In 2012, Larissa Scott signed up to be a part of the United States Navy. After her time serving, she returned home but struggled to adapt to the now unfamiliar environment. She bounced around from job to job, struggling to find her place in the world around her. Finally, Scott found herself working at the COD Veteran Services office at the front desk, a place she feels finally gives her direction and community support.
“I had a hard time finding community, and it was really tough,” Scott said. “I left a lot of different jobs because I just felt like I didn’t belong. But once I started sticking to college, I finally felt like I had a different purpose.”
Throughout November, the College of DuPage (COD) will honor veterans, like Scott, and military families with a series of events and initiatives in recognition of National Veterans and Military Families Month. The college’s Veterans Services Office is coordinating activities aimed at fostering community engagement and support for those who have served in the military.
“Our goal is to create a community within our community,“ Veteran Services Specialist Assistant Sarah Burfield said. “Veterans Day is a time to honor those that have given their time and service to our country, and to honor them and support them here means acknowledging and appreciating their contributions to our community.”
From Nov. 1 to Dec. 1, the Veterans Services Office is participating in a collection drive through Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans (MSHV). They accept a variety of items, including household appliances, personal care items, bedroom and bathroom essentials, cleaning supplies and clothing. The COD Veterans Lounge, located in SSC 3381, will house a drop-off bin for these goods.
“Some of our students utilize their resources, so it felt like a natural organization to choose because they’re helping our students,” Burfield said. “In turn, we’re trying to collect for them and give back.”
On Monday, Nov. 11, Chaps Salute will be hosted by keynote speaker and student outreach vital representative Thomas McInerney in the Jack H. Turner Conference Center (SRC 2000) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This event includes an armed forces exhibition, card making activity for veterans and active-duty members, and a continuation of the collection drive. At 11 a.m., the DuPage Honor Guard will present the colors, with Veterans Services student worker Jennifer Jennings singing the national anthem.
“I’ve collected pictures of both student and staff veterans, even family members [of the community] that were veterans, to feature during the ceremony,” Burfield said. “All of the COD community veterans that were submitted will be honored throughout the day.”
Along with in-person events, webinars will be hosted throughout the month. From Nov. 12 to 14, the Career Services Center partnered with the Veterans Services Department to provide these resources for military-connected students.
“When you’re in the military, you have a MOS, which is like your occupational specialty,” she said. “Sometimes when people are transferring over to civilian life, they have to try to figure out a way to transfer their skills that they did from military terms into civilian terms. These webinars focus on that.”
A Veterans Day Read-In is scheduled on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Hosted annually by English professor Bob Hazard, this event showcases volunteers’ prose or poetry in a small-group setting in the library Alcove, in the SRC 2020. The final event on Monday, Nov. 25 brings military recruiters on campus to speak with students about joining the forces. They will be stationed at tables outside of the bookstore.
“There are around 1,000 military-connected families each term at COD,” she said. “Bringing them resources is key to helping them move forward in their journey.”
The Veterans Services office handles students utilizing their military education benefits, as well as connects students with specialized organizations within the community to access academic and life resources, Burfield said.
“We’re dedicated to ensuring that any military-connected student that comes through COD has guidance and stability on their journey here,” she said. “We want students to be able to get the resources they need to be successful, whether that be academic resources or community resources.”
One such community resource is veteran workers like Scott. Having student workers who are also veterans in the office not only provides employment, but it gives other veterans a sense of community coming into the office, she said.
“When you serve, you’re essentially fully giving up your rights,” Scott said. “You’re missing birthdays, marriages. You don’t just get to leave because you have something going on. Everything is by permission. So when you do meet veterans who have also had that sense of, ‘I gave up everything, and I’ve been through some stuff,’ it’s a very special bond.”
Finding that bond can be very challenging outside of the military, United States Air Force veteran Blake Baur said. What can be more challenging, though, is trying to find your place within the community during such divided times.
“It’s not always recognizable who’s a veteran, who’s not a veteran,” he said. “I think it’s important, especially now, when there are strong opinions on either side, pro-military or anti-military. It’s nice to at least let people know that they are welcomed and appreciated.”
Coming together can be a challenging task, so the COD Veterans Services office provides a lot of support for those who seek it.
“For veterans, the hardest thing to find compared to the military was the camaraderie that you have while you’re there,” he said. “It’s like another family. It’s super hard to find that on the outside in a civilian life, so I think that this office, in particular, helps you meet other veterans and make those connections that are very hard to find.”
To learn more about this month’s activities, visit the Veterans Services Office in SSC 3381 to learn more.
