Chapter 4 Interpretations and Results

a.

How do student veterans describe the aspects of their military culture that are no longer appropriate in community college culture?

How do student veterans describe their own struggles in adapting to the community college culture?

c. Sub-Question #3

How do student veterans describe the ways in which they successfully integrate military culture into community college culture?

3. Methodology

a.

b.

In this study, semi-structured interviews were used as the primary method of data collection. The phenomenon that was studied was the experience of community college student veterans negotiating the community college acculturation process (Creswell, 2013). The researcher will analyze data collected through the semi-structured interviews with student veterans who attended community college. Through data analysis, significant themes for horizontalization and the development of clusters of meaning will be used to describe the textural and structural descriptions to describe the crux of the phenomenon (Creswell, 2013). Conducting interviews with student veterans provided the researcher the opportunity to study the phenomenon of the experience of community college student veterans negotiating the community college acculturation process from their purview and gain insights into their lived experiences on this phenomenon.

c.

Participants of this study included 15 veterans who had attended community college in the Mid-Atlantic region within the last five years and who completed at least one semester. For the purposes of this study, a veteran was defined as an individual who enlisted and completed at least one tour of duty (two years or more) in the United States armed forces and who had been discharged.

d.

Data collection consisted of 15 semi-structured interviews conducted virtually via Zoom video recording due to COVID-19 restrictions on research. Individual interview sessions ranged from 45-90 minutes in length. Study participation concluded once the participant completed the interview requirement.

e.

The data analysis process commenced at the conclusion of data collection. The researcher will study the transcripts a few times prior to the first cycle of coding. The researcher will then utilize In Vivo Coding as it is deemed an excellent method for a beginning qualitative researcher and as a way to highlight the participant’s voice in the coding process (Saldaña, 2016). Data from the semi-structured interviews was analyzed utilizing Shaw’s (2010) data analysis approach.

f.

Chapter 4 presents the study findings, results and interpretations of the semi-structured interviews. This chapter is organized into five sections beginning with a description of participant demographics. The second section describes the central research question of acculturation, what are the lived experience of student veterans negotiating the acculturation process at community colleges, with specific focus on cultural shedding, cultural stress, and cultural learning. The third section describes findings associated with the first sub-question of, how do student veterans describe the aspects of their military culture that are no longer appropriate in community college culture? The fourth section describes the findings associated with the second sub-question of how do student veterans describe their own struggles in adapting to the community college culture. Finally, the last section describes findings associated with the third sub-question, of how do student veterans describe the ways in which they successfully integrate military culture into community college culture.

4. Findings

a.

Findings in the current study are based on student veteran accounts and perceptions of negotiating the acculturation process at community colleges, with specific focus on cultural shedding, cultural stress, and cultural learning. The data collection method for this research study was individual semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom video conference by the researcher. Fifteen United States Military Veterans participated in individual interview sessions ranging from 45-90 minutes each. Transcription was provided via Zoom cloud recording option. The researcher studied the transcriptions a few times, listened to the recordings, and revised the typed documents for accuracy.

5. Left Header –

Participants of this study included 15 student veterans. Five veterans identified as female, one veteran identified as asexual born female, and nine veterans identified as male. Participants age ranged from 27 (lowest) to 55 years (highest). All participants were enrolled in community college or had completed their community college goals. Participants’ highest level of completed education excluding military training ranged from 1 community college course to a JD and PHD each. Two of the female participants held the rank of officer during their military service. Two of the male participants previously held the senior enlisted positions during their military service. Seven participants identify as African-American. Seven participants identified as Caucasian. One participant identified as Mixed Race. All military branches were represented in the study: one Army veteran, six Navy veterans, four Marine veterans; three Air Force veterans, and one Coast Guard veteran.

a.

Each interview began with a series of background questions. The first 3 questions related to general demographic background, military service background, and community college of experience. The second series of questions related to culture. The next series of questions related to acculturation. The final question was the wrap up question. The final question allowed the participants to share their perspectives outside of the previous protocol questions.

b.

The researcher began the process of recruiting by contacting via email known veterans located in the researcher’s professional network who met the criteria for inclusion in this research study. The researcher included with the invitation a synopsis of the study. The researcher asked all potential interviewees to forward the information to their professional networks and to provide the researcher with referrals. Identification and invitation were open to participants who met the following criteria for inclusion in the study: student veterans who have attended community college in the Mid-Atlantic region within the last five years and who completed at least one semester. For the purposes of this study, a veteran is defined as an individual who enlisted and completed at least one tour of duty (two years or more) in the United States armed forces and who has been discharged. The researcher selected the first 15 individuals who volunteered to participate in an interview and who participated in an interview. All participants met the study criteria: discharged from the military. All participants met the study criteria: attended community college within the past 5 years. Two participants reported attending community college post-graduate school each reporting a Juris Doctorate and Doctor of Philosophy, respectively.

6. Indent Sub-Heading – Participant profiles.

The following participant profiles are based on the data from the background questions of the interview protocol and other information shared with the researcher during the interview.

a. P1 – P1 Profile

a. P1 is a forty-two-year-old male of African-American descent, who served in the United States Navy for 20 years. P1 is divorced and has a daughter. P1 joined the military to better his financial situation as he believed he had no other means of doing so. He described his military experience as nebulous.

b. P1 decided to enroll in community college upon leaving his first duty station which was a ship at a port in Florida. He wanted to pursue higher education and saw community colleges as the best way to accomplish that. He originally started community college in Norfolk, Virginia, but because of military requirements and duties he did not finish. He completed several classes, about five over a two year period. He then transferred to Maryland, also his new military duty station. Upon being transferred to a new station by the military, he enrolled at the local community college locally in 2004. Pl has been enrolled in community college intermittently from 2004 until 2020.

c. P1 studied fine art specifically drawing, painting including various forms of printmaking photography. He studied general courses such as English, general math courses, science courses and other general education courses.P1 has taken at least 30 classes. The self -reported total at the time of this is currently over 120 credit hours on the undergraduate level specifically at a community college.P1’s initial goal was as to receive his associates in fine arts at the local community college and also to complete the general education courses for pursuit of a baccalaureate degree in fine arts.

d. P1 used his Post 9/11 GI Bill and I paid out of pocket for his school costs. He considers the veterans’ educational benefit as very important as he believes there would have been no other way for him to be able to afford college without the benefits.

b. P2 P2 Profile

a. P2 is a United States Navy veteran, age 39, female of Caucasian descent. She now lives in Baltimore, Maryland after serving one enlistment in the military. She is originally from the west coast. She is currently taking some time away from school and working as government contractor.

b. P2 was in the United States Navy four years as Boatsman’s Mate Third Class (military enlisted rank). P2 was in the service pre 9/11. Her military enlistment ended one month before 9/11. She was once recalled to active military service after she separated from the Navy, but because her husband once serving active duty, military regulations required that the recall cancelled. She lived and went to high school in what she describes a very small town in Washington state. P2 decided to join because she is from a small rural peninsula town. P2 wanted to leave. She felt that she couldn't afford to get out of there without the military, so without other options, she decided to join the Navy, so that she could travel. P2 joined the United States Navy in 1997 and the bulk of her military service time was on ships in San Diego and Bremerton, Washington. She did have one combat deployment to the Middle East.

c. P2 was ready to leave two weeks into college. She had no idea what she was doing.: P2 described community college as confusing, after having worked in education for a few years after college. She described her community college experience as very confusing if you don't know the language. P2 further described her community college experience as confusing if you don't know if you don't have a clear roadmap. She was losing her mind, two weeks and having no idea how to navigate the community college system walking aimlessly in confusion.

d. P2: started community college at 35 years old. Her husband was still active duty, and it was towards the end of his career, and they were sent from the west coast, where they had been during both of their military careers, to Annapolis. P2 was having a hard time getting employment upon arrival to Annapolis. Her neighbor gave her the idea and she went and signed up four days before classes started. Although community college was not something on her radar, she knew she had to do something because she and her family had been at their new station for several months. P2 decided that she couldn't sit around anymore, so I went down to the community college and met with an advisor and she signed up and got enrolled in classes. P2 admits to having a strong work ethic evidenced by having always worked since age 13. P2 describes her resume with work experience showing but I didn't have any education showing: P2 noted that a lot of the things on her resume people would think it was a lie, because she had worked at a lot of jobs and she did really well at them, but got admits she got certain jobs by knowing people and therefore a reviewer would likely find her resume questionable based on high level work experience that would normally require a higher education credential.

e. P2 attended Mid-Atlantic Community College in Maryland and started the Fall semester of 2015 and graduated the Spring term of 2017. What did you study? P2 started her studies in human services. and then moved to the Transfer Studies major with degree concentrations in human services and psychology. How many classes did you take? P2 took a lot of classes because she had great English skills and tested straight into the highest English class, but as she admits, her math was abysmal. So I community college requirements placed her in basic math such as basic arithmetic, dividing and multiplying including any type of algebra. She says she wasn't ready, so she had to take a lot of courses to graduate on time. P2 took at least 15 semester hours and sometimes 18 semester hours per term including the Summer term to make sure she finished her degree in two years.

f. P2’s goal was/is to help people. She wanted to have a career where she made an impact helping people. Service to others anywhere is what drives P2 and makes her happy. Although she admits, she was just as happy working in the bagel shop part time but knew her body wouldn't be able to do it forever. P2 goal in community college was to learn how to serve people well and bring them a different level of experience than other people would provide. Thus, she chose human services as a major.

g. P2 separated from the Navy in 2001 and had never used her education benefits and lost the benefit. She had the Montgomery GI bill which had an end date to use the benefit. She didn't have a chance to use them for school. P2 did acknowledge a benefit she had at the community college, which was the college’s Veterans Resource Center, which was attached to a program that provided student support. P2 gives the program credit for her college survival that included monetary benefits.

c. P3 P3 Profile

a. P3 is a United States Navy Veteran, retired after 23 years of service, age 48 of Caucasian descent born in Virginia and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. P3 currently lives in Maryland. He owns non-profit and for-profit businesses in the cannabis space.

b. P3 joined the United States Navy in July 1990. He was in delayed entry program. The delayed entry program meant was he was actually enlisted and prepared for service before starting formal basic military training. After graduating high school, he went to basic military training in San Diego, CA at age 19. P3 had one combat deployment to the Desert Storm War. He reflected on the lesson of strong worth ethic during throughout his military service. P3: had a targeted military training school program, which meant after training you go to the fleet (mainstream Navy group) for two years. P3 was married at age 20 years old . He and his spouse lived in Mexico for a few years. His then wife became a United States citizen and joined the United Sates Navy. He was later stationed in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor. He spent three years on the Hawaiian Islands and never left the island. He described it as the best time of his life.

c. Military has been in P3’s family since the Civil War. His grandfather was in the US Army Air Corp. His father was in the Marine Corps is a tank mechanic in Vietnam. His mother was in the Nursing Corps Post-Vietnam after he was born. His uncle was in the military and his grandfather, his great grandfather worked for the Air Army National Guard in Alabama contracted to pick up pilots who crashed in the sea during training exercises. He described military service as his destiny knowing from a young child that he was going in the military. That was his. dream. He wanted to follow the family system. P3 is the only family member who retired from the military Service.

d. P3 was promoted to top enlisted ranks within 10 years at age 37. that was pretty, pretty good. After 10 years over with the same rank he went back to military station, San Diego. He and his spouse divorced based on the potential medical risk factors involved in her pregnancy. He always wanted children. From San Diego he went to Guam to the USS San Jose, a fueling ship and spent about a year on that ship. He decided he was going to stay and took orders to the communication station Guam. He moved into cryptology as a career specialty. He was the electronic key management systems manager. He managed a cryptology lab and supervised the communications suite of operations officers. After that, he came back to San Diego for aircraft carrier work on command carrier group seven. He was responsible for fleet communications program set up you. After that the Navy allowed him to move to mobile security as a specialty. He was able to go work in a desert. The time was post Iraqi Operation Freedom Enduring Freedom. This time doing mobile and mobile land and seaside security. He supervised the communications team. He loved wearing camouflage gear for two years. Next, he went to Singapore. He got to travel the world meet a lot of people.

e. Upon graduating high school , P3 was apathetic to higher education aspirations as he had none. Within a few years of beginning his military service, he realized that the military would finance his education. He felt it appropriate to take advantage of the benefit. He started college attending night classes. He received an Associates of Applied Science degree in Criminal Justice while stationed in Hawaii. Before leaving Hawaii to return to San Diego he enrolled again school and met a lot of different at a of couple different schools like American military University and a few other ones. He tried to University of Maryland Global College in an online format. He uses the GI Bill for current tuition. While on active military duty he used the Tuition Assistance (TA) to fund his college expenses. While on active duty he used part of his Montgomery GI Bill entitlement because he had exceeded TA program funding limits. He was able convert his Chapter 30 GI Bill Benefit to Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill before separating from active military service. After leaving the military, he converted the benefit for his daughter’s use towards her future education goals. He has been paying out-of-pocket for his post military higher education expenses. He entered community college. And found a lot of opportunities but didn't have the time to commit because of his company and his nonprofit. He wasn't able to continue based on his work obligations. He attended training in therapeutic alternatives of Maryland's therapeutic agriculture program. The Veterans Administration paid him a stiped to attend the class to become an organic farmer. He did a concurrent training in Toronto. He actually graduated from that course and became a board member to the nonprofit's that presented the training.

f. P3 started Kingsborough community college by registering for an entrepreneurship course using the GI Bill. In retrospect he did not think it appropriate to have taken Accounting 101 as the first course based on it rigorous curriculum. He was enrolled in a certificate program. He described feeling lost because of the new vernacular found in the course. He dropped the course. Based on veteran entitlement regulations he had to pay the college back and had to pay the government back for the penalty involved when dropping a course. He still had the entrepreneur mind and he moved into the medical cannabis business space. He realized he needed to do better in the cannabis space. He wanted to be educated in cannabis. P3 read a banner on Mid-Atlantic Community College website and if they were offering the BPA 227 Entrepreneurship course on the cannabis industry in Maryland in 2018. He describes enrolling as a natural process because he liked it. He describes the instruction to be exceptional and the content as valuable based on the course goal was to support employment and business goals. For P3 it wasn't about taking the course and walking away, it was about taking the course, networking, and cultivating and nurturing the intellectual capital inside of that group. He describes it as everybody working together for greater good for the collective and applies the attributes to the course’s professor. At Mid-Atlantic Community College, he attended primarily for the BPA227 class. He attended one and one-half years at Kingsborough community college.

g. P3’s concern is community college after care for veterans. He pondered what will the community do with veterans after they finish their coursework and they have acquired the new knowledge all new skills, remembering that many have mental health issues, too. P3 likens his job like being a big brother, life coach, mentor to them and try to keep them engaged. P3 wants to support veterans re-entering the community and working. P3 describes employment goals as the catalyst for community college enrollment and the education funding . P3’s goal is to try to help veterans gain self-sufficiency through employment. P3’s believes he cannot succeed in college anymore because of cognitive dissonance as a result overthinking his ideas. He describes difficulties reading a textbook now. He coined a phrase for his dissonance as “wrestling brain syndrome”. He describes his inability to read a page on the textbook, so he has not attempted to go return to community college since BPA227. The goal of taking the class was just to get some education into the cannabis space in Maryland. He also wanted some credits. He wishes he had more time as he would love to continue to coursework at MACC in mechatronics. The department allowed him to use the college’s 3D printing machine if he needed. The faculty and staff would talk to him after class even at night. P3 believes that the government's time and effort to make veterans who they are. He describes veterans as being at the top of their game in the government, education, as leaders in our community.

h. P3 describes the importance of benefits as though he might be broken in some ways he thanks the government for everything that they've done to get him from being in the military and what he could offer in the military and to the VA, health care and the education programs that have been afforded and allowed to him before, during, after his active duty military service. P3 described the importance of the benefit as a need. He needs and needed those benefits. He wouldn't be able to survive, otherwise. He didn't have a retirement pension but is divinely thankful for that he a disability. He has no idea of who he would have become without the military but knows he wouldn't be successful. He describes the benefits as the only thing that's kept him. Having the cashflow available is important. He knows that if he was desperate, he could go back on the GI Bill and going to school, get a check that includes a housing allowance and be able to sustain life. He finally describes the benefits as critical.

d. P4 P4 Profile

a. P4 is United States Marine veteran, married to an active duty United States Army military servicemember with one child. He is male of Caucasian descent. He served as a combat engineer for seven years. He was shot in stomach and in the leg therefore, he was medically retired. He now attends MACC describes his life as terrible.

b. P4 joined the military from the perspective of a 17 year old youth. As a 17 year old he wanted to join, as he describes, for dumb reasons. He wanted to go to war. He was influenced by military themed movies of his generation. He gave no attention to anything beyond his goal of going to war. He just thought it was a good thing to do. He wanted to join the U.S. Army, but his friend joined the Marines and he convinced him to join the Marines instead. He is glad he did because his wife is in the U.S. Army and he can chide her.

c. P4 served from 2006 to 2013. He went to Iraq in 2008 2009 on to Afghanistan in 2011. Afghanistan in 2011 is when he got shot twice and then he was medically retired in 2013. As a combat engineer he dug up bombs hidden in the ground by enemy combatants.

d. P4 went to community college because he was hurt and he was at home, and it was MACC where he attended. He describes as a very good community college, and it is within 10 miles from his house. He did not know what he wanted to do. He still does not know what he wants to do. He describes community college as a really good place to explore different avenues without having to fully commit

e. P4 explored many majors including psychology, sociology, marketing and journalism. He describes his exploration of majors as an opportunity to realize that he hates everything about a subject and then moves on to the next major.

f. P4 has taken 30 to 40 classes in community college. He admitted that he switched around a lot. Although, he never described himself as a school person, continues taking multiple as an exploration and appreciation of a concept.

g. P4’s goal was to find something that would make still being alive worth it. He was doing stand-up comedy for a while and he thought that was would support his goals of living. Stand-up comedy is why he took a lot of courses. He took especially marketing because he believes stand-up comedians are good at being inventive and creative, but believes they are not good at the business side. P4 thought, marketing, would be a good avenue to approach community college. He like that marketing involves a lot of psychology which he really thinks is interesting. He has no real goal. He does not know what he wants to do. He wants to be a Park Ranger, but he cannot pass a drug test. He describes veterans as not being as well overall as a group. He describes veterans as having the one track mind that is a creative mind. He thinks a lot of veterans are creative naturally. He believes what to do with that creative is a harder step. He described community college as a place to support that naturally creative process. He further described, in community college one can just do it all. He believes community colleges allows you to see the path instead of having somebody else find the path for you.

h. P4 uses both Chapter 31, Vocational Rehabilitation and Chapter 33, Post 9/11. He describes his experience with the benefit as awful, specifically when utilizing Chapter 31, further describing the experience as one that he hated. At the time of this study he was using the GI Bill because he hated Chapter 31 requirements. He describes Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI bill as more flexible. He blames part of his frustrations on the continuous turnover of Chapter 31 personnel and speculates that the turnover is based on a bureaucratic system of barriers. He uses the Chapter 33 understanding that it has a limit yet offers more flexibility when changing majors, meeting his needs to explore the community college coursework. He describes vocational rehab, Chapter 31 as placing a veteran with limitations and barriers from the outset of utilizing the benefit. He describes the vocational rehabilitation goal as one that would make him an accountant to work for the government accountability agency. He knows that career was not a good match for him, therefore he found great frustration Ch 31 benefits based on having to consistently explain why accounting was not a good match. He described feel degraded having to explain as to why he wanted to do something else different. He was then categorized as unemployable. which means that his education entitlement increased. He is hopeful that he will find a path that he has decided upon before his Chapter 33 benefits end. P4’s military veteran buddy is in medical school right now. He was in the Marines. He left the Marines, while in medical school because he just hated it. P4 believes that there is so much nonsense and bureaucracy attached to the benefits and personnel turnover that many veterans would rather just go about their way than deal with the system that is in place.

i. P4 acknowledges that without the veteran benefits he would not have been able to pursue his dream. He believes that if it weren’t for those benefits, he never would have dropped out of high school to join the Marines. He never would have gone to college as it was never part of his plan. He was recovering from his combat injuries and decided to follow this dream that he had. He described school exploration as the veterans’ administration notifying him that they would pay him to go to school. He thought since he loves learning about new subjects so, his response to the invitation of community college was absolutely affirmative. He described the education benefits as huge. He appreciates the benefits. He describes the veterans’ administration system as a necessary bureaucracy with historical systemic issues. He admits that without the benefits he would never have been in school. He would never have learned a lot of things that he learned. He further admits that he would not have been able to pursue a passion of his own. Finally, he would be digging ditches somewhere right now, instead of just being the funniest guy in the whole world.

e. P5 P5 Profile

a. P5 0:30 I am a Navy veteran. I spent six years in the Navy P5 is African-American, female married, one child. Her husband is also in the Navy. P5 is a community college student. She is pursuing her human services degree. She would like to become a social worker. She really enjoys life. P5 described herself as very simple.

b. P5 originally signed up for the Air Force but due to administrative error, her chosen specialty was given away to another recruit, so she I transferred all of her enlistment information from Air Force to Navy. She joined in 2013. and there was stationed in Hawaii. She spent all six years in Hawaii. She is thankful for that. She separated from the Navy as an E-5 (military non-commissioned officer rank). She described her experience in the Navy as having some good times and some bad times. She described her experience of being around mostly men, as the Navy is predominantly a male environment, while maintain a military career specialty, (Boatsman’s Mate) traditionally dominated by males. She admits that she I did have difficulties with assumptions that she couldn’t perform the same duties that males could perform. She also portrayed being a female and African American female amongst Caucasian white males as problematic. She described the experience as kind of hard to because she had to work harder for her skill qualifications, and to prove herself. She described having good senior enlisted members that supported her progress, thus she was able to excel at her specialty. She did have an injury, a back injury. After an arduous physical therapy process and multiple medications and procedures, she was medically discharged January of 2019.

c. P5 joined the military because, at that time, she was a manager at chick fil a with good salary. She wanted something more. She didn't want to be labeled as the lady that works at chik-fila for the rest of her life. Based on that reflection, she joined the military and go and see the world along with acquisition of the benefits such as the GI Bill. She described the experience as cool.

d. P5 was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii and described the station as nice with no complaints. She enjoyed beach. culture describing it as amazing. She would love to go back if she could. She joined the Navy out of Norfolk, Virginia.

e. P5 has attended community college a few times over the years. She found it difficult to balance community college attendance and active duty military requirements that cause her to stop attending and look forward to opportunities to start again. Her first two community colleges she described as great but did not complete a credential. At the time of this study, she was actively enrolled in MACC. She described her classes as great are her professors as even better. She did describe a problem with childcare. She was on the waitlist for an extended period of time coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, the college closed the community college based daycare. Prior to that, she was on the waitlist for over nine months and she waited for other kids to be removed. Her only problem was childcare and trying to sure that she makes it her class on time and that her daughter is sick.

f. P5 decided to enroll in community college because when she first arrived to Annapolis from Hawaii she researched different colleges and she just fell in love with the MACC Human Services program. To P5, the description of the program seemed great. When she reached out to someone, one of the advisors at the college, the advisor explained everything that they offered as a college. And as she described, she genuinely fell in love with MACC. She felt like it was exactly what she needed to do to pursue the career that she wanted to pursue. She also liked that there were multiple MACC campuses located around the area because she was indecisive as to whether she wanted to stay in the Annapolis area or wanted to move to another community, also near a MACC campus. She liked that MACC had multiple locations for students to attend. She also described MACC as a place that offers hybrid online courses that can accommodate her outside schedule.

g. P5 started at Mid-Atlantic Community College in the Fall semester of 2019. She was actively attending at the time of this study. She studies human services. She will also be doing addictions counseling as a major. She figured with both, human services and addiction counseling will support expanded career opportunities in hopes of being able to transfer to a university in 2021

h. P5 typically take s four classes each semester. At the time of this, at MACC she has taken 12 classes and starting Fall semester 2020, she is taking three classes to 15.

i. P5’s goal is to finish up her associate degree in the springtime. P5 hoepse from there, she will be able to transfer to Bowie State the following Fall semester. She would like to enter their social work program because she described the program as a really good social work program. She noted that here future university is an Historically Black College/University (HBCU), which is something that she always wanted to attend. In the long term, she would love to be a social worker. As a veteran she feels like it's her niche to work with veterans. She believes that she understands their families and kind of the crisis that they endure. She is also willing to work in other human service spaces such as with children or in geriatrics. She is open to everything because her personal philosophy is centered on the premise of life happens and you go with the flow based on where you are at the moment. Her dream would be to open up her own private practice. She believes that she has been divinely inspired to the level to have work with helping people. Based on her community college internship opportunities coupled with networking with professionals in private practice, she feels confident that is something that she can do in the future. She would like to have her doctorate in social work.

j. P5 used the Chapter 33, Post 911. She described the educational benefit that is based on number semester i.e. full-time v. part-time status offering you a book stipend per semester. She described it as a benefit that offers you money to go to school. She further described the entitlement as a benefit that is based on your geographic location equal to the pay rate of E-5 (enlisted service member pay grade), which is she described as good pay. She described living in Maryland as expensive to live out here. She admits the housing allowance doesn't cover what you need.

k. P5 described the benefit at very important because she didn't have a job. Her transition plan was always to go to school right after her Navy discharge. It was never her plan to get a job. She feels fortunate that her plan is working. It was just always her plan is just to go right into school. P5’s described community college entrance as important for her to be able to receive the free education, benefits, as well as the housing allowance to take care of her family and take care of bills that she has to pay. She described being pleased that there's a housing allowance that you get for attending school full time. She described the housing allowance as an incentive

f. P6 P6 Bio

a. P6. Is a United States Marine Veteran. He is a 43 year male of African-American descent. He is from South Carolina. He is a retired marine. P6: He is married to an active duty U.S. Navy servicemember. They are currently stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They have two sons and are grandparents.

b. P6 joined the military in 1994 out of South Carolina. He went to Paris Island, South Caroline for basic military training and then after that he went to Jacksonville, North Carolina for Marine combat training before going to Indianapolis, Indiana for postal clerk training for his military career specialty, postal clerk. He moved into the fleet (mainstream Marine/Navy service) in 1995. His first duty station was 29 palms, California. After that he was stationed in Japan. He then volunteered for special duty as a Marine security guard. He attended the Marine security training school in Quantico, Virginia. His first duty station was Quito, Ecuador. After he was stationed in Amman, Jordan which was his second duty station after finishing the special tour of duty. He then went to Hawaii. He experienced several combat deployments to Kuwait to Iraq. His last deployment was with Marine Expeditionary Unit where he just floated around and waited for something to happen so that we can respond. He retired in 2014.

c. P6 join the Marines because from a small town in South Carolina where there was not a lot going on. There were not a lot of jobs in the small town. Based on his description, if you wanted to get a good job one would need travel up to an hour to the good job. He saw the military as a way to have a good job, learn a trade, and get to see the world. He attributes his military experience for expanding his global perspective.

d. P6 described his community college experience good. He described his professors as good easy to communicate, although there were different from him. He also felt lucky that he was able to find employment at the college’s student veteran center. He attributes the MACC student veteran center for helping to put a lot of the college systems in perspective so far as studying and managing his time. He describes all of his classes as pretty good. He is glad that I waited until he was in his 40s to go to school, rather than right out of college because he doesn’t think he would have done well or paid attention or focused enough to be successful.

e. P6 decided to enroll because he needed another trade other than the post office. He was tired of that career specialty. He did not want to go work in the post office again after doing it for 20 years in the military feeling it was a mundane career, therefore he wanted some different. He determined it in his mind that he was going to learn about computers. After retirement, his goal continued to defer a year at a time. In a moment he decided to become active in his retirement. Determined to commit to an activity alternative to mundane employment, he wanted to learn another trade in computers. was that, um, I remember a buddy of mine. A veteran buddy told him about his success with Chapter 31, Vocational Rehabilitation. The friend described the program as the Veterans Administration would pay him while he learned a new trade. P6 described his buddy’s Chapter31 outcome as now having a job and living happily ever since. After retirement he did the Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation application. P6 sought the same outcome as his buddy’s. P6 started at MACC in the January of 2016 and he graduated a May 28, 2018 with a degree in computer network management.

f. P6 attended in all school semester, Fall, Spring and Summer as a full-time student for a total of six semesters over a two year period. He took 23 classes with the goal of completing his degree. He also had planned on getting a job but us his spouse received military orders to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His college graduation was the day he and his spouse started their change of station. He never got a chance to seek employment. He did not get an opportunity to test his theory of moving higher in society with his degree. He did declare that his main goal was to graduate. He now has a goal of working on industry specific certifications.

g. P6 used the vocational rehab benefit, Chapter 31. He also had the Chapter 33, Post 9/11 benefit, but the benefit was used by one of his sons. Chapter 31 was his only recourse.

h. P6 described the benefits as very important. He likely would have to had paid a few thousand dollars if not more to obtain his degree. He and his wife have benefits which he describes as pretty good. He appreciated the tuition and a monthly stipend (not BAH). He liked not having to worry about paying bills which made it acceptable to focus on school while helping his family. He found that he could balance life better by having a stipend to ease the pressure of adulting.

g. P7 P7 Profile

a. P7 is United States Navy veteran, age 32, male of Caucasian descent from Dallas, Texas. P7 went to Job Corps where he received his GED and joined the Navy. After the Navy he attended community college. He then went on to four year university and has graduated. He is now a veteran’s career counselor for a state veterans commission.

b. P7 attended Navy training school for aviation specialist. He served in that specialty for three years. He then went to another Navy school to train as a medical specialist. He went to that school and served three more years. He served over 6 years. He trained in Chicago, Illinois

c. He decided to join because he had a child. He had dropped out of high school. He did not have a high school education beyond 10th grade, I believe. Since he had a daughter coming and he was a young parent, he figured that joining the military was his best option. At the point of joining he was homeless living in El Paso. He was described El Paso and Dallas many miles apart. He described being virtually in another state, young, with a family to care for. He saw the military as the best option was where I decided to go the Air Force or the Navy.

d. P7 started his military service in 2017. at Naval Air Station, Florida near Jacksonville, Florida. He returned to Jacksonville, but his new location was the naval hospital after secondary training for hospital medic. He also was stationed in Pensacola, Florida a year.

e. P7 describes his community college experience as interesting. He knew that he needed to get back into school, into learning environment. He was older with military experience. The school was in a different geographical area that he was accustomed. He described the people as different. He had to adjust to community college and acclimate to his surroundings. He had to adjust his speech among other things. He describes community college as good. He was able to experience working in the state house as a legislative inter because of his community college internship. He was an honor student as well. He describes his community college experience as doing pretty good. He involved himself in the political space by serving as intern on the Ways and Means Committee of the state legislature. He describes his internship as a great experience. He describes his overall experience of coming to college as good. He concedes that he had help along his community college journey. He met new people that helped in the military aspect. He also describes that experience as great. He describes his community college experience as a great benefit to himself, but the four year, not so much. He enjoyed his community college experience. He was older coming from the military. He described his experiences at the community college as a contrast to his prior space, including the way military veterans address situations versus community college members. He described a veteran’s mannerisms as different from that of a community college student’s mannerisms. He described how military veterans interact with each other he found was different. He described attempts to fit in with the 18 year old community college student that were coming out of high school or someone that may be in there 18 to 20 year old range as difficult. He described that veterans don't have the same vernacular as other community college students. He described the difference in the way veterans act, move, and maneuver. P7 also described his perception the contrasting thought processes between a student veteran and 18 year old community college student.

f. P7 enrolled in community college to educate himself. He also felt that a degree would support his forward advancement in society. He also supposed that it was a source of pride for him. Remembering he was a dropout from high school. Him being educated was something that he wanted to fulfill likened to an internal goal He always described his desire to increase his earning potential. He also decided to enroll in community college to increase my earning potential and to avoid any barrier that he could encounter in the future based on lack of education. Citing that he did not have education, enrolling in community college was a big factor for him and to be an example to his daughter. He wanted her to actually see someone go through the process of college and do it so that she has an example.

g. P7 attended community college after he got out of the military in 2013. He started in 2013 and continued through 2016 . He attended a community college other than Mid-Atlantic, he took a year off then he enrolled at MACC in Maryland. MACC is where he received his legislative internship at the state house. One of the community college programs in which he participated, brokered the internship opportunity. He took that opportunity to learn about government and to raise his awareness of the political space.

h. P7 received a degree in Transfer Studies so he could enroll at a university which was his community college goal. He usually took five or six courses per semester as a normal schedule. He took course in all semesters completing 60 credits upon transfer.

i. P7’s short term goal was to gain enough credits to be able to transfer. He also wanted an acceptable grade point average to gain admission into a respectable or decent college. His long term goal was to have the grades that could get him where I needed to be in life. P7’s ultimate education goal was to get the bachelor's degree with the end goal to become a judge. He hopes that one day that his end goal is still possible. He is considering pursuing his master’s degree in political science with the end goal to gain a juris doctorate.

j. P7 used my Chapter 33 Post/911 benefit. He also used federal financial aid, which is not a Veterans benefit but is for general for students.

k. P7 believes that he would not have been able to get to college without the benefits. That is one of the reasons why he went to the military. He needed the benefits to obtain what he needed to attain.

h. P8 P8 Profile

a. P8 is a United States Marine Corps veteran, age 26, of African America descent from Maryland.

b. P8 described his military experience as a good experience. He got to meet a lot of good people from the Marine Corps that he is still friends with today. He describes those friendships as always great. P8 describes his military experience as a typical Marine Corps experience. He got to go to Afghanistan. He admits a good majority of the people in the Marine Corps, especially get to got to war. Outside of going to Afghanistan, he described the military as a good experience. He described Afghanistan as a place that one should not want to go, perhaps gaining that revelation after arrival.

c. P8 joined the Marine Corps because he did not really know what he wanted to do after high school. He knew he did not want to go to college immediately. He did not really like school. He still doesn't like school. To P8, the Marine Corps seemed like the best option. He reflected that is was a good way for him to see and explore and be on his own and be independent and then figure out, ultimately what his ultimate plan was to do. He used his joining the military to take advantage of the opportunity that they gave him to do that figure out his plan. P8 served in San Diego and in Afghanistan. His military specialty was he was Armored Tank Crewman.

d. P8 describes his community college experience as pretty good. He described his professors as all pretty good teachers, especially his first time around. When he when he first attended to community college, he had an English teacher, he described as really, really cool. She really helped him out a lot in understanding community college and how all of the college processes work. The dedicated faculty member made it an easy transition for him and gave him a good way to better understand community college expectations of him including how to produce good work and other college level building blocks. And he thinks that he ultimately needed to excel it so had a really good experience, especially having the supportive faculty member present in first experience. He also likened community college to high school with more work.

e. P8 enrolled because he felt that now that he understood what direction he wanted his life to go, he committed himself to make his life to go in that chosen direction. He described community college as the appropriate first step to moving one’s life in your chosen direction. He described himself as having been brave enough to enroll yet so far removed from the school system for such a long period of time in a traditional perspective, he chose community college to make sure that when he transferred to a four year institution that he was fully prepared to do so. While attending community college he got education and it also prepared him for to be able to complete the last two years toward his baccalaureate at a 4 year institution. At the time of this study, P8 is currently enrolled in his 3rd year at a 4 year university towards bachelor’s degree

f. P8 attended Mid-Atlantic CC in 2017 in order to improve his grade point average to improve his transfer opportunities. He started winter semester because. He studied computer Science and video game development at Mid-Atlantic CC.

g. P8 was full time. He describes staying full time as important, just for benefit purposes because if you're under full time, then the amount of benefits that you get compensated is lower with the GI Bill.

h. P8’s short term goal is to graduate from the 4 year university. His long term goals include completing industry certifications soon. Once he completes his 4 year degree and industry certifications, he hopes to move departments at his current employer. He hopes to move to the engineering department or the quality assurance department next year. He believes industry certifications can be just as good as having a degree in a subject based on the multiple courses one must take to obtain the industry certification. His goal is to continuously improve his chances of obtaining gainful employment with his current employer and an outside employer if required. He finally reflects, the education helps his resume look better overall.

i. P8 used the Post 9/11 GI Bill. He expressed appreciation for the housing allowance that accompanies the Post 9/11 GI Bill. P8 described the benefit as extremely important. He described the benefit as one of the biggest incentives that the military has to offer to support military recruitment. He believes that without his benefits, he doesn't know how stifled his success would have been. moment, veteran benefits are valuable to him and to know that you have them just as important.

i. P9 Profile

a. P9 is a United States Coast Guard veteran, age 58 of multiracial descent. She was a Legal Officer. She did legal work and project management type work in the Coast Guard.

b. She didn’t have a specific reason as t why she joined the military. Her dad served 20 years in the Navy. Her brother served 20 years and Air Force. Her other brother joined the US Army and her other brother joined the Marines. She describes joining the military as completing the circle. Her family represents all of the military branches.

c. P9 wanted to join the Air Force, but did not meet the age requirement, therefore she joined the Coast Guard. She liked the blue uniform and she liked the fact that their missions being mostly coastal and US oriented versus having to go to Iraq or another combat zone. Her primary military duty was legal work. She helped people with their legal issues, whether it was wills or assisting with divorce procedures. During her service she was part of a campaign that raised $700,000 over three months for charity. The majority of her military career was Washington, DC with some time in San Diego, California and North Chicago, Illinois.

d. P9 decided to enroll because she wanted to have something to do. She thought that taking more classes would help keep her brain sharp. Should also hope that community college would give her an opportunity to get out of the house and meet some more people.

e. P9 is enrolled for the Fall semester 2020 and has attended MACC since 2018.: Most of the classes were on campus but she also took some online classes at MACC. She has taken different types of classes and admits that she kept changing her major. She is enrolled in art classes. She is taking drawing and painting in color. She also took some classes in business communication and plans to take courses in event planning and hospitality.

f. P9 takes three to four classes each semester. She admits that she doesn’t have a goal beyond taking classes. She had considered taking courses to be a military advocate. MACC has a counseling major, but she has decided not to do that as it may become overwhelming.

g. P9 used her GI bill to pay for her tuition and for the housing allowance. She was using the Chapter 30 Montgomery GI bill and then she converted it to the Chapter 33, Post 9/11.

j. P10 Profile

a. P10 is a United States Navy Veteran, age 43, male, African-American descent. P10 is from North Carolina, USA. Although P10 was in the Navy, he reenlisted is now in the Army Reserve. He attends Mid-Atlantic Community College.

b. P10 was a Navy Petty Officer (Enlisted Rank) from 1996 to 2010. He rejoined the service in 2011 in the Army Reserve. From there he separated again from the military. He was also a merchant marine for five years and then I rejoined The reserves in 2017.

c. P10 served in Norfolk, Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; and sailed overseas. He served on a ship that allowed him to travel to ports including, Abu Dhabi, Greece, Spain, Egypt, Israel and one more named ABC also known as Allen's Aruba Carousel, Bermuda, and finally, Puerto Rico.

d. P10 decided to enroll as opposed to seeking employment as his preference was to attend school to work or go to school. His preference was to attend school which was more of a value to self from his perspective. P10 described community college as an opportunity to work with his mind, instead of his hands. He likened to that of a managerial position versus working a position where you constantly use your hands or your body to work because he has done that many times in the military and had enough.

e. P10 started at Mid-Atlantic Community College in 2017. He attended all three campuses of MACC. P10 initially studied forensic studies then changed his major to public health. He expressed gratitude for the community college military counselor for advice on the change of major. He had also planned to study dentistry. He later made the decision to study public health, which he described as a good fit. He wanted to be in the medical field, and the public health major supported said goal.

f. P10 has taken like 20 classes at the time of this study, over 70 credits. P10’s short term goal is to accomplish his associate degree which is one class away. P10’s long term goal is to obtain his doctorate in public health. He describes his doctoral goal as realistic short-term goal with long-term benefits. P10’s goal is to find a university that is suitable that will cater to his career goals in the field of public health. He also plans to pursue a degree outside the field of public health. He believes pursuing a degree outside of public health will help him, although public health his ultimate goal. His goal is to be a well-rounded person and marketable in the event that a public health job is not available upon his graduation, he is hopeful that he can get a job doing the other job specific to his other non-public health degree.

g. P10 used the Post 9/11 GI Bill which gave him enough to go to school and a housing allowance which made it suitable for him to go to school and not have to worry about employment. P10 described the benefit as very important because if a veteran does not have those benefits in place, you're not able to go to school full time and concentrate because of working a job. P10 describes working and going to school as difficult. He believes that in many cases work hinders a veteran’s ability to go to school. When he first started community college, he was working and going to school and it he described being exhausted. He worked from 12 at night to like six in the morning and then went home, prepared for school, and then went to school. He was I was tired in the class. He describes having lack of concentration and believes therefore he did not receive the full benefit of the course. Because of using the benefit while attending school and not working, he believes the difference now is being more focused an able to learn material and focus on material and he is able to excel.

k. P11 Profile

a. P11 is a United States Air Force veteran, age 48 of Caucasian descent, married, born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. P11 attended Louisiana State University and then transferred to Louisiana Tech. She entered the Air Force as an officer served about four years until she had all the sexual harassment that she cared to tolerate. P11 specialized in actuarial science worked as a military specialty. P11 lived in Nebraska then moved to Louisiana for a few years and then moved to Maryland in 1999. She returned to university to complete her doctorate in math education. P11 has been teaching at community colleges full time since about 2003 except for the time out during her doctorate.

b. P11: I was stationed at I was stationed at Kiesler AFB, MS twice. Initially for training that lasted three months. She then I went to her permanent duty station at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska . Her training included nine months for communications electronics school. She describes her duty station a underground facility. Her duties included working with ARPANET, a precursor to the internet. She also had duties in finance and procurement for Strategic Air Command. Which is now Strat Com, Strategic Air Command.

c. P11 decided to join the military because her family life was competitive. I like rules and and I liked math. She has most of her degrees in because math has rules and that is what she liked about the Air Force. She was in Civil Air Patrol when she was in high school. She joined Air Force ROTC through college. She was attracted to fact that Air Force ROTC had rules and regulations for everybody follow. The rules and regulations are what appealed to her with on joining the military. She was always interested in flying. She took private pilot lessons when she was a teenager. She admits that she never did get her pilots license because someone else was paying for the lessons. She felt the cost was too high to allow her donor to pay for private lessons, so she didn't continue.

d. P11 started her military service immediately after college graduation in May, 1984. She served through 1988. Part of her duty station included Kiesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, for the trainings and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska for her permanent duty station. She was stationed at Strategic Air Command (SAC) headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska in three different offices. The first office she described as the underground likened to a bank vault. She would go to work in the dark, and she would come out in the dark during the winter in Nebraska. She described it as interesting as she is a South Louisiana girl who had not experience such. P11 expressed appreciation for having military rules and regulations in one location to learned because you want to learn. She is proud of that she supported her subordinate personnel to success. She is remains in contact with fellow servicemembers.

e. 3. Please tell me about your community college experience. P11: became involved in community college based on the advice of her husband. She applied to teach math Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska. They were looking for an adjunct math instructor. She didn't know what adjunct meant so she pulled out her dictionary and looked it up. She was hired and surprised that she thoroughly enjoyed teaching courses. She created a teaching style based on her experiences with her professors from her college experience. She taught for a few years there and a couple other colleges in the area. She has been a teacher since. She like the community college mission. She likes the open admission policy. She describes the community college as place where people can: Make changes to their life, come back from whatever they decided, to go do. Her example was likened to when women decide to start their families and then come back to school. She likes that people feel like they have holes in their knowledge can come back and just take a class here or there.: She likes the variety of students get in the classes. She is inspired when she walks into a classroom and sees older students. She describes the experience as thrilling.

f. P11 enrolled to take a course in emerging entrepreneurship opportunities in Maryland medical cannabis in 2019, a new industry. She plans to retire from the college soon. She also plans to have an active retirement. It's is the only credit course she has taken at community college although she has taken several other noncredit courses through the community college as well.

g. P11 studied life coaching, yoga, building your coaching business, and art classes to help her purge technical parts of her thinking. She described her Drawing course as a lot of fun. She has also taken cooking courses and describes those courses as fun

h. P11 took 12 courses credit/non-credit courses outside of her community college professional development course. She is starting sign language in the next semester.

i. P11 has a PhD. She does not want another degree. She plans to pursue more certifications and I present and participate in workshops. P11 is working on a health coach certification because the coaching course she took at the community college opened area of knowledge in coaching for her what she believes could be a future career field. She is interested in coaching with a health focus inclusive of nutrition. She is taking a course self-paid outside of the community college. The community college offered the course but canceled based on low-enrollment which she described as disappointing.

j. P11 When she was in active duty military service, she did use Chapter 30 educational entitlement from 1989. She describes it as a much different benefit than the Post 9/11 GI Bill. She did use some of those benefits to take some graduate level courses before she officially started in her master's program When she separated from the military, she did take a class through the Metropolitan Community College with the basics for Visual Basic programming.

k. P11 concedes that the benefits are not too important to her because she was financially was able to handle her education. She does not want to see those benefits go away. As far as benefits she wasn't very much aware of what benefits existed for her upon separation from the military. She described herself as naive enough or not inquisitive enough and expected she would be told if she needed to know. During her military she didn't have the internet to explore benefits.

l. P11 believes that just because the veteran benefit didn't benefit her or she didn't use them as much, she doesn’t want to see the benefits go away where the government inappropriately describes the benefit as wasteful based on lack of use. She doesn't want to see the benefit go away for other military veterans. She believes that is one of the benefits of going joining the military, but because of what you could do such as go to a war zone. She also described the value of servicemember who actively serve in country. She described different military specialties here in the States where you could get killed with practice flight, as she reflected on a recent military flight accident in San Diego, CA.

l. P12 Profile

a. P12 is a United States Navy veteran, age 32, female of African-American descent. She is a full time student at the University of Maryland. She currently works for the US Department of Defense. She is from Los Angeles, California.

b. She served four years in the Navy and went on a 10 month combat deployment. Her military specialty included surface to surface warfare, firefighter, and logistics specialist on a destroyer Navy ship. She advanced to E-5 (enlisted military rank) within three years and separated from the Navy in 2016 to pursue a college degree in public health.

c. P12 was going to join the Air Force, a couple of years prior to joining the Navy because wanted to be in a military branch where she would not be in dirt. That is what she cared about, not being in the dirt. While on the Air Force’s delayed entry program she decided not to join the Air Force after rethinking what she described as a hasty decision. She took to review the other military branches to see what they offered. She described her visit to the Army as skeptical based on their high promises of generosity. She visited the Marine Corps recruiter because her dad was a Marine. She thought the Marines she would learn how to for real fight. She reflected on a pivotal moment that happened while she contemplated joining the Navy that she describes as the moment that sold her on joining the Navy. She was robbed on a city bus. She didn’t have a car at the time and used public transportation to travel. She was robbed and lived in Inglewood, and a guy came up to her, snatched her phone and left her in disbelief that a person would like burst her personal bubble and the robber ran out the back of the bus. P12 reflected on her interpretation of the robber’s terrified her to accelerating her entry into the United States Navy. She knew in the Navy that there was no dirt involved, she could see the world, she was looking to restart. She was 25 when she joined. She wanted a solid foundation. She wanted to rebuild her finances and thought why not serve your country for while.

d. P12 joined the US Navy 2012. She was stationed in San Diego. She spent all four years on the ship as logistics specialist. She had one combat deployment that was two months long in the Persian Gulf. She made it through, as she described, what was quite the experience and made it back safely realizing that 10 months on small ship wasn't for her. She doesn't want to do that again. She separated with an honorable discharge and went right to community college in Spring 2017 after leaving the military in the previous summer. She also traveled to Hawaii, Singapore, Thailand, Abu Dhabi, UAE Dubai, UAE Oman, Bahrain, Indonesia, Hawaii. She described it as a good time. She describes her favorite destination as UAE, because she had never been there. She had never been to any of these other destinations outside of Hawaii. She had only seen the destinations on television and movies about Saudi Arabia and how grand, everything is and clean. She described the daily call to prayer in the UAE heard throughout the UAE community and the beauty of the UAE architecture.

e. P12 started community college in Santa Monica, California at Santa Monica Community College. She admitted that she was very ill prepared. She had heard about applying for financial aid, but she did not follow through applying for financial aid. Not really. I kind of just went to school. She didn't have her books. She attended her English class three weeks before purchasing her English textbook. She described the experience as a hot mess. She admitted she wasn't well prepared. She believes her grades suffered because of that poor start. She did a winter session of Japanese which she described as a terrible idea. She didn't have a lot of guidance, either. She didn't sit down with anyone to discuss college and she didn't know that was an option. She thought since she had graduated high school that the natural process would be to start college. She arrived at the community college with no guidance on choosing courses. She took the placement exam and started. She believes that it really helps to have somebody who's attended community college to give you the guidance or a trusted faculty member or whatever role they serve as advisor. She believes you need to get guidance to be successful in community college. She traveled to community college using public bus which she described as terrible. She decided to work full time. In 2008 she went back to college to take a Spanish class. She wanted to step back into community college slowly to get the rhythm going to community college, including turning in assignments, scheduling, and a return to being structured. She thought she would try one class and then move on from there. She described her Spanish course as successful and fun. She described being back in class as a nice experience in Fall 2007. She was laid off from her job because of the 2008 recession. She was only able to complete that semester. She wasn't able to continue forward with courses in spring 2008 as it was an economic recession. She was out of work and couldn't afford to do a Spring semester. After separating from the Navy in 2016 she returned to community college for the third time at Mid-Atlantic Community College in Maryland. She arrived at MACC and she was ready to get started. She had her paperwork. She was excited. She had done her research and was able to get under way. Her husband recommended community college believing that she might encounter a slower pace at the community college versus a 4 year institution. She agreed with her husband. She was able to get a lot of information via email concerning what she needed to do as a student veteran attending with the GI Bill from the community college’s VA Certifying Official who gave her the layout of the process. She went to MACC. She had her GI Bill certification sheet ready to start for the semester. She believes that the starting processing was very streamlined for her because of the research other the steps that she had taken in preparation of her arrival to MACC. She did meet with a general academic advisor.

f. P12 decided to enroll because she was ready to continue and follow through with her degree. She described knowing how important the degree is when it comes to socioeconomics and that is something she wanted since she was in high school. She now attends her dream university. She planned for Mid-Atlantic Community College to help me her transfer to the university because of transfer articulation agreement with the university that allowed a, as she described, seamless transfer. She described the decision to enroll as a no brainer. She enjoyed the customer service and the resources that were available to her which eased the potential frustrations of the process. She became reacclimated to the classroom and she was able to successfully manage working part time managing her schedule well by working part time and going to school full time. She was able to build a skill set of being able to better manage her time.

g. b. Where and when did you attend? 12 0:27:49.890-00:27:58.440 P12Yes. So I started at Santa Monica Community College. Then I went on to Cerritos community college where I studied I took one class Spanish and then years later spring 17 I enrolled into Toronto Community College. So to quote to community colleges in California and: Three dose or SMC Community College was 2005 to 2006 took a break went worked full time then went back to school to Cerritos Community College in fall 2008: Unfortunate. I was laid off and couldn't continue with school due to the recession joined the Navy served my time separated from the Navy and fall 2016 and moved to Maryland and then registered and enrolled in at Mid-Atlantic Community College Spring 2017.

h. P12 majored in Public Health but not immediately. Radiology was her first major. She looked into it and she knew she wanted to be in healthcare and thought radiology seemed like a good idea as it sounded like a good idea. To P12 , the radiology major complete didn't seem like it would take too long which she described as appealing. She later sat down with an advisor, a military veteran advisor and had more of a conversation and he challenged her to academic decisions. He asked her if she was sure that radiology was the major you truly wanted to do. She admits that she had never been asked why she made the decisions that she made. The military veteran advisor wanted to ensure that her decision was a thoughtfully made decision.

i. P12 took 30 classes. She wanted to ensure that She took classes that we're going to satisfy the credits for the associate. She didn't want to take any courses that did not support her transfer goal. She took 17 credits. There was another semester she took 20 credits , something she doesn’t recommend. She wanted to finish quickly because of her limit of 36 months of benefits. She was trying to manage the timeframes and get the most out of her benefits. Her goal was to get to the degree with as little time as possible, quickly, and efficiently.

j. P12 used the Post 9/11 GI Bill. P12 described the benefit as extremely. It was 85% of the reason why she joined the Navy. She knew that education is a meal ticket in the United States. She knows that she needs education. She believes that she has to have a degree if you she is to secure a respectable job or if you really want to be taken seriously in this day and time. Referencing the time of this study, the COVID-19 pandemic era, she describes a college degree as barely having the ability to support minimum wage job acquisition although you have gone through the college process and you have demonstrated persistence. She described having displayed the ability to communicate effectively that one can manage time. She described the demonstrable ability to work in a diverse team and all that good attributes demonstrated through one’s college experience, however, she perceived the outcome to value at $15 an hour. The benefit allowed her to rebuild beyond the scope of $15 an hour.

m. P13

a. P13 is a United States Air Force veteran, age 38 year old female of Caucasian descent. P13 is originally of Pennsylvania. She come from a two parent home with one older sibling who is male and is two years older than she. P13 came from a homeschool background. She was in a formal high school for three years before she joined the Air Force. She went to the Air Force directly out of high school. After the Air Force, she went right into being a mother to her 17 year old daughter. P13 identifies as asexual, which means that she was assigned female at birth, identifies as female, and that she is part of the LGBT community, and that she is asexual.

b. P13 joined the military in December after her high school graduation. She attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. She helped several other people graduate from basic training as well . Some the recruits had challenges completing the training timelines, so she ran the exercises with those recruits to help them meet their times, and especially those who needed the times graduate. She didn't stay longer in basic training, but she redid some of the tests, a couple of times to help some other people.

c. P13 joined the Air Force because I wanted to serve her country. She wanted to help her country. She wanted to get out of Pennsylvania, and she wanted to travel and the Air Force, in her thinking, could meet those goals. She likened it to being a veteran in a lot of ways. She believes that she was able to do a lot of things that she would not have been able to do if she had chosen a different path.

d. P13 progressed to Fort Huachuca in Arizona. She went to Arizona for a joint service tech school. From Fort Huachuca she went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, another joint service tech school. From there she progressed to her first permanent duty station, which was an Air Force Base in South Korea serving for one year. From Korea she went to an Air Force Base in the United Kingdom. There she developed severe medical conditions after she gave birth to her daughter. She was discharged on a hardship separation (special discharge type)

e. 3. Please tell me about your community college experience. P13 described that she got her first factually based information she had ever gotten from the military was from veterans at the community college. Many of the community college veterans felt that she had been misinformed. She described meeting other veterans at the community college who too has received misinformation during their separation from active duty military service that was detrimental to their successful transition from the military.

f. P13 decided to enroll in 2017 because her daughter starting to get old enough that she was looking into college for her daughter’s college future. P13 knew that her GI Bill was still in place as a benefit, as she had contributed to the benefit during basic training. She had heard about how congress had expanded the GI Bill to new the Post 9/11 GI Bill. She had been told by some veterans that transferred their GI bill to their kids. She still didn't know what she wanted to do, so she figured she would pass it on to her daughter as she saw no point in wasting the benefit. She then found that GI Bill transfer option must be exercised before exiting military service. She thought what she would do now over 13 years later. She then you found out that there is a delimitating date to mean that her benefit had an expiration date. She had two years remaining to utilize her GI Bill. The revelation of two years worked for her because community college is two years. P13 described it as luck that can pull failure from the jaws of victory. That is how she how she started her college career at Mid-Atlantic Community College in the Fall semester 2017.

g. P13 studied I two majors. She graduated with a: Transfer Studies degree and a fine arts degree. She graduated twice because of the school regulations. She graduated in Fall of 2018 and then in Spring of 2020. She received two emails saying that she has graduated from Mid-Atlantic Community College and I've got two degrees and two separate degrees but no graduation because of this study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic era.

h. P13 enrolled full time which was 12 semester hours. She was full time for the first two semesters, but her disabilities are stress based and by the time she started her third semester she was starting to hit some heavier duty classes and I couldn't attend full time anymore. She returned to community college attending three quarters time which was nine semester hours. She did attend couple of Summer classes to try to get extra credits to make up for her part time attendance during the normal semesters. She finished, but does admit she had change pace on occasion, but she always managed to pull it back up enough to graduate on time. She graduated with 56 semester hours.

i. P13’s short term goal was to use her benefit because when she started her research, she was trying to find a way to make ends meet at home. When she was told that she could get paid to go to school, it was an incentive. Because of her disabilities, since separating from the military, having a job and trying to hold a job has been very difficult for her. Going to school while getting paid, while it's been difficult has been sustainable for her and her family. Community college sounded like something she could achieve. Noting she still had a two year timeframe before the benefit end date, although at the time of this study the GI Bill has been expanded to remove GI Bill end dates for certain veterans. She thought she might as well give community college her best effort. P13 decided that she would just try to continue to attend school and as long as she could afford to keep going to school. That's what she determined in her mind to accomplish. When P3 started community college she was only trying to make ends meet. In her second semester she knew what she wanted to achieve. She wasn't just doing it to try to pay her bills anymore. She wanted to get her degree. She wanted to feel like she had actually achieved something. P13 wanted her Transfer Studies degree most because while she still wasn't sure what she wanted; she knew that she wanted her four year degree. She knew that she wanted to have a four year degree so that she could feel like she had a chance at getting a real job. Community college had opportunities that she didn't have open to her when she started process. She likened it to the opportunities that she thought the Air Force had promised were finally be available to her. By starting MACC, she felt she was finally getting her opportunity at what everything she had been promised by signing on the dotted line meaning the contract for military service. She felt like he was finally getting a chance to recoup all of the benefits that she thought were lost. She was able to get the “why” she signed up for the Air Force by attending community college.

j. P13 used chapter 33 which is the post 911 GI Bill, she used Chapter 33 as much as she was allowed. She ended up having 21 months of entitlement left on the benefit at the time of delimiting date. She believed she used 9-10 months. but was not sure, but knows that she had 21 months left. She is using Chapter 31 vocational rehab to go for her four year degree and potentially her master's degree.

k. P13 found it difficult to describe how badly I needed the benefits. She described the benefit as more than just monetary. The benefits gave me her a feeling of purpose of being able to be more than her disabilities. She described the euphoria of regaining the ability to pursue a goal in her life again. She described the feeling of positive well-being, more than how she felt at her separation from the military. When she separated from the military, she felt like she was, as she described, at the bottom of the barrel understood to mean a low point in her life. She believes that there are a lot of people that separate from military that feel that way because they have been through combat or they have been through terrible things. She has seen terrible things. She believes that there are some people that enter the military, having already seen, bad things. She admits that she was one of those people. She thought the military was her ticket for a new life. She believes the military took away her opportunity get her mental health together and believes it affected her for the next 20 years, thus she describes having the education benefits is education benefits are huge. The benefits led her to the people who would point her in the right direction to getting the help that she needed to connect her with veteran resource networks that helped her start putting her life back together 20 years.

n. P14 Profile

a. P14 is a United States Army Veteran, age 30, Caucasian descent. P14 served nine months in Afghanistan in 2013 as a Cavalry scout combat arms. P14 admits that he came back with a few more challenges than he left with. At the time of this study, he was enrolled in his first university and his fourth college total.

b. P14 joined for the military for couple of different reasons. One, where he lived didn't have great employment opportunities. He joined the reserves before he went to active duty because he wasn't, as he described, prepared to commit fully to the military. Once he was in the military he felt that it was more appropriate for him to commit fully as opposed to having the opportunity pass and run away. P14 wasn't in the best family and home situation and a lot of his decision matrix was to try to get away from it. He went into the reserves because he wasn't prepared for what active duty could mean. He had an idea from talking to people that had served as active duty servicemember and his recruiters. He also had different perspectives from different branches what it meant to be on active duty and what it meant to not to do it as an everyday job versus just doing military service one weekend a month or and two weeks in a year in the summer, which is the minimal military reserve servicemember requirement. He admits that he did not take full-time military service seriously and therefore considered the reserves as the good, safe military service route. He described the military reserves as the training wheels route. He knew he didn't have to fully commit to every day of training non-stop like active duty servicemembers. I described the military reserves as sitting around a lot. He figured that was a reasonable goal for a couple days a month and couple of weeks a year. He believed that joining the reserves was a good way to explore military service before he chose it as a full-time career choice.

c. P14 served in the US Army Reserves from 2008 to 2010. He went to active duty in 2010: He was stationed at Fort Drum, New York in a combat brigade a cavalry scout. During his reserve service he held the military specialty of chemical, biological, radiological nuclear operations specialist . He did make it most of the way through training for to become a combat medic, but he didn't get certified in the specialty. Upon his change to full time active duty service he changed his specialty and was stationed at Fort Drum with orders for three years. After two years at Fort Drum before he deployed to Afghanistan. He served in the Paktika Province. The mission was to close things down. He was deployed in a year and a half window where people weren't doing 12 month deployments. They were only doing nine month deployments. He described it as fortunate to deploy for 9 months from January 2013 to October 2013. While deployed he reenlisted. He then went on to Fort Eustis where he spent six months training to become a helicopter mechanic. He got hurt training. At the same time was having marital problems with his ex-spouse. He separated from the military December of 2015. P14 trained for three different military career specialties and attended five military trainings schools.

d. P14 has attend three community colleges. The first, Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York which was his first experience in college . He described the experience as not bad and that he did well in his first semester. He attended within a year of separating from the military. He had worked for a short period and decided that school would better and from on that point based his decisions on what he knew at the time. He described community college staff as very helpful to him. They helped him in preparing and getting a good grasp and understanding on what it meant to start a community college start in the capacity of non-traditional student: They also oriented him to being veteran at community college. He described being surrounded by other students that were not similar in experience or age. He describes his experience at Onondaga Community College as having given him the first kind of experience of having that sense of community since his military separation. He admits that he ran into some different issues. In his second semester he attended for all of a week and then dropped in and withdrew from everything. He had experienced some mental health issues that he had to address. He also described having had some physical health issues. P14 had some home issues with his ex-spouse concerning their children. He withdrew from school shortly after the domestic problems arose. Shortly after withdrawing from school, he moved to Maryland. He started MACC in the Fall semester 2017. He describes receiving a ton of support, as he described, much more than he had experienced at the community college in New York. He described his appreciation for MACC’s the Military Veteran Resource Center understanding this is was a new center at MACC. He described the bunker room in the center as space in the center designed for veteran to de-escalate. He described the bunker as awesome space for him at that time. He got a better sense of community at MACC as there were more veterans and active-duty servicemembers at MACC. He felt that the personnel that he worked with both on a peer level and also on the college administration side was far superior to his previous experience. At his community college in New York worked a Marine dependent as the military counselor and person directed the veteran’s program there. At MACC, it helped him to work with a veteran specifically. Veteran peer-to-peer counseling was something that Onondaga County College didn't have and that service helped him considerably with having someone at any given time to ask about why he was failing a course, why losing something like a benefit, or just needed to the talk . The veteran counselor and peer counselor can get things out of his head. He described the educational aspect of Onondaga Community College as a strongly encouraging environment that pushed him to do his absolute best and be the best that he I could he be. He had a couple of professors that he believed could care less. He described the educational aspect of his experience at MACC in Maryland as the same as New York community college. At MACC there were some really good professors that were really dedicated to helping students understand the classes they were in. He also described faculty members that were at the college to fill time or retire. He described the perception of an instructor have had experience in education or the subject mattery, they retired, so they decide to teach a couple of classes a semester supporting his beliefs that some instructors motivations are misplaced. He described the community college instructors as always knowledgeable about their subjects but weren't always the best instructors. He believed that although some community college professors were knowledgeable, they were not the best in sharing information in an academic setting. He described instructor’s open disagreement with college approved curriculum and therefore would disengage from the college’s department guidelines without valid points to justify their dissent from the colleges adopted curriculum. He describes the level of instruction in this instance as leaving the student to attempt to piece it all together from what they gave him had no real structure. He then moved on to Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. His major was business administration at MACC and at Toronto community college. At Cincinnati State he changed his major to sustainable horticulture major. He admits that he walked away from a lot of business classes that he could have transferred and used towards a degree. He had to start over and learn more subjects including biology and organic science education. He describes his 4 year university experience as an unfortunate choice to study science. He made light of subject describing that, because he went to a community college that was more of a technical school than it was a community college and the degree plan was science heavy. He describes his overall experience as good.

e. P14 enrolled because being a veteran, he could use time in community college more for the BAH more than the educational benefit. The BAH helped to cover all the expenses that he had. He also started the divorce process at in the same timeframe including custody and support issues with his children. P14 had been evicted from a house and he was living with a family member. He had as he described, a lot of exterior things that he couldn't separate and focus on his education. He admits that he didn't have the confidence to apply for a better school than at a community college. He believed that there was a much better chance to be accepted and start at the community college when he wanted to than possibly having to negotiate university processes or experience the feeling of undeserving of a university. He works with a therapist regularly on his individual self-worth, and self-esteem. He described that he had a lot of things in his past that he let step in front of his future. He never considered a university because he received his GED at age 17 and failed the exam on the first take. He joined the military immediately after. He didn't think that he was worthy of better caliber school than a community college.

f. P14 admits that he did not sit through fruition for all of his classes that he enrolled. He took 10 classes at Mid-Atlantic Community College. He took nine at Toronto Community College. He took 14 at Cincinnati State for a total of 33.

g. At the time of this study P14 was enrolled in a four year institution, Xavier University in farming community program which is geared towards sustainable agriculture. His educational goals are to continue to pursue the bachelor’s degree. His ultimate goal is to get a masters in botany and sustainability. He also pondered pursuing his doctorate to help better his career goals. P14 wants to do nonprofit work helping underdeveloped countries become self-sustaining and practice good sustainable agriculture, so that way they don't have to depend so intensely on importing goods they can become developed. He wants to help underdeveloped countries develop agricultural infrastructure that is sustainable for the earth. That was his long term goal. In the short term, he wants to get his degree. He wants to continue with his education. His final ultimate goal is to do everything he can in his power to help the earth sustain and make it a good place and a sustainable place for generations to come to be able to maintain an inhabitable planet.

h. P14 used his Montgomery GI Bill, Chapter. Upon attending MACC he converted his Montgomery GI Bill to the Post 9/11, Chapter 33 GI Bill. He described the benefit as extremely important as speculated that he would not have gone to college if he didn’t have the benefits.

o. P15 Profile

a. P15 a United States Marine veteran, male, age 27, African-American descent. He is originally from the East Coast. He moved to California to go to school to pursue a career and pursue the major of product design, which he likened to being a professional inventor/innovator. P15 does a lot of activities outside of community college including entrepreneurial and artistic activities. He tries to incorporate the entrepreneurial spirit into his art as well as his art into his entrepreneurial spirit and ambition.

b. P15 was aviation engine mechanic in the Marines. However, he was experienced some physical disabilities that required adjustments in his job duties that required skill sets across three military specialties to help alleviate his physical disabilities. He was an aviation engine mechanic and expediting technician as well as a tool representative. He was medically retired from the military due to his physical disabilities. He did travel overseas to Japan during his military service. He also traveled to Hawaii and has been to a few numerous states working many hours. He described 12, 13, 14 hour days, especially on a combat deployment or a special duty team that included 14 hour days, seven days a week. He describes the “we” had a duty and a mission to make sure that we succeeded and do what we had to do. He described his military duties as very crucial and a key part of the squadron to keep aircraft fully functional. He described the squadron as the accumulation of all the Marines or military members attached in one unit. From the most senior ranking to the most junior ranking individual with everyone included

c. P15 joined the military for a few reasons. There was the, the brotherhood of the greater cause. He described having the sense of belonging. He could have theoretically joined another branch of the military. He described a notion that other branches are a lot easier than the Marines and he wanted to choose the Marines specifically because to him it seemed like it was the most challenging as well as the most honorable branch to join. He described that is why the Marines stood out for him.

d. P15 served from 2012 to 2016. He was stationed and Cherry Point, North Carolina. He attended military schools in Pensacola, Florida Washington, the state. He experienced deployments and attachments to Japan, Guam, Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Arizona. He served to the best of his ability. He tried to provide as much service to his country as he was able. He wanted to be the best Marine that he could be for himself as well as for his fellow marine to the left or to the right of him. His services included supply expedite director, as well as a tooling representative. He acquired that skill set from On the Job Training (OJT) learning as he performed that task. He described an OJT experience as a “sink or swim” experience. He portrayed the job activities as going from exercising the skill set of jet plane mechanic which can be very complicated, complexed, and grueling and to a military specialty where you are essentially the supply guy which required working with computer software, also very crucial the job that is essential to the mission, yet described the two specialties as a definite change in levels. He described one specialty may seem more complex than the other, the responsibility levels are high for both specialties. He had job that he couldn't make a mistake. He described feeling pressure because of that requirement. He describes OJT as having learned the job in moment and having to be great at it from day one or at a minimum, week one. He portrayed the post OJT-trainee has higher expectations. P15 trained eventually gained rank. He trained junior military members. He described understanding mistakes and coaching his trainees to be the best Marines that they could be. He also knew that as the ranking member, he would have to answer the mistakes, find solutions, or troubleshoot problems initiated by junior service members. His goal was to do his best to do my research and troubleshoot issues to pull whatever problem out of the state of turmoil. His goal was to make sure that the team could continue with the overall missing.

e. P15 enrolled in community college because he is a person who likes to consider 10-100 different options before he decides on to pursue an option. Aside from the brotherhood and the greater cause of serving one’s country, going to school was an additional reason out of the other 10 reasons that he joined the military. He admitted the education benefit was factor his decision to join the military. He portrayed his high school in the perspective that he did not enjoy a class and did not enjoy going to school. He made up his mind in high school that he was going to join the military, as he believed, to progress in his life and not remain stagnant. He also pondered at that same time that in joining the military that he would attend college as well. He described the feeling of pride for keeping the commitment to himself. He did admit that for a short period of time had passed before he started college based on, as he described, overthinking or indecisiveness. He also described his moment of discovery on the academic major of product design, which was his major at the time of this study. He described his participation in the product design major as an adventure, an innovator possessing the ability to design products by elaborating and redesigning products. He was in the military when the product design me the fire really started to burn within him. He began research for best colleges that offered the product design major. He didn’t have many credits at the time. He researched the local community colleges in Maryland but none of colleges offered product design as a major. He decided to make an appointment with the military advisor at MACC. They discussed his dilemma on school choice, as mentioned, none of the Maryland schools offered the major of product design. They discussed potentially going to the one school that did have his desired major, Pasadena Community College in Pasadena City, California. The MACC military gave him a quote that said something along the lines of “sometimes you have to go all the way out of the way, just to get back on the right track”. The phrase resonated with him to the point of action. He contacted the community college in Pasadena as he had already done a tour of college due to his participation in a traveling poetry event. He had toured the school about a year before making contact. He spoke with the advisors in Pasadena. He was told that in order to discuss his transcripts or discuss a course schedule, he would need to meet in person with the advisor in Pasadena, CA. P15: And described that the conversation took place on Monday and the next available meeting was Thursday. Tuesday he just packed his bag and a plane to California. He attended the advising meeting the next day. A few days later he enrolled in classes

f. He attributes his major for positioning him for opportunities with major companies. He has met a lot of professors in Pasadena that have affiliations with the major companies. The professors also teach at his college. He describes his community college as have an exceptional relationship with the prestigious Art Center. Although he didn’t attend the Art Center, he did receive education from the Art Center professors via his community college.

g. P15 attended community college in North Carolina for a short period. He began taking classes at Mid-Atlantic Community College in the 2014-2015 school year. He moved to California in February of 2019. At the time of this study he was enrolled in community college in Pasadena, California. P15 took 11 courses, between 10-15 semester hours at Mid-Atlantic CC. He is enrolled four classes in Pasadena. He noted that two of the courses were completed while he was in the military.

h. P15 utilized Chapter 33, Post 9/11 GI Bill and Chapter 30 Vocational Rehabilitation. The benefits help him find a guided a path that was better than the past that he had in mind and how these programs came about to help him survive. He found that the benefits pay for your books, tuition, and parking pass. He also described his appreciation for housing allowance. He believes every veteran should utilize these programs. He recommended to veterans that whether they like school or not, make school your job for a little while to get that degree because that degree can take a person places where you can meet people along the way that otherwise you would never have met. He attributed to the benefit for his opportunities to network with large entertainment companies He believes the benefit cleared the path so that a veteran does not have to go down the wrong path. He defined the benefit has having the ability to guide and align a student veteran.

i. P15 further described the importance of the benefit as a lifesaver. He described his observation of the difficulties of school alone and even more difficult with work and children. He termed the benefits as definitely crucial. He explained the benefit as having the ability to support life balance. He further described the benefit as welcomed and needed. “We are definitely thankful for it at least I am.

7. BACKGROUND

a. CENTRAL RESEARCH QUESTION

The researcher’s primary focus during the 15 semi-structured interviews was to capture responses related to the phenomenon of acculturation from the lived experiences of veterans who were currently enrolled in or had attended community college within the past 5 years. Three sub-questions are addressed within the central question:

a. How do student veterans describe the aspects of their military culture that are no longer appropriate in community college culture?

ii. CENTRAL SUB-QUESTION #2

a. How do student veterans describe their own struggles in adapting to the community college culture?

iii. CENTRAL SUB-QUESTION#3 -M

How do student veterans describe the ways in which they successfully integrate military culture into community college culture?

b.

Subsequently, the interview data would culminate in answering the central research question of the study: What are the lived experiences of student veterans negotiating the acculturation process at community colleges, with specific focus on cultural shedding, cultural stress, and cultural learning? Following the demographic question, the initial open-ended interview question asked was as follows:

c. Question 2 Interview

Please tell me about your military service

i. Sub-Question 2a Why did you decide to join?

ii. Sub-Question 2b Narrative

· When,

· where and

· how did you serve?

d. Question 3 Narrative

Please tell me about your community college experience.

i. Sub-Question 3a – Why did you decided to enroll?

ii. Sub-Question 3 b – Where and when did you attend?

iii. Sub-Question 3c – What did you study?

iv. Sub-Question 3d – How many classes did you take?

v. Sub-question 3e – What is your goal – short and long-term (e.g. classes, degree)?

vi. Sub-question 3f – Which veteran’s benefits did you use if any?

vii. Sub question 3f(a) How important where was it for you to have those benefits?

8. SECTION HEADER - CULTURE

CULTURE NARRATIVE

a. QUESTION 4

b. QUESTION 5

How would you describe military culture and what did you like/not like when you joined? NARRATIVE

9. ACCULTURATION

ACCULTURATION NARRATIVE

a. QUESTION 6

How well did you adjust to military culture?

i. Sub-Question 6a – What do you like now (military culture)

ii. Sub-Question 6b – What do you not like now? (military culture)

b. QUESTION 7

How would you say military culture differs from community college culture?

c. QUESTION 8

How well did you adjust to community college culture?

i. Sub-question 8 (a)– What do you like now? (community college culture)

ii. Sub-question 8 (b) – What do you knot like now? (community college culture)

d. Question 9

What kinds of services are offered by the community college?

i. Sub-question 9 (a) – How do you utilize them, if at all?

e. Question 10

How do you engage with other veterans at the community college, if at all?

f. Question 11

How do you engage with nonveterans at the community college, if at all?

g. Question 12

Are there parts of your military culture that you strive to maintain or wish others would adopt?

h. Question 13

Can you tell me about times when you felt like you had to give up your military culture?

10. SECTION HEADER – WRAP UP QUESTION –

a. Question 14

Is there anything else you would like to share about your move from military to community college?

11. SECTION HEADER – FINDINGS

12. SECTION HEADER – RESULTS AND INTERPRETATIONS

This phenomenological study investigated the phenomenon of acculturation from the lived experiences of veterans who were enrolled in or had attended community college within the past 5 years. During a series of semi-structured interviews, 15 United States military veterans shared their experiences in the community college canopy. Data analysis from this study revealed both similarities and differences to the literature presented in Chapter 2. _5__ themes emerged from the semi-structured interview data.

b. Table – Themes Identified in the Data

c. Summary

1. Higher Education:

Study participants described their personal perspectives and experiences on education beyond GED/High School completion. The shared perspectives and experiences included: (a) trainings (b) education (c) checklist/checking the boxes (c) academic support.

a. Training

Fifteen of 15 student veterans in this study described multiple trainings during their military experience. The participants described the military trainings as attendance at formal military training schools and On-the-Job Training (OJT) in order to meet the requirements of multiple official and unofficial military duties.

i. P14: And that is how military training goes, they are just kind of like the structured school trainings, there's plenty of training exercises riddled throughout. P14: So I trained for three different MLS is P14: I did. P14: At least one P14: Extra schooling for the P14: Electronics warfare. P14: Basic training. I attended a total of five military schools.

ii. P15: The other two such as being an expert director, as well as a tool home representative, those were more OJT or on the job training. P15: On the job. I couldn't really make a mistake. So there was a little bit of pressure behind that as well. And you just learned the job but you kind of have to be great at it from day one, or at least week one. Once they take the training wheels off, you really have to be P15: Already on it.

iii. P11: I don’t regret any of my military training.

b. Education -

Veterans describe community college as an continuation of their military education entitlement including college funded resources i.e. the Student Achievement and Success Program, tutors, and the veteran center.

i. P12 described the education benefit as extremely. It was 85% of the reason why she joined the Navy. She described education is a meal ticket in the United States. She described education as a personal necessity. She believes that she has to have a degree if you she is to secure a respectable job or if you really want to be taken seriously in this day and time.

ii. Participant’s community college academic majors, courses, and interests included P1: A fine art specifically drawing, painting.: Various forms of printmaking photography: General courses such as English General math courses science courses; P2: human services and also the basically it was a transfer Studies degree and my concentrations were in human services: P4: Psychology. psychology Sociology, marketing, journalism; P7: Got a degree and transfer a just a general transfer degree; P8 : Computer Science and video game development; P9: art classes, drawing and painting color , business communication, event planning, and hospitality. P10: Public Health; P11: Art, cooking, life coaching, entrepreneurship in medical cannabis., building your coaching business; P12 public health; P13: Transfer degree and engine graduate with a fine arts degree; P14; sustainable agriculture, general studies, entrepreneurship in medical cannabis; P15: Product design.

iii. Of 15 participants, 0 reported participants reported alignment of their community college course or credential to their previous military career specialty.

iv. 15 participants excluded their military training in their total courses taken self-reported calculations.

v. P8: Um, I joined the Marine Corps really because I did not really know what I wanted to do after high school. You know, I knew I did not want to go to college immediately

vi. P5: So I just decided to go ahead and go and see the world and you get the benefits for, you know, the GI Bill. Cool.

vii. P6: I: Needed another trade. I wanted something different different. I put it in my mind, of being in the mind for that I was going to learn about computers.

c. Checklist/checkboxes

i. P1: I don't really think it's a it's a question of adjustment.P1: I've been told by many people. -: Peers, and -: superiors, especially in the military that I was a more of a scholarly person -: However, within I think within the current realm of higher education is more about -: It's more about checking off a checkbox. -: Than it is actually becoming educated or educating or using that as a means of educating oneself to make oneself, better, more well-rounded person, it seems to be more about checking making you have a checklist, you meet you meet these this criteria. -: He may or may not learn -: The concepts or or -: They're given and then it's moved on to me it seems it feels almost like a factory And less of a place of higher learning

ii. P14: Throughout the “process” of community college I used my Montgomery GI bill. P14 described community college as a process.

iii. P12: I attended an orientation for veterans where it's like in veteran center and mandatory. I was there to to check a box.

iv. P15: It is college military adviser’s job to Pretty much, get me to where I need to be to give me along the lines of success to to allow me to learn what I need to learn it is not their job to necessarily just put me in the class and in their school they're looking out for the greater good. Not, not a check in a box, not a quota, they're looking out how to make the best of this potential in the student who is a veteran, which, which can improve the world on a much larger scale.

v. P8 : Um, I joined the Marine Corps really because I did not really know what I wanted to do after high school. You know, I knew I did not want to go to college immediately

vi. P2: It really helped me um, you know, and then she was like, and if you have a problem. You going to come see me and, you know, and she just went down this list of-: And and she had it ready and then she would also check up on me. I'm like part of my job was or, you know, like in this program, I had to do so many chickens.-

d. Tutoring/academic support

i. P2: So through the student achievement and success program. They also had the military veterans resource center. So I had a dedicated military counselor.-: And I also who was a veteran and so I to that someone that could help me with my it you know academic questions as well as if I was having a tough day with something or even questions about how do I contact someone at the VA about whatever.

ii. P2: Um, and so-: They could go, you could just go in there and relax. You could get help. We had tutors that were in there. It was because so much of a multi use-: Like area they let me give a presentation in there. I had this honors project and I had to present to a charity to try to get-: A program going there and they let me present in there. Um, because I wouldn't have had nowhere anywhere else.-: Do. There was nowhere else on campus for students to do things like that. So, so they let me do that. And it had. It was all stopped with other everyone in there was military affiliated and so it was just a great way to be to be able to go in and-: sit for a minute and talk with people who understand things when your day is going tough and to celebrate when it's going well.-

iii. P2: On the community college’s student achievement & success program support: Oh and SASP had this book lending library to that we had access to and you could get free textbooks checked out. You get up, you got to check them out for the basic subjects and then also those ridiculously expensive calculators ti whatever-: Like I'm no paying to like come give a performance with me, you know, not being the math genius. P2: I did that for a couple classes because I'm not going to major in it. And so I didn't want to have to buy one of those calculators. And so the fact that they let me check that out through their loan program was good.

iv. P2: The colleges student achievement program really helped me um, you know, and then she was like, and if you have a problem. You going to come see me and, you know, and she just went down this list of-: And and she had it ready and then she would also check up on me. I'm like part of my job was or, you know, like in this program, I had to do so many chickens.-: So it wasn't just her calling me, you know, or emailing me. I also had to come into the office on scheduled and just be like, Hey, I'm here. And someone you know would sit down or, you know, just talk to me for a minute and just be like, Hey, how are you doing-: Here about this. Did you hear about that we're doing this they would offer. They had a-: Reading like a reading group.-: And-: That was basically like a book club and but you got together with other-: First first time students and they had pizza and they, you know, they were just THEY WEREN'T THERE TO BE YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM.-: And they knew the answers. And if they didn't know the answer on how to fix something they found out like they weren't, you know, they didn't just make up something-: And tell me, hey yeah do it this way or that way and it didn't work out there would be like, I don't know. Give me a few days. I'm going to find out. And I'll either email or call you and they always followed up on our word-: That I would have quit school without it.

v. P3: I know I've got reached back to the community college. I know I could go down there today. Good services and support if I wanted to, without any question I'd like that ability. I'm-: What-: All the services are offered there. There's not one stone unturned that was wasn't available those you know you got online.-: Communications email connectivity.-: You know, you got that hybrid education now impersonal the line type stuff.-: What services said all of them money.-: Is what you would even the name. The ones I remember-: Like I said connectivity internet connectivity access to communications access to media. There's a lot of the library was tremendous.-: And throughout the college years areas where we could go be alone with computer access, they're actually there are areas we could go congregate and brainstorm, you know,-: There's places we can eat and you know have sessions and talk about projects for work.-: So the library was the plethora of resources alone. And specifically, you know, I can't say it without, without going the access to the Veterans Center down there.-: And all the services that were additionally offered. I know we came that are-: Low level counseling, it would have been provided to us.P3: It's just another important resource.

vi. P4: All they have everything-: And I think cuz it's a community college and people know that they have everything that they're pretty easy to-: Reach like-: Like I said, people don't use the guinea college as much as they should, like they just go home, there's there's everything-: Is everything there you have a quite there's there's a professor who just sits around and wonders why he doesn't get asked more questions. You know, there's, there's, like,-: With the veteran things you're, you're, you and your whole dental team or amazing-: For everything. Nobody ever just walked out of your office. It was always just-: You know, somebody attached to them and brought them to where they need to go like, especially for veterans.-: You guys made it so much easier.-: Just to everything they have accountants, they're just sitting there doing nothing bored and they like accountants ship, for whatever reason, and they'll help you. You just walk in there and be like, hey, I don't understand, taxes are like, me neither. But I can do this for you.-: Is there's everything is little bit. It's just whether or not you're willing to just ask the question.-: I use a veteran services a lot. I use the-: American Disability Services a lot-

vii. P4 – On the community college - Oh yeah, I've used it for everything with the with the veterans, especially because it's complicated dealing with a VA and they do the veal time and so you put the people at the school.-: I see the same people at the community college. I've seen for five years. You don't see that shared the VA.-: So like those people can help you. They're very helpful. They go in there and they're just like, Oh, yeah, yeah. You just need to fill out this SMS and then there's so much more responsive than the VA and they're so helpful with people who are trying to continue their education, just anything-: I go there before I go to the VA, especially now switch the GI Bill just go talk to the-: Counselors the career counselors whatever they're called spoke out-: To help you when you're picking classes and The advisors.-: are amazing and they have been there forever. They understand the VA, bro. Like, like, what do you say, so if you want to switch you gotta do this.-: You guys if if you want to stay on your, your track you got to keep doing this, this, this, and they're like, well, what do you want to do, like, okay, here, here you do this, this, this.-: Like they're, they're very helpful. It's just like I say, it's a much smaller Institute.-: You know, it's not a-: You know, sometimes for your college to seem like this giant establishment. We're going to community college, you can go up just bang on someone's door.P4: And just ask a question, and they'll, they'll give you an answer or there'll be like, why didn't you go talk to this person like because I didn't know they existed.

viii. P6: Uh, no, I didn't, I didn't use any of the tutors. Um, I was needed help. And what was that: An intuition. I wasn't doing too well in nutrition. I ended up dropping it. But before I dropped it. I had a talk with a professor and she offered some ideas on how I could get better or, you know, get better grades or get a better grade for nutrition, but I didn't take advantage of. I just ended up dropping the class

ix. P6: So like I went to the college’s veteran center you had all types of-: Benefits of being I guess in the military and having that vet center there.-: Some way, you can study it was quiet.-: Wasn't in a-: Controlled um-: You had all the information in there that you could get that probably could help not only the people that was in there, giving you information. But, uh, just, uh,-: What's the, what's the word or language. The pamphlets and stuff. He-: That type of information, plus the real people that was there.-: The program that we're behind the real people like-: If you needed help with-: Maybe a map. I'm thinking of Pedro, but he was a-: He was a veteran and math tutor embedded in the center paid by the college. But yes.-: Well, you had other programs behind the people to even help you, even more so.-: Yes, the pamphlets, the written knowledge that was there, plus the real people. That was good. I could give you knowledge and then the programs behind the real people.-: I just asking questions as many questions as I can.P6: Always trying to get an understanding,

xi. P8: I just use you to utilize them, you know, by, by, you know, talking to you or talk to my my bit of resource officer.- : About, you know, getting different information, you know, asking questions that I need to get answers to, you know, being that liaison between me and the school that type of thing. Because sure that I understand, you know,- : Different you know the some of the information that I wasn't aware of- : You know, there's a better resource and you could go, you go on there and type your papers, you know, you can see call from other veterans, you know, seek to religion, things like that from other people from that, from that.- : As well.So, you know,- : And I just utilize it. And those capacities, you know, seeking guidance and getting information from you, you know, going to the the Veterans Resource office when I need to sometimes

xii. P9: They use the library reference checks my papers and my citations. I can do that online. And I also went into do it. They had a place to eat. So I use the dining room. They also were Veterans Resource Center. I did use that and I talked to the veterans advisor about my benefits classes to take that kind of thing. They also had a place and lounge dresses set and have some snacks and meet other veterans

xiii. P12: He there was: The math lab was a great service. I went to the math lab regularly Tuesdays and Thursdays. I did specifically for Professor Spurlock she just had a way of breaking down math to make it simple. The-: English lab for revisions. I worked as another lady, I can't remember, but man, she really helped. She really pulled ideas out of me. Like, she just kind of-: You know, gave me a little bit and I was able to just take off with my ideas and how I want us to Word and structure things and just really was allowing me to earn a papers on my own. Um,-: Those are really the main. Those are the main with the dead center, of course.P12: Snacks the quiet place to study fellowship. People who understood it, just the the to be in there and be able to talk through things as a adult that's in school that's that's surrounded by 20 year olds that kind of manage that. Um, yeah. So the best center math lab and English class.

xv. P2: I did have a benefit of we had a Veterans Resource Center, at the community college which was attached to the program that really saved my bacon during college like I would not have made it through college without the program called student achievement and success program and the Veterans Resource Center without those two I would die probably would have dropped out two weeks into college. So while they weren't Any monetary benefits directly from the military, the college veteran benefits were a lifeline to me succeeding and they were a huge part of my success.

2. Success

Success was described based on each participants perception of success. Described of community college success were self-defined. All participants who received Chapter 33 or Chapter 30 entitles cited the housing allowance as the an incentive to attend community college.

a. Goals

i. Self-defined goals of community college

ii. Long-term goals

iii. P1: Baccalaureate degree in fine arts

iv. P2: I wanted to have a career where I made an impact helping people through work with my church.

v. P3: My concern is after care for our veterans. What are we going to do with them after they finish their coursework and then they got all these great ideas all these new skills, but remember they all have mental health issues too.

vi. P4: Right now, I don't know, there's no real goal. I don't know

vii. And then long term, I would love to be a social worker. As a veteran. I just feel like it's my niche to work with veterans and you know, their families and kind of the crisis that they endure, but I'm also willing to really work in every in every avenue whether it's with kids or geriatrics. I come on pretty much open to everything because I know life happens and you kind of Go with the flow of where you're at. But essentially, I would love to open up my own private practice. I've been blessed enough to have work with people and know people who have their own practice and they have their master's in social work. And so I'm just speaking with them alone, I feel confident that that is something that I can do in the future. And then eventually, I would like to have my doctorate in social work. Those are my goals.

viii. P6:now it's to get my: Taking these: What are they call my professional certificates getting my certs, though.

ix. P7: Ultimate education goal. The get a bachelor's degree, ultimately, you know, my, my end goal will be to become a judge, you know, hopefully one day that that's still possible, it is I'm looking at going for my masters, political science, so the end goal for me would be to gain a doctorate.

x. P8: long term goal is to: Once I take I'm about to get some certifications here soon. So once I finish wrapping that up. I'm going to try to move departments in at my employer.

xi. P9: I wanted to have something to do. And I thought that taking more classes will help keep my brain sharp and give me an opportunity to get out of the house and meet some more people.

xii. P9: and also for the Chapter 33 and for the housing allowance. And then my long term goal is to eventually get my doctorate. Which is not is not that far away. I rather be like a manager in a manager general position, instead of a it working position where you constantly. Use your hands, your body to work because I've done that. Countless times over and over again in the military. That what was my thinking.

xiii. P11: Well I enrolled last year to take a course the entrepreneurship in Maryland Medical cannabis, it's a whole new field. And I know that I'll be retiring from the College and not too distant future. But I also know that I'm not going to sit at home and do nothing. I've already proved that to myself. So I was wondering what else is out there that would be of interest to me that I would want to get involved in

xiv. P12: My dream school was you, UMD and so I knew that, you know, being Mid-Atlantic Community College would help me get there because I would transfer, I would learn while there that they actually had an articulation agreement with the University of Maryland (articulation agreement and GI Bill require students be enrolled in an approved major).

xvi. I want to continue on with my education. -: I feel that with the education that I'm going to receive from Xavier that I'll be well suited for consulting -: Both on industrial farms, but also -: Certain government agencies, you know, I'm not necessarily restricting who I be able to consult with but sustainability is is a huge factor in what I want to do, but I want to, I want to be able to -: Help with the agriculture, the growth of of the plants and crops and, you know, -: I still, even though I'm I'm specifically going for a sustainable agriculture degree. I want a ultimately botany is my is my goal, my focus my -: My aspirations. -: Because body breaks down into three major like fingers of it ones agronomy the -: The study of crop development crap and and kind of large scale. -: Growing horticulture, you know the the science of the genetics of plants and forestry. -: You know, that's kind of self explanatory itself science of a forest trees and and you know -: My ultimate goal is to kind of try to -: DO EVERYTHING I CAN in my power to help the earth sustain make it a -: Good place in a Sustainable -: Place for for generations to come to be able to maintain an Inhabitable planet.

xvii. P15: Then I discovered product design in while in the Navy. By speaking with the Program Manager of Veteran Services at MACC, I decided to transfer schools from Maryland to California.

b. Short term goals-Short Term Goals

i. P1: My initial goal.: Was to Receive my associates in fine arts and a local community college and also to complete the general education courses for a baccalaureate degree in fine arts.

ii. P2: My goal is, I want to help people

iii. P3: We were testing the federal government; we were testing that they will allow us to use the GI Bill for a an entrepreneurship course in medical cannabis at the MACC. P3: I wasn't just taking the course to enjoy it, which I did. P3: I wanted to learn more to support my non-profit and for-profits business in that are both located in the cannabis space.

iv. P4: My goal was to find something that would make still being alive worth it.

v. P5 Okay, so my goal is to finish up my Associate's Degree in the springtime 2021. .P5 9:13 Hopefully from there, I will be able to transfer to Bowie State the following fall. And I would like to enter their social work program because they do have a really good social work program. And it's an HBCU, which is something that I've always wanted to attend.

vi. P6: Definitely getting a degree finishing: And also I had planned on getting a job but us taking these orders to Guantanamo Bay stopped that.

vii. P7: Short term goal is to gain of credits to be able to transfer I have enough, high enough GPA to get into a respectable or decent college long term goal would be to, you know, have the grades that are that could get me to where I needed to be

viii. P8 : The short term goal would be to just graduate from the 4 year university.

ix. P9: I don't: Really have any I'm just taking classes.: At one point I was going to be. I wanted to do something like be a military advocate: They have like a counseling major, but I've decided not to do that right now. I might be looking for too much extra stress.

x. P10: short term goal is to Just accomplish my associates degree which I'm one class away.

xi. P10: It was either go to work or go to school, I rather go to school to for myself in and work with work with my mind, instead of my hands so: So that's that was my thinking

xii. P11: I have done the coaching the life coaching program that the college offers. Now that was professional development, but there's a lot of people who take it not as professional development because it can be another career field.: And I enjoyed it. But for me, I haven't run my own business really before. So that is an area that I'm just uncomfortable and sure about. I don't feel like I have enough information. So I did take a: Course under one of the business professors non credit on on building your coaching business.

xiii. P11: I started taking some of the art courses, little one. And to me, class meeting type: Drawing and so that's been a lot of fun. Assess several of those. It's called Zen tangle. And they have a lot of different ones: I like the cooking. Some of the cooking ones because They're fun. P11: Well I enrolled last year to take a course the entrepreneurship in Maryland Medical cannabis, it's a whole new field. And I know that I'll be retiring from the College and not too distant future. But I also know that I'm not going to sit at home and do nothing. I've already proved that to myself. So I was wondering what else is out there that would be of interest to me that I would want to get involved in

xiv. P12: And so I wanted to ensure that took classes that we're going to satisfy the credits for the associate so I didn't want to take any like I wasn't looking to mix up or are at this course if it wasn't going to meet the goal.

xv. P12: I wanted to finish, I wanted to finish quickly because of my limit of 36 months of benefits.

xvi. P12: So trying to manage that and get the most out of my benefits. So the goal was to get to the degree with as little time as possible. Like, I just wanted to do it quickly and efficiently.

xvii. P13: Right short term goal.: My short term goal was to get paid to go to school and to use my benefit because when this all started I was trying to find a way to make ends meet.00:37:58.290 : And I was told that I could get paid to go to school.: And since I've had disabilities. Ever since I got out of military having a job and trying to hold a job has been very difficult for me.: And so going to school, getting paid while it's been difficult has not been unsustainable. So therefore, it sounded like something I could I could achieve and at least since I still had a two year shot before I hit my limiting: Might as well give it the best go I had: And so I I decided I would just try to keep going to school and as long as I could keep going to school. That's what I would do.: So when I started Community College. It was just trying to make ends meet. But by the time I hit about and the second semester.: I had gotten a bit in my teeth and I knew what I wanted to achieve. I wasn't just doing it to try to make me be anymore. I wanted to get my degree.: I wanted to feel like I'd actually achieved something, and I wanted my transfer studies degree most because while I still wasn't sure what I wanted.

xviii. P14: To help. And to do that, but my my career goals. You know, I want to be. -: I want to work in the public sector, I want to do nonprofit work helping underdeveloped countries become self-sustaining do practice good sustaining -: Or sustainable. -: Agriculture, so that way they don't have to depend so intensely on importing goods they can -: Become -: Developed essentially I want, I want to, I want to help underdeveloped countries develop -: And agricultural infrastructure that is sustainable for the earth. -: To then be able to use that to leverage themselves in whatever direction they want -: And -: I understand that that's that's kind of a down the road. That's like a long term. -: In the short term, I want to get my degree.

xix. P15 - I did not know what I wanted to do.

3. Community

a.

Personal/military family P8 : Some veterans are from backgrounds, where you know they don't have substantial family ties or a good family unit and things like that, or just, you know, have people. they can rely on besides themselves, which is sometimes why they joined the Marine Corps in the first place.

b.

P2: I did love with a I had a whole other family. I came from kind of came from a family that was dysfunctional my original family is very dysfunctional so gaining this like new dysfunctional family, um, -: You know, I was I was around a lot of other the department that I was in, it was full of people my age. -: Um, and so we just, we were able to hang out together and we would go out to the bars and get into fights together like we would work together. You know, we really cared about each other. -: And we had each other's back and we can fight each other. But don't you know if we're all out in the crew. Don't mess with one of

c.

There was a group for me to go be a part of. There were somewhere that I could go be with that group at the college’s veteran center.

d.

P2: There was also like a veteran center at the community college that I could go into where I could hang out there was drinks. There was no alcoholic drinks. Of course there was snacks. There was if I forgot my lunch. They had like stuff you could microwave in there.-: And really just a place for also veterans, like I would advertise it to advertise it to other veterans as a place you can get away from the kids.-: They seems like that seems to be the selling point for them. I don't know.

e.

P5:there is there can be some type of there can be segregation, pretty much really small shit. I think we had about 325 people. So you pretty much knew everything like you knew everybody's business, you knew everything that was going on. There was not one thing that was kind of kept a secret because that's just gossip. And so that was kind of one of the things that I wasn't a big fan of.

f.

g. Military team (have each other’s back) camaraderie

i. P1: Well, within the military, there is a: At least it tipped it would they would call esprit de corps just spirit, the body which is where everyone who is a part of a unit or branch, what have you, is at least seen: As part of that unit as part of that that system they collected: What I have not experienced in the collegiate arena.

ii. P15:: When you, when I joined or when I'm already in like a year or two. -: Okay. -: So, -: I believe -: I within me. I believe I've had a warrior spirit for a while. So I definitely didn't like that mentality and -: Not a lot of people feel a warrior potentially as a savage as a ruthless person, but there's a lot of honor that comes with being a warrior if done properly, and so that I definitely enjoy that the hard work. The -: Embracing the difficulties the brotherhood, the camaraderie. I definitely enjoy that. But on the same flip the same coin. -: Sometimes it is very, very hard work and -: When I joined it was they they focused on if your teammates, if your, if your fellow marine messes up you you mess up. -: If your fellow marine messes up everyone in this unit master. Everyone has to pay for it. And so I did end up discovering like this is a truth within the military and it makes sense. One mistake. Everyone can be in trouble or in danger. -: So, -: But, uh, -: Yeah, there's quite a few things that I did like in and didn't like it was very laid back humble kind of guy and sometimes military can be a -: rowdy at times very high energy. And so as as a laid back, guys. It's like the opposite of what I'm used to internally. -: But you definitely have to step outside of character or maybe I should say develop the character. -: So, -: What I liked and what I did not Like -: I will say, -: Like the warrior spirit I enjoy that. And it's needed to defend the country as needed. But I'm not a fan of war or the concept -: Is there's a weird dilemma there. -: Because from like a warrior mentality like -: I do grasp the concept of war. And -: But I'm not really a fan of -: Death of people unnecessarily when they're there could be another method. Another approach. -: To for whatever political, social, -: environmental resource based reasons that people may be at war even religious reasons and I'm most I'm not a fan of P15: War in that sense I wish there was another approach that we applied.

iii. P14: P14: So I liked the: The camaraderie. -: You know, the community. The everybody's got your back. No matter how how you feel about each other. -: I did not get along with an -: noncommissioned officer that I had in Afghanistan. Prior to Afghanistan at all. I -: Went to -: Almost two blows with him on many occasions. -: But -: Yes, this is one as well. This is when I first went to active duty. -: And then when I got -: To Afghanistan. You know, I had to work with him a little more than I'd hoped. -: At one point I was his like his number two in in in the truck. You know, I wrote on some very, very long convoys with him talking in my ears non stop. -: And at the end of the deployment. He came up to me shook my hand and said, you know, he turned out better than I, than I thought, you know, I -: You know, you're -: You're not a bad you know we don't agree on things. But, you know, at the end of the day, I thought you this horrible soldier and you know I was wrong and I can basically say the same about him. He we disagreed on a lot me -: And but at the end of the day, he took care of his soldiers and that's what his job was, you know, -: I knew that he'd had my back in in the hairiest to situations and he knew that I'd have it despite all of our many differences prior to -: So it's that feeling that I really enjoyed about the military. -:

iv. P12: Yeah, I will say, -: I, I like the fact that when I when I wanted to be visible and when i mean i say visible when I wanted to step out and say something -: Or or getting a position to be visible to the ship, I was able to, for example, I've been. I've been. Junior Sailor of the year, I've been out be able to go on boards. -: Using the vehicle of going on a board to represent what female sailors do for this ship and I got to do that when I became blue. Well, I did that. And then I became. It's called blue jacket. -: Gosh, I'm losing these terms, but it was like blue jacket, the quarter. So it's a it's a very junior sailor. -: Recognition, you get put on the plan of the day that goes out to every division or anybody can get the plan of a day. And what you'll see at the very top are recipients of who have one quarterly and for the year. So I was blue jacket of the quarter. And then I went on to be -: Sailor The year at that command as well. So, but at the during those boards I one thing I learned I forget who taught me this, but you never leave a job interview, you never leave a board. -: Or anything like that where you have a platform to speak without when they say, do you have anything else to say. You never leave that -: That opportunity has to be taken advantage of. Always. You never let dead air. You never just saying no, you have to be able to contribute. There is always something to bring to the light. -: Not necessarily bad. But you have something to share it. That's your little moment to to leave your mark and you need to leave your mark. Anytime you're asked, do you have anything else. -: So I took that time to say I just want you to know that the the women here on this command are working just as hard or even harder than some of the men, and I feel that we deserve to be represented and we deserve the representation -: On this board and I went on to say a couple of more things just just empowering women and female sailor just women in the military period that we deserve this. -: And I want to represent this because this is what I do day in and day out for this command in my division and my sailors that I work with. So we are here. -: And we're working so something along those lines and and then ultimately, I won. I was a I was a junior sailor of the year. -: So,P12: Wow. Yeah.

v. P8 : Um,P8 : I would describe it, it's, it's very, it's like a big - : Like a big fraternity. I think it's in a way - : You know, it's - : Yeah, I think that's the best way to describe it. It's like, it's like a big fraternity. You know, it's, you know, we all do the same thing we all wear the same color. We all you know understand and and and value the same principles. - : But we just, you know, we just do different things, you know, just like if we were in a fraternity and you did what you did, but I did what I did. We're still a part of the fraternity.

vi. P3 But the military culture itself. -: It's hard to get out. I like to find myself with like minded individuals like like those safe places that are offered at colleges or other -: Locations where we can segregate ourselves and be who we are. We have a whole different language, right, we have a whole different look. We have a whole different philosophy and so -: You just don't forget that stuff that becomes part of who you are. It's ingrained and I don't want to get it out of me. I like but it's done. There's some things I could. I wish I could improve upon -: Sensitivity. Little bit more compassion for some things. Now look, look. When you walk around and see death all day long. You know, in a combat zone. You come home. That doesn't impact you like it used to. -: My uncle died, literally, he just died two days ago I just tried with you on the phone now more than that cry because he died. -: What I'm saying that is, that's a whole different culture shift because that's -: It just goes deeper years ago I remember in Delaware when all of our body bags are coming home from the wars and if you, you probably remember what I'm about to say after I saved. They started -: Be facing our deceased veterans our veterans were facing our veterans like like taking pictures with them. And that's what all kinds of crazy shit. -: And you know, that's the culture. And that's about how we're. It's not just talking about how we're coping with our environment that we're in. -: And so our environments that Saudi Arabia cope. You know, people come back from Vietnam with a year necklaces and more trophies, how to cook. You know, it's -: It's pepper than than what the normal population. See, I think. But I will say this, you know, when you get into like -: bigger cities socio economic disadvantage offer locations PTSD is right there to, you know, the culture and, you know, -: You have to have a thick skin and oh why I got on this topic has nothing to do with education -: , that I love it. Yeah, what I like. What I don't like is -: I might be more aggressive than other people. -: I'm trying to walk around like a typical my folder that I can do or say whatever I want. And I don't care what people think. And I think I, I feel that's was inherited from the work and effort. I didn't have in the military like it's my own personal conversation if that makes any sense.

vii. P4: I like the Brotherhood. I've always liked the brother. -: I don't like that you can escape people I don't like the fact that with a lot of it's the same with a lot of things. It's like if you stick with it, you'll succeed unless you're like completely just -: An idiot, but like the people who stay in the Marines are usually the people you hate the most everyone else is just like I'm going to go about my life, I did my four years. I'm so the people who a lot of the people I've met a lot of good people. -: Higher up. I've had amazing first sergeant's and stuff. -: But a lot of the people who stay in there is often they just like to cower they're just terrible people -: And they're selfish and they don't really understand the from the on the ground level. -: But as a boot on the ground level. I love it. I think it's amazing. I think -: I've met the best people I've ever met in my life, I've met the worst people I've ever met my life I've done the coolest things, the worst things -: I, you know, I've never give it up

viii. P10: The military culture is this order is is fast pace. -: Order means is a structure so that there's no way of you. -: faulting everything is set in stone. So you have something you got to follow and then -: It gives you, it gives you a sense of community I'm family you you're like multiculturalP10: So you learn, you learn about everything, while you're in there.

h. Severance from military life (some connection via active duty spouse)

i. P5: I also do have some military friends that are currently stationed in Virginia. My spouse is active duty, Navy

ii. P8 : I don't, I said things. I guess it's hard to answer because I'm no I'm not doing it, you know. - : I would have to be in the Marine Corps and feel it like and feel what it's like feel what's going on. See the you know the temperature, what's happening because - : The thing I think about not being in the military is that unless you know someone who's in the military directly. You don't know what's going on because it's very - : It's very niche and kind of like - : Secretive like we know what happens in the military because we're in the military, but the general public, never knows what happens if they find out what happens, that's a bad thing for the for the military and then there's going to be a lot of changes because of it, you know.

iii. P6: I am married somebody that's in the military. She's in the Navy. We're currently stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. P6: And also I had planned on getting a job but us taking these orders to Guantanamo Bay. P6: The day I was graduating was the day we started checking out to Cuba. P6: So, P6: I never got a chance toP6: Look for an employment or even test it out to see if I could get hired or even go down that road.

iv. P2: And I was, I was in the service pre 911 I actually got out one month before 911 and once was recalled to but because my husband was active duty Navy at that time, they decided to cancel my recall. My husband was active duty when I attended community college.

v. P4: And I'm glad I did marry my wife because she is in the Army and now I can talk shit.

vi. P1. My recollection of my 23 years of military service well, my answer would be pretty nebulous. So we should move on with the next question.

vii. P3. Even though there's a good proportion of the students that are older and more mature um -: There are a lot. The majority is younger and come from a different history and background and concept of beliefs, you know, they were raised differently. There are more of a technical electronic age.P3: So the culture itself is more of a technological culture and which also shows some just connection because everybody is so electronic now that uh you know we're texting each other across the table. Instead of talking so the culture is more digital. Does that make sense.

viii. P13: The college’ veterans group was part of the services, so if I hadn't joined the veterans student achievement group, I wouldn't have known about the FAFSA, but I would have still qualified for it without being a veteran

ix. P14: Um,-: Well, so they have tutoring services they have disability services they-: You know it's and and those two specifically or or something that I've utilized in the past.-: So I can, I can speak directly on those. And I could speak where there's pitfalls and when there were there's you know where I've seen success.-: Disability Services worked really well with me at community college to get me extra time on tests to give me the ability to listen to music while taking tests because I needed background noise to keep me from being distracted from-: external stimuli.-: To allowing me to get up and walk out of class they provided me a smart pen so that I could take my notes and it would record the class while I'm doing it. Um,-: It's-: And at the same token, I-: I watched. I went to Cincinnati State and their disability services said give me this and we can figure it out. But no, no real structure to it.You know,-: Tutoring-: At-: Mid-Atlantic Community College, you know, that was very accessible. It was very achievable and attainable.-: Tutoring essence any state was-: jumping through so many hoops that it felt useless that by the time I got there I was too late and I'm already behind in class and there'sP14: I'm more likely to withdraw than I am to continue with tutoring because i i'm so behind in the concepts that I don't want to. I need to retake it because I didn't feel that I was adequately understanding and couldn't get the resources I needed to system.

x. P15: There are multiple services At the college.-: That can, it can be something as simple as tutors library to use the computer to do your research to print a paper.-: The clubs. They are resources. If you are a geology major or an English major, are you taking an English class, there's an English club. There's a math club. So even if you're not there with the tutors.-: Sometimes you just need a peer to-: Help you understand the material more than a tutor came so there's clubs, there's often study rooms, they have-: For the artists and designers, they have a fabrication lab. So I can go there and make this necklace. You know, I've had, I've made.-: duplicates of this at the data of laser cutters 3D printers.-: All types of things. And so there's a lot of resources or if you're going through a food crisis on an individual level or or your family colleges community colleges. They often have-: Some type of assistance.-: This college at a food pantry for I've had to use it a few times when I first got here.-: They often have a truck bring-: Supplies and food to school and everyone you just see like a line like you would think these people are trying to get into a club.-: But that's just that just lets you know how needed this service.-: Is needed if there would be a truck, it will bring canned goods ordering fruits, vegetables, bread, milk, water or these kind of things and they're just be online people align-: USC. They're cool guy or a cougar who looks like they got it all going on everyone's there. So this is a service for everyone.-: You know this with the people who you-: Need-: Food isYes.-: Even they can even supply services such as hygienic.-: Services no toothbrush.-: So rags tissue.-: Everybody every race.-: Every culture every religion. Every sexual orientation every-: financial background, everybody.-: So it's definitely a beautiful thing to see. And then if it's not a resource on the school. They can often provide you with a resource outside of the school that's connected to the school as well. It can be a church. It could be a local food pantry.-: It could be housing assistance they can provide you with social workers.-: Mentors-: Therapists if needed. You know, they colleges community colleges. They can they assist the handicap-: Like-: You know, I'm a disabled veteran myself and also they they accommodate you in any way that they can't

i. Community college

i. P1: There's a certain level of exclusivity with a military culture vanishes. -: Colloquially say baked into the cake. -: It's part of it. -: Is that's part of the whole -: Idea of, you know, espirit de corps -: Whereas within Community College culture because you're dealing with -: People who are coming mostly coming straight out of high school. -: And the demographic. They're mostly is a younger demographic -: And I myself being much older. Even though when I initially started my community college experience my age was pretty much on par with my peers. -: However, what I what I did experience. -: Personally -: Sort of an isolating -: feeling of isolation because of my age. -: Because of my life experiences. -: And not really having -: And a place or a group of people -: With him to share that with necessarily even though they have their military or veterans there any classes at the college -: Although during certain some classes. Of course, you always Okay. -: Yes, how -: As I was saying before exclusivity. -: There's a tacit degree in set inclusion. Whereas within the Community College culture. There is not. -: And from my -: From when I originally started Community College back in 2002 -: It seemed like it was more inclusive. -: And upon my return in -: It seemed as though they become lessened.

j. “Peers”(group work)

i. P14: society as a whole, tends to look at veterans as leaders they expect them to do the right thing, you know, have that integrity of doing the right thing at the right you know when nobody else is looking-: And P14: You know, I, my goal is always to maintain that image, you know that I'm a leader. I mean, I always take charge, but that's not always what being a leader is so

ii. P10: Just by just-: Just, just normally making friendly conversation and-: Utilizing the same things that they do at the cause, such as the tutoring and-: Everything and giving-: Giving now selling-: Estrogen-: Extensions things about classes and things like that.-: And we did, we-: Did this in lab.-: Where we help each other.-: Succeed in in passing g our lab or biology lab.-: Shared notes and-: gave each other phone I work because we were in a group, so it helped it helped us succeed.-: Yes, we did learn-: I know-: What we had a we have projects where we had theP10: Had the group get data and stuff in and everybody got a piece of data and then we put it all together. And then at the end, the class we gave our results to the teacher. And that's how we succeed.

iii. P1: I engage with him rather cautiously however I engage people rather cautiously in general.-: So, more than likely it's over time and-: It through observing their-: You know behavior.-: overhearing conversations-: If there was any opportunity for group work or any sort of-: Period of instruction, where you were there is you have to enter-: Interact with students who are non veterans.-: It was purely on the basis of the business. The class working in and of itself.-: And then, of course, that would be a means of becoming more familiar with that person or people on a more personal level.-: Most of my experience happen in-: Science class.-: Where we have labs.-: There's more opportunities for group work.-: Because we would have to part of the-: The, the mode of instruction is to-: Look at a set of findings and compare data prepare and share data.-: So in that-: In those situations,-: Through the-: I am losing my train of thought.-: Right.-: In order to complete-: Certain assignment or two.-: Days to to complete a certain assignment within the group, we have, you know,-: Share our findings share data and-: aid each other and-: Completing certain tasks such as-: Animal villa section, that kind of thing.-: Or dissection.-

iv. P2: I engaged with everyone I i'm I'm very outspoken. I'm so I'm a girl in front and center talking in class.-: So engage with my professors at in turn around and engage with people behind me.-: I would engage with people walking down the I'm the person that if I see someone you know like, especially if it doesn't look like they're having a good day, I'll be like, I love that necklace or, I don't know, whatever, you know, maybe-: I'll find some way to engage someone and you know just be like, hey,-: And I never felt P2: That that was like not welcoming or accepted at in class at the community college.

v. P3: P3: Mostly just-: Walking down the hallways and corridors, just trying to be cordial, but in class full engagement in class with with everybody.-: Realize, I will-: StillP3: Work out well.

vi. P4: Right I veterans.-: During their ass.-: Veterans of better-: veterans are entitled assholes.-: And most of them didn't do shit.-: So,-: Like I'd rather-: And what I realized, especially when you're I'm 33 so a 20 year old doesn't remember 911 doesn't really know Afghanistan and Iraq or war, they don't give a shit that out. I'm just the old guy who they have to work with and do a thing. I got a dog, which is cool.-: It's like they don't care. And that's what I like. It's just like so. How we gonna split up this project.-: There's nothing. There's no animosity. There's no-: Anything, just like it's just one word. I'm just the old man they got to work with and they'd rather work with the cute chick, but you got me. I'm sorry.-: And the dog.P4: But even he's done only know what I meant for the next semester everything I'm really old and really uninteresting.

vii. Being in a class with women who have kids with women who have similar interests as me. So it's nice. I was able to, you know, have friends and-: I'm-: Just communicate with them. And we've been friends for almost a year now. So-: And I'm one of my professors. She actually is amazing. She actually-: texted me like a couple days ago just randomly check on me. I was surprised to see that. So I was thinking about you over the summer. Like, I hope you're doing well.-: And so I thought that was awesome. And it's funny, my mom. She's like, You must remain like a last name, a good impression or because you know that's not a typical thing.-

viii. P11: Oh, definitely. I have to engage with them.-: Those people are all over the place of non veterans.-: Can't get through life without interacting with those people.-: Just stay professional and you have to do your job answer questions.P11: Yeah.

ix. P12: I treated Non veterans. Similarly, in the same way as I would meet a veteran. Hey, how's it going, never, never, never just volunteer out, you know, I'm the student veteran president because sometimes that Putting labels, especially a label like that can can make things awkward intimidating, soP12: Really just, you know, Human. Human. Hey, I'm a student to. How's it going, did you happen to get the notes for yesterday or hey, by the way, did you know that this is happening. You know, we had a pop quiz or something like that. Something just something light and just in and warm is all

x. P13: I-: didn't engage with them, but I found it very difficult because the culture is so completely foreign to what I'm-: Comfortable and-: Somebody is it feels like capable of communicating with.- Yeah, so-: So there's there's a lot about dealing with civilians that I don't understand,

xi. P14 On engaging his civilian peers: P14: I engage Cautiously-: I'll-: Do my best not to-: To use as many swear words.-: Do my best not to-: talk shit to knots-: Or to do it lightly. I'll say that because I tend to not have a not talking shit mode.-: And it's more of a put down a kid gloves, you know, just generally being chipper nicer happier trying to be pleasant because at the end of the day, even if that's not how I feel. That's how I want them to see it better. I want them to see, you know, it's a-: Projection of-: What we are but if you if if you brought on a non veteran student into a veteran center, for instance, with no experience whatsoever and-: They saw like a whole-: Whole day and played out without anybody really knowing that they were there, because then if somebody if the veterans know then they're going to be, they're going to behave differently. But if they were like, observing it through a security camera or something.-: That would be a whole different scenario to to what what's projected to those not for those non veteran students-: Just that shit talking alone.-: Yeah.-: Letter send it. It's all loving but veterans tend to not be-: The nicest when it comes to certain things. Oh, you gotta be well you fucking suck that study harder jackass. You know, United say that to a non veteran student and be like, oh,-: You got to be-: Well did. Did you give it your best. Did you did you study as long as you could. Did you choose the best option when it came to studying or going out and partying. Did you make the best decisions, it's, it's almost more like a-: Non veteran student tends to, in my experience, and this isn't just me personally, either. It's what I have observed a veteran is more likely to mentor a non veteran student where a veteran student and a veteran student-: There are mentoring capacities, but it's more in the mindset or the approach of-: You've been through some shit I recognize that same. I'm going to present it in a way that you will understand appropriately.-: I'm going to break that break through that crusty old salty bastard shell and and put it right in the right way that it will be retained that you won't forget what I'm trying to help you learn

k.

i.

ii. P12: Community College will change according to what To the times (flexibility).

iii. Being in a class with women who have kids with women who

iv. P14: Um, -: You know, -: As I mentioned earlier, you know I have. I'm still working on. I still have self esteem issues, but they were way worse. Then, and they they are now. And I always felt like somebody was just looking at me like, what are you doing here, dude. You be you're not -: You're not a college kid. -: You know, so that that always caused me an additional layer of stress on myself. -: And the community college as opposed to, you know, starting as a first year. -: First year at a university where the non-traditional students to traditional students is like a 95 to five type scenario. -: And community college is probably more of a 70-30 -: Scenario if to try to kind of quantify that. -: It helped -: To not feel like the only one.

l. Restoration

i. P4: I went to community college because I was hurt and I was at home, and it was: In rural community colleges where I tend to do it was a, it's a very good community college, and it was within 10 miles from my house. So I didn't know what I wanted to do. I still know what I want to do. So it's been a really good place to explore different avenues.: Without having to like fully commit00

ii. P11: I was told.: By a couple of coaches, I'd seen just outside of the college and that I was too much in my head with technical stuff that I needed to get out of my head.: So,: I started taking some of the art courses, little one. And to me, class meeting type: Drawing and so that's been a lot of fun.

iii. P13: I knew that I wanted my four year degree.: I knew that I wanted to have a four year degree so that I could feel like. Like I had a shot at getting a real job.: Like that, like I had opportunities that I didn't have open to me when I started this whole process.: Like the opportunities that I thought Air Force had promised me: would finally be available to me.: And I like it. It felt like: To be honest, it felt like it felt like I was finally getting my shot at what everything I had been promised my sign on the dotted line. I felt like I was finally getting a chance to recoup all those things that I thought I was going to get a shot at my signed up for the Air Force. and potentially getting my master's degree

iv. P5: One of my professors texted me like a couple days ago just randomly check on me. I was surprised to see that. So I was thinking about you over the summer. Like, I hope you're doing well.

m. Rules and Regulations

i. P13 I graduated twice because of community college code.

ii. P2: On time.-: Responsibility self responsibility, respect, you know, being able to to look at things and and have to accept the jacks that up. Yeah, okay, how am I gonna fix this or how am I going to do it better next time you know take-: Or responsibility and accountability.-: Might not have one on schedule from the military, I better have been there on time. Like I was not allowed to be late to nothing, because that would have been a whole lot of trouble. So you know that that was the thing in itself.-: Accountability

iii. P3 on military culture rules others should adopt: Oh, and all of it.-: Is structured don't have a change a light bulb and wash the dishes and sweep the floor and everybody would follow it. Come on. I wish everybody would indoctrinate themselves a military bearing and protocol.-: For military. Don't we know that-: I believe. They instill good morals and ethics.-: And it allows us. Let me tell you another thing that the military is done.-: I believe I grew up with some pretty-: Not pretty a few good morals and ethics are the way to live my life about who I should be and how I should be in this world what the military day was a pronounce that. And it almost mandated us to be the best that we can be-: I learned there is no color in the military, and it really right now and what's going on in our world and like now I literally-:

iv. P9 on rules others should adopt from military: P9: And maybe be loyal to your country.: Honor respect. P9: There's a lot of anger out in the world.

v. P11 on rules others should adopt from military: P11: Oh, definitely, like I said your mission first protecting your people supporting your people.

vi. If you've never served before and something switches on a dime like that you, you definitely be able to tell who wore the uniform or not, because those abrupt changes or the new way of doing things.-: That are being implemented on the spot, or they hate it, they come down to my office. Oh my god, can you believe now we have to do the X y&z were before we've always done it.P12: Well, we've always done it this way we've always done it that way. And it's like, oh, you know, baby girl. You got to be flexible, like, you know, that's you have to be flexible and be able to adapt, always, always

vii. P8 on rules others should adopt from military: willingness to do- : A work when others aren't willing to, you know, that's why I see see places of employment and things like that because I'm willing to go the extra mile and other people are- : Are they feel they should be, you know, they should be compensated in the Marine Corps, you go, there you go the extra mile and you're lucky if you get if you get a pat on the back or get any sort of recognition for anything.- : So, you know, for me, I just do it because that's just what I'm ingrained to do, you know, not because of anything else. And so, because I don't look for any type of extra forP8 : The civilian world. That's actually a great asset in that, you know, people reward people for it so

viii. P5 on rules other should adopt from military: P5 I mean, even though I've been over a year now. I still have-: My military bearing, I guess you could say, meaning that-: I don't really like too loud. I like to carry myself, you know, carry myself well I don't like look-: I like to put be well put together. And that makes sense. Like, I don't like to look just any old kind of way because-: It just seems like-: I was just, you know, I have my uniform top notch and I boot shine my hair, pull back and tight like I'm just used to being that way. So I kind of carried that over, I'm-: Helping out others like going above and beyond to help out others I still carry that over because I feel like-: One of my Christian and I just feel like that's what you should be doing anyway but I'm-: just hoping that your neighbor, your brother, you know, because it's what is it hurting you, to help somebody out in me. So whether it's-: You know, hey, do you need some extra money for food or and that's something else getting off topic. Something else that I really liked about the vet centers that they provide.-: A cans and just food for people that might need it and just provide you know those, those types of things for people in need. Um, let's see, is there anything else that I bring over-: And just our work ethic. Um, I think, again, I just had so much to prove in the military because being an African American woman is just, that's just the culture of it.-: So I feel like I have to strive to do to do better. Like I'm six months pregnant now and everyone why you need to take it easy. And I'm like, I gotta keep going. And that's why I'm like-: I started school in the fall, like I just gotta keep going. So I'm that hard work that hard ethic, I just, I have that. And I brought that over from the military, so-: I think African American women have been underdogs for a very long time. Um, I think in the military, from what I've experienced it. You don't get a lot of you don't see a lot of respect because-: The people who are in higher leadership, like the officer and the Warren officers and even the chiefs, you know, they're predominantly white males and they dominate a lot of the job there and-: You see a lot of people getting shipped out of promotions. You see a lot of people who deserve it. Good job out of qualifications and I genuinely think that has a lot to do with-: You know, abusing your power from one and just having the attitude of-: I'm a Caucasian male, and I had that power and I had that authority, um-: I'VE SEEN I'VE SEEN African American women who have excelled the qualifications, who did great on the exams, but because you don't have that that that that eval that good Evo.-: You know, you don't get that promotion, you don't get that job as opposed to someone who isn't so great has a bad attitude poor sportsmanship. But they get it. And I think that's, you know, call it for what it is, it's because you know you're, you're a different race. And so, um,-: And just even me experiencing it for myself. I mean I had so many qualifications and I had one of my job that I loved.-: Be stripped from me, because this particular chief. He just did not think that women should be in the military, and it doesn't help that I'm an African American woman either, so I think I'm-: And I mean we're seeing it today with the whole systematic race racial thing. I think it's everywhere, especially in the military. So, um,-: Yeah, I think just just being the underdogs in general, that's just something that you know you face in the military.-: Um, because I don't-: From outside looking in. When people think of the military, they think of United when when we indoor the same issues that someone in the civilian world would indoor. It's just that, what kind of forced to work together because we have to, if that makes sense. So, um,-: Um,-: Because at the end of the day, you have a mission to complete and whether you like who you're working with, or not, whether it's their attitude personality or skin tone.-: You kind of have to get the job done. Now what happens after you get the job done is the total, total different thing, and I-: share my experiences with different people and they're shocked. They're like, really in the military, like you would think that you guys you know what habits together because you guys are, you know, just serving our country and you, you get this pretty picture of us, you know,-: Just being this powerfulP5: I don't know this powerful thing. But again, we experienced, you know, the same things that people in the civilian world experience and it is a job to do and you do have those type of things going on.

ix. I found some of their instructors were very deep sort of dictatorial. - -: Yes. - -: And they would nitpick and they were in the weeds but things that weren't important - -: Instead of it was some of them were like, Well, here's the information, take the test, and I would like that could be improved by having more interaction and more open discussion and applying what you learn to practice versus reading take a test. - -: But that's any teaching environment. It's not just Community College, as do it a teacher style. - -: Like for one class I took when I took the exam I read the book, I understood the assignment. - -: And I was able to answer the questions. But the teacher asked me to write down every page number where I got the answer and I said, I'm not doing that. - -: Because that's a waste of my time and then we'll just take too long to find the page. And I said, in the future, if you want people to do that. You tell them in advance and we can take notes of - -: What the page number is - -: So I didn't do it. - -: I just the answer. I didn't cheat. I knew it, I learned it, and I wrote it. - -: I failed the class. - -: I did all the other assignments, but didn't do that. And that was in a failed class. - -: Hmm, well, since I don't care about a grade point average but I gave my feedback back to the instructor and I have no idea if they're going to work on that or not.

x. P11 I like to that we had a mission in the military, whatever your office was whatever your job was there was a mission and the mission should be always be put first that's what I like. So it's like what the community college teaching should be put. First, you do it to the best of your ability. You keep training to where you do it better and better and better.

xi. P9 -The military was fine. I like having stricter discipline and clear rules. - -I was fine wearing a uniform didn't have to worry about what I was going to wear the next day.

xii. P9 I didn't like is that you were really - -under their control 24 seven, even when you're not working, you were under their control. - -You were still at your military all the time. - -I did not like that. There weren't many minority officers. P9 -You're a lot of minority enlisted and that officers and that's about it. It was a good experience glad I did it.

xiii. P10: I don't like the changes that that have come I'm accustomed to, like, though the old ways in and in doing things, but -: With situations arising in the military. -: Pilot new policies new -: It's like new people have been in place. So they've taken -: They've seen things so they change they change the whole structure. So I'm really not familiar with that. -: Really not familiar with it, but, um, you'll adapt and overcome so that's that's my whole thing. That's how I live adapt and overcome everything every situation.P10: That's that's in this really how I deal with college life adapted in overcame.

xiv. P1: I had a hard time -: Initially, -: I just in the military culture not within the realms of discipline or -: Just general conforming, it was -: Relating to other people from different places that that I never had contact with prior to -: I had certain preconceived notions which were quickly, which I quickly get rid of and other people had you know preconceived notions about myself which over time they get rid of as well. -: But I think that's -: Anywhere. -: I think as I've gotten older, I have come to realize that I am -: Fairly nonconformist person and that the military in and of itself was not the best fit for me.P1: However, given life circumstances and certain decisions I made I decided to stick it out.

xv. P4: I didn't do well adjusting to military rules. I feel like I'm one of those people I do in 2006 was the highest recruitment year since 911 they took everybody -: So, -: I understand the game. -: And what it -: Week, you know, it is what it is. I'm not very I love America. I'm not very jingoistic I don't vote. -: I love conspiracy theories. I think -: In like the real thing is I was so because I was fucking I was in ninth grade when 911 happened. We've watched it history class happen live on TV. -: And then I joined the Marines 17 and then I went to Iraq. And then I got hurt in Afghanistan and then was laying in bed forever in Afghanistan. I started reading different things and homeless. Like, what do you mean Russia was at war with Afghanistan. -: And we we helped Dad, can we paid for the people who became al Qaeda and the Taliban. -: To fight the Russians and then you start going deeper and deeper down this rabbit hole and you're like, so there's just a circle. -: World stupid circle. -: So I think that, but you need that you need a certainty of food and it is and who you're going to fight and what it is. Be or relative ever going to win. So I don't like that about the military, but it's absolutely necessary. I just00:16:33.750-00:16:36.030P4: I just wish I wasn't so brainwashed for so long.

n. Equality and Juxtaposition- (remember P10 vet pref over civ student

i. P10: Well it okay as a is a black male going to college. -: In the military and it's, it's, um, it's different because -: You're not -: It was different because every everybody was friendly. -: But -: I didn't get as much much help as I think I would have if I would have been a different race. -: It's -: Not -: They don't. It's not spelled out, you know, they don't -: They don't kind of say it, but -: They don't -: You really not looked at and given -: Like the help that you would get -: If you or somebody else. -: Have a different race. -: This go with both (community college culture or the military) -: Yeah. -: Because you have to, you have to research. -: In both stuff yourself instead of you asking for help or getting getting the help you need for the problems that you need. -: Like the problems for for me where I'm -: Sometimes scheduling scheduling and stuff and -: I've -: Experienced like -: People getting help book before me that we're not there before in all in office. -: This is the community. -: In the military, you're not able to get help you, they're -: Well, in the -: In the military there. -: There's the favoritism so it's it's who they like -: Gets the benefits -: For example, I was I was put up for promotion and passed up for promotion because of -: The -: The person and the the job title. So the person got the promotion and then decided to get out of state in soP10: It was it was it was kind of devastated.

ii. P10: It was-: Not really in time where I hadn't thought about, you know, military culture.-: I think once they know that you, you are a veteran they receive you very well. But until then, they don't they don't understand-: They don't receive you as well.-: Because when you're a veteran.-: Is more likely to priority and -: And help you when I don't know your veteran, they don't take-: Any priority and helping you in giving you the resources and stuff you need-: Well, I've seen like-: Now, that's not good. Get-: Give what they need, like,-: When they go to the office and stuff and they need something P6: So like the college’s veteran center you had all types of-: Benefits of being I guess in the military and having that vet center there.

iii. Juxtaposition P4: Just the whole thing of like-: Understand how annoying you are-: Just what I would like. People have this like you're annoying stuff being annoying say you can't live nuts, the Bucks with people 24 seven from nine months.-: In the heavier annoying tendencies. It's like-: Other people around other people have an objective. It's not about you.Can just-: Shut the fuck up and pay attention. I don't care what you're here for, you know, it's just-: Like I just want to scream that people all time when they tap their pens or they do things or they just keep talking in the background. So it's like I'm stupid. I'm old. I need to pay attention, or I don't understand this ship.-: Shut the fuck up. I don't think I've turned around, just being like no one gives a shit what you wrote on Twitter today.-: Nobody cares-: Nobody cares-: They shouldn't care, nobody cares.-: It's just common courtesy. Just like when you're in your free time till your free time shit.-: With your in this little space, other people are involved.-: That's what's annoying in the military who can't get away with that shit. Try and be the guy who sticks her head out.-: Chop that shimmer. The. Fuck off.-: Yeah.-: Yeah.-: Just anything. Just don't be fucking don't stand out.-: It's like your, your purpose in the classroom is not a standout unless it's for good reasons.-: To shut the fuck up and let other people make people paid to be there. Right. You said old people need to be there for a reason, people in their 70s. Want to learn accounting or whatever fucking reason, let them learn accounting-: Like, you don't have to be here. This is a voluntary class. You don't have to be here.-: For some reason everyone in their head things they have to go to college, especially Community College.-: That's like you don't you don't. I think there's not a lot of emphasis on trades anymore, which I think is sad. I don't know why that so look down upon-: You can learn a lot of trades that community colleges to or just smaller schools or focus schools. But for some reason, going to a trade school and become somebody who is handy, or has a specialty in something physical was become just so frowned upon right only most like-: No, it's helpful is fun. It's way more helpful than learning out debits and credits and whatever the fuck-: You don't have to be here to feel accomplished school, do whatever you want to do.-: That's why I feel extremely-: Privileged because I don't need to go to community college-: Like people just love the story of me so I can go do whatever now just teach meP4: But I do it because I want to know what I want someone that.

iv. Juxtaposition P2: I would describe military culture as-: Work hard play hard -: In all aspects of life, we would work 18 hour days. Often, and then we could party for 18 hours.

o. Bureaucracy

i. P1: I didn't like it. -: Now, I was in a feeling the overall feeling of isolation there. -: I did not feel -: Or perceived to be supported. -: The administration didn't seem to be very supportive. -: There were certain bureaucratic or just -: administrative issues they had to deal with that I think should be easily resolved, which weren't which took a lot of -: A lot of a -: Lot of time and energy to have resolved, especially given the fact that this particular institution, I'd been there had a -: Long history with it an institution. -: And also, -: The -: I would say some of the faculty -: A one time, we're more supportive -: Say have -: Helped me achieve my goals. -: And when I returned the same -: Faculty members who I've known for years. -: Were disinterested.-

ii. P12: And mind you, I'm public health students weren't notified of these changes at all. I'm not that there hasn't been much I could have done with a notification.: But maybe I don't know. I don't know. I still would have been better but to the the thing that the kicker was that they took away the 15 week option.: But there were several other courses that still had the 15 week and the eight week option for the course.: And if the courses majority are online anyway. Why would you take the 15. You don't have to be physically in the classroom, so why even take the 15 week option away.: aren't just teaching the same material. I didn't see what the difference was if you've done it so so many years.: 15 weeks and you're able to operate at eight week. Why couldn't you just leave that option open because it's not like your materials changing it or just giving more of it in a short and week I just didn't see the purpose of doing of eliminating 15 week altogether.: I brought it to the departments chair’s. Attention, because ultimately, I had to go to her and say hey you know I'm taking all of these credits. I'm at 20 credits right now.: Because of the decisions. Either you agreed or whoever made these decisions. Um, it's, it's really, it sucks, quite frankly, it sucks because you're putting me in a position to overload myself just to remain just to stay at or above the: The 12 credit minimum that I'm supposed to have. I have to maintain 12 credits are better, but I can't just stay as well. I have to do because: It mid semester. Once those eight week classes are done, they need to be replaced with another eight weeks, I need to stay full time again. So they'll drop down to nine or seven but I have to refill that that gap.: In the Fall semester to maintain full time status for the sake of receiving my full GI Bill entitlement.

iii. I was so stressed out at that point because I just, I couldn't understand how to do things. I couldn't under I had no roadmap. I had no way-: To know what to do next. And I felt like I was just missing things missing things missing, and it had me so stressed out and-: Because my college work with easy. That wasn't the problem, but it was now we need these papers you know for financial aid. Now we need this. Now we need that. And I was just like, why does this keep happening to me.-: What am I missing. I knew there was something I was missing. I was like, there's something-: I was like, This is not like just bad luck or you know as like there's something I'm supposed to be doing here and I have no idea what it is. So I need to go find out how I'm gonna find out what it is.

4. Struggle –P12:

And it's just, it's been a, it's been a Beautiful Struggle, honestly, because I'm Oh man, I, I'm just thinking I'm like man I have done a lot. I've accomplished a lot. P10: School is not hard. This is easy. If you learn, learn how to manage, manage your time is time management is the biggest thing.

5.

a. Adulting (finance, family)

i. P8 : The responsibilities are so much different that 20 year old person, you know they're thinking about Instagram and Twitter.P8 : And what's happening. Whereas, though you could be looking at, you know, stocks and making sure you have a good 401K and like regular IRA versus Roth IRAs and stuff like that where you're 20 you're not thinking about that because you don't know it's not something that something that's just in the forefront of your mind that point in your life. P15: Yeah, I ended up getting an A in English. And then I gotta be in geology and I think that's just because there is so much duties on my behalf that had to worry about outside of school.

ii. P12: Freshman. I guess you would say, I'm so it's like the same thing. It's just this blanketed tone. So it's like you're treated as if you are all the same. You're on the same playing level so obviously somebody 18 years old, more than likely does not have the same P12: Responsibilities as somebody 25 or even 21 for that matter, but when you're when you're in a classroom or when you're receiving P12: I'm advising and even this is that narrow into your it's it's just very blanketed it's just one size fits all type of service, you get and it's it's really annoying, it's very annoying.

iii. P10: I use the benefit which gave me enough to go to school and housing allowance.: Which made me made it suitable for me to just go to school and not have to worry about working

b. Persistence (longevity)

i. P6: I was I was tired of that I want to go work in As time went on, that closer to retirement, about a year out every time. And it's like, Okay, I'm tired of this. I need to do something I necessarily didn't want to work. Didn't want to work for anybody, or just go get a job, jump back off into working. Just working. So I wanted to get another another trade and computers.

ii. P6: Uh, no, I didn't, I didn't use any of the tutors. Um, I was needed help. And what was that: An intuition. I wasn't doing too well in nutrition. I ended up dropping it. But before I dropped it. I had a talk with a professor and she offered some ideas on how I could get better or, you know, get better grades or get a better grade for nutrition, but I didn't take advantage of. I just ended up dropping the class

iii. P3: Is after care for our veterans. What are we going to do with them after they finish their coursework and then they got all these great ideas all these new skills, but remember they all have mental health issues too. So my job is to

iv. P4: Like I just hop around from everything until I realized that I hate everything and then I move on to another major.

v. P9: I two different types of classes and I kept changing my major.

vi. P5: So I feel like I have to strive to do to do better. Like I'm six months pregnant now and everyone why you need to take it easy. And I'm like, I gotta keep going. And that's why I'm likeP5: I started school in the fall, like I just gotta keep going. So I'm that hard work that hard ethic, I just, I have that. And I brought that over from the military,

vii. P15: So it has been a rough and rocky road but along this road.

viii. But you have something to share it. That's your little moment to to leave your mark and you need to leave your mark. Anytime you're asked, do you have anything else.

ix. P12: So I took that time to say I just want you to know that the the women here on this command are working just as hard or even harder than some of the men, and I feel that we deserve to be represented and we deserve the representation

x. I wouldn't have had the possibility of doing any of these things. If I hadn't started down the road of trying to take advantage of education benefits.: If I hadn't done that, if I hadn't taken that left turn, so to speak, and gone down the road of trying to use my GI Bill, I wouldn't have met the people who gave me the advice that ended up pointing me in the road for getting my disability lined up. I wouldn't have ended up getting

xi. P14: I am on my first university fourth college total

xii. P13: GI Bill benefits are huge. The benefit led me to the people at the community college who would point me in the direction to getting the help that I needed to, putting me in touch with that networks of people who played a role and helped me. I Start putting my life back together. Granted it was 20 years later than I thought it was going to be: But better late than never.

xiii. P12: On this board and I went on to say a couple of more things just empowering women and female sailor just women in the military period that we deserve this.

xiv. P12: And I want to represent this because this is what I do day in and day out for this command in my division and my sailors that I work with. So, we are here.P12: And we're working so something along those lines and then ultimately, I won. I was a I was a junior sailor of the year. So, wow. Yeah.

c. Forms of oppression (normal, intersectional, contextual)

i. P8 (He) I was well aware of the sexual assault problem at the military faces now because the, the media knows about these types of issues. - : Now, the military will do more, or they will do extra because of it. You know, we would have more classes, you know that everything would change based on that dynamic alone and not they're actually being a problem. So it just all depends. It just really all depends. You just have to be - : Be a part of it. No.P8 : I know that's it.

ii. P3: Not pretty a few good morals and ethics are the way to live my life about who I should be and how I should be in this world what the military day was a pronounce that. And it almost mandated us to be the best that we can be P3: I learned there is no color in the military, and it really right now and what's going on in our world and like now I literally P3: Yo, sexism, racism and all the isms and completely got rid of it. And that's and that's the way I live my life now which goes back into lie so hard for me to adjust in our society to

iii. P2: Oh, about the military culture, the racism that sexism. Um, it's an environment that breeds abuse of people. It's very easy to abuse people in the military

iv. P5 I think another thing that I'd Don't like is the culture of how some men treat women and I know that men experience sexual assault sexual harassment as well. Unfortunately, they don't come for as much as women do. But you know, I've witnessed the sexual harassment I've witnessed going out, and I'm getting drunk, and I'm taking things overboard saying hurtful things, Amy things and, you know, it's like we all work together to why would you put yourself in that situation? So that's something that you know, it's very scary. I think if my daughter who was four, if she was to come up to me and said that she will want to join the military one day I think that will be the first thing that pops in my mind is her safety as far as sexual harassment and sexual assault goes, because that is a big, big, big, big thing in the military. And you say, as today, even as today

v. P12: When you're in the military, you can't do things to make yourself stand out, you have to P12: Do in the military, you're blending in. You're not. It's not a standout institution, it's, it's a, you know, that's why they say things like

vi. P12: I've heard things i don't i don't see black and white in the Navy. I see blue and gold. Well, no one's blue and no one's go you know we can put these things on and take them off.

vii. P5: And just our work ethic. Um, I think, again, I just had so much to prove in the military because being an African American woman is just, that's just the culture of it.

viii. P5: I think African American women have been underdogs for a very long time. Um, I think in the military, from what I've experienced it. You don't get a lot of you don't see a lot of respect becauseP5: The people who are in higher leadership, like the officer and the Warren officers and even the chiefs, you know, they're predominantly white males and they dominate a lot of the job there andP5: I'VE SEEN I'VE SEEN African American women who have excelled the qualifications, who did great on the exams, but because you don't have that that that that eval that good

ix. All it takes so so I've actually been on the mess decks, where we eat lunch and dinner and breakfast and someone said, Hey, I found that I found the new debt girl, meaning that both may

x. P12: And she's coming. She's gonna be here next week and then the phone gets passed around, of what she looks like. So it's like Yeah, she's all right. No, no, she's been she's been talking about bad meaning like she looks good, he or she is interested: And then something like an eye. That's just a whole bunch of makeup. She probably looks really regular when she gets here. These are the kinds of conversations. They're, they're had about women who are coming to the ship. So, um, yeah, it is. We don't do that for men because we don't care. We're not looking to follow women on board a good chunk of us just want to do our jobs and be left alone. We're not looking to fall in love with the next Incoming sailor. Or twoP12: Patients with them for that matter, we're just looking. We're just hoping they go hope pick you know handle their workload and contribute. That's it, and not be a Dirtbag of, you know,: dirt bag, meaning not being like a sloppy lazy sailor.

xi. P12: The so a lot of work, a lot of work needs to be done.

xii. P12: Culturally : So, um, yeah, it is. We don't do that for men because we don't care. We're not looking to follow women on board a good chunk of us just want to do our jobs and be left alone. We're not looking to fall in love with the next

xiii. P2: That's my kind of use it because I've already seen how it goes down when when they integrated ships in the Navy and had both men and women on ships and it's it's a mess.

xiv. P5: Be stripped from me, because this particular chief. He just did not think that women should be in the military, and it doesn't help that I'm an African American woman either, so I think I'm

xv. I started off with A female chief. And so I think she was more excited to have a female in her division. And so it was a little bit easier for me coming in. But once she left, I started to kind of see how incense certain things can be different because you have people from all over the world who were raised completely different from you. Sometimes the guys were aggressive, sometimes they didn't have manners and something was say and do things that you know would make you feel uncomfortable.P5 14:44 I remember going to a lot of different trainings that involved, you know, whether it was bystander intervention, you know, reporting of sexual assault, things like that, and that Me personally, I've experienced it as well as I know people who did it which made me want to become a sexual assault advocate. Well, I was able to help, you know, other, it was mostly women that came forward and, you know, recorded those things. But it was nice for me to be able to help women that experienced the same thing. So I would say that being in the military had its ups and downs. I mean, the camaraderie is where I personally love about the military, having people that genuinely have your back, you know, meeting people that obviously I didn't have any family in Hawaii and I was very far away from Virginia. So it was nice meeting, whether it was some of the guys that I work with wives or whether it was women that I work with, or just new men, it was nice having them and being able to treat them as if they were family, and then having my back. So those are some of the good things. I really enjoyed about it and traveling and Being able to experience different cultures in that way. Definitely had its ups and downs in the military,ups and downs I had a chief. My last she's actually on my last shit. He was openly homosexual. Everyone knew he didn't hide it. And which I thought was, you know, great. But he did show a lot of favoritism to some of my group that he, you know, was very close with. And he did eventually get in trouble because myself included some of the females in the division. He didn't treat so great. And I guess because he just didn't think that females needed to be in the Navy. He's very vocal about that as well. therapy will do not belong to the Navy. And they definitely don't belong as they both have made, they need to be more of a admin job or an NC job working with careers pretty much have an office or admin job. That was his face. So that was kind of difficult for me. It kind of made me prior to him coming to the show, I loved Navy, I loved everything about it, but he kind of changed my perspective, because I wasn't used to having leadership that wasn't being the leader, pretty much. And then that's when I started seeing, you know, poor leadership. And that's what kind of made me feel like okay, you know, if, if I got out the military wouldn't be that big of a deal because I'm just not feeling it. And then that's when I kind of took it more like, okay, it's a job. You know, it's just a job. When we all know that we're sailors, soldiers, 24 seven It kind of changed my mindset about that. I'm like, okay, it's just a job like I can't, can't indulge in it because, you know, these people are making it a lot harder for me to enjoy what I'm doing as I'm serving my country.

d. Trauma - non-military, military

11 of 15 participants in this reported having a disability although formal VA disability ratings are not disclosed in this study. Students with disabilities do report disability triggers in schoool, participants describe the stress as low in instances such as tapping of pens by other students, commonly know as an agitate to Post-Traumatic Disorder.

i. P4: Like I just want to scream that people all time when they tap their pens or they do things or they just keep talking in the background. So it's like I'm stupid. I'm old. I need to pay attention, or I don't understand this shit. One participant using the stress descalation room at the college's veterans' resource center. P14: With the bunker that was that was definitely an awesome space for me at that time.

ii. P4: I got shot and stomach in the leg and they retired me and now I go to school and I have a baby and my life is terrible. How can I help you? (On traumatic event P4):The professor like yeah you ever had a gun pointed at you. I'm like, Yeah, and it's like, how do you know-: Why-: Did you see the barrel. Like sometimes like Has anyone ever shot at you, though. And I'm like, yeah.-: It's just like how did you know they're shooting at you. I think I was so confused. It took me like 20 minutes after class I was driving home. So I was like, because I got shot. That's how I knew they were shooting at me.

iii. P11: He'd make the comment about, Oh, well I you know your husband's out of town. Well, my wife and I have an open marriage. Maybe I'll come by and as -: You know, and I remember you know I was young, I was like 23 and I and I would go home the evenings. I didn't even want to turn the lights on in our apartment because he made me so nervous and I had no idea that I could report that stuff.

iv. P13: Well, this kind of stuff. And like for somebody coming out of a chaotic background like I did. I came from a family background that was -: very abusive very chaotic, we never knew what was going to get in trouble. You never knew it was going to cause problems, you never knew what was -: Going to be okay. The state not okay the next day to have all that stuff so clearly delineate. It was like heaven. It was like, this is awesome. This I can do, you know, I am going to rule campus and and it was just, it was just perfect. -: And it was just there were just so many things like you just knew how your clothes had to be and and and it wasn't until 20 years later I found out I'm OCD. So this is why the rules really helped me -: Because because it worked really well. If my OCD and therefore I knew exactly how everything was supposed to be. And therefore, everything was supposed to be this way and and that made me happy part of my brain very happy. -: AndP13: Yeah, so

v. P2: on military family: I came from kind of came from a family that was dysfunctional my original family is very dysfunctional so gaining this like new dysfunctional family, um, -: You know.

vi. P14: Who served nine months in Afghanistan in 2013 P14: I was a cavalry scout combat arms. And came back with a few more challenges than I left with.

vii. P14: Part of my struggle and that that anticipation -: With PTSD is -: Being able to run as fast as I can, as quick as I need to. -: So I always positioned myself. -: The opportune place would be -: In a corner against two all -: Right next to the door. -: Or as close to the door as possible, where nobody could be behind me, nobody could be in, you know, to one side of me.

viii. P11: Went to El issue transferred Louisiana Tech from there. Enter the Air Force as an officer served about four years till I had all the sexual harassment BS. I care to put up with and

ix. P11: So I was the victim of sexual harassment, which is the reason why I had gone into the military.P11: So that was I. That is what I presented and when I finally did go to make a complaint in the Air Force about the sexual harassment. P11: I was told, we don't have any sexual harassment issues in the Air Force and i and i remember i looked at the guy and I said, Are you serious, I said you integrate it, the races before you integrated the sexes and you still have racial problems. So you're telling me that you've completely eradicated sexual harassment and I wasn’t told?

x. P12: So the incident happened while I was going to the Navy. But I think what really sold it for me. I actually was robbed. On a bus and you have a car at the time I was robbed and live in Inglewood, and this guy came up to me, smash my phone. And I was, I just in disbelief that you would like burst. My personal bubble and he ran out the back of the bus. P12: And he was like, This is my shit and he's just like, and like the look at his face was like if you get up. I'm going to knock your head off. Like I was Terrified. And so I was like, I gotta get out of here. And so I didn't have any hesitations about joining the Navy.

xi. P13: Bad things happen to me after the military. I am a sexual assault survivor because of the military. I've got, I've got a trauma background prior during and after the Military and And the VA, the VA didn't want to give me service connection for any of it because when I tried to report any of that stuff When I was in the military.P13: So because of their religious perspective and where they were in their position over my life. They literally took away my opportunity to: Try to get my mental health put back together and it affected me for the next 20 years:

xii. P13: The attorney that helped me get my sexual trauma on the record officially I wouldn't have I wouldn't have gotten any of that help for those things I need. I wouldn't have had the paperwork, they need from the doctors:

xiii. P13: I wouldn't have gotten the therapists, I needed. I wouldn't have had the VA finally stepping up and and providing the health care that they need for the: Numerous disabilities that I've got. And it all started it all started because I found out that I was going into use it or lose it territory for my GI bill.: Was that one benefit if I hadn't if I hadn't used that one benefit. None of the other stuff will happen. And I'm not in any way, making that up. That was all due to me trying to use that one benefit.