened that the school made even more of a push after I got here, but by no means was that, you know, just me.

For the future of the Student Veteran Resource Center, I would like to see us implement a little bit more programming. We already have quite a bit of programming that comes in here, but we do have this extra office in the back that I would really like to see utilized pretty much all hours of the day by not someone in the student veteran resource center, by an outside entity coming in, whether it be Appalachian State, whether it be the community veteran services officer, maybe the VA health care — they send up a representative — but I would like to see further programming for the student veterans in there.

And then in the long term, I would like to see the Student Veteran Resource Center grow, physically. There are times where students will come in here and they’ll have to pull a chair out of my office, or they will have to stand, or they will see that the center is just too crowded at that point and then they’ll go out in the hallway and study, or they’ll, you know, go do other things, go eat lunch somewhere else. So, growing the center would be nice to be able to accommodate more student veterans.