Thomas Kroom is eager to start college in January. He looks forward to meeting new friends, studying business and playing on the baseball team.

But when Kroom discusses his apprehensions about starting college, he no longer fits the profile of a typical freshman. And a typical freshman he is not. When Kroom starts at Sacramento State, he will arrive at the age of 25, as a war veteran.

Kroom is one of approximately 60,000 California veterans who will exit the Armed Forces this year, trading military fatigues for civilian attire. This transition presents many new challenges: finding employment, adjusting to social activities and, for people like Kroom, going back to school.

Jeffrey Weston, coordinator of Veteran’s Affairs at Sac State, estimated that he has heard from 50 to 60 other veterans who anticipate advancing their academic studies on campus next year.

But they are confronted by many unique issues, Kroom said.

“The biggest change when you’re coming off of active duty is going from a rule-driven, rigid system to one that is very much less structured,” said Weston, an Air Force veteran. “In the military there’s always somebody to go to, and when veterans get out, that’s just gone.”

He said this transition can be very intimidating and that everything from knowing who to contact to sitting in a classroom presents new challenges.

“You’re so used to having step-by-step instructions in the military,” Weston said. “Then, at college, you’re with people with different interests and different backgrounds that don’t share the history that you’ve experienced. It’s a matter of getting comfortable.”

John Middlesworth, office manager at the Sacramento Vet Center, also sees how difficult the transition can be.

“One of the things that we’re seeing in students is a tough time sitting in class, being closed in,” he said. “Other issues include not dealing well with crowds, anxiety and trouble sleeping.”

The center, which is part of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, provides adjustment counseling and referral services to veterans to ease the transition from military to civilian life. Individual and group counseling is offered free of charge to address feelings such as anger, nervousness and difficulty trusting others.

New initiative

The Veterans Education Opportunities Partnership, formed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in March, aims to alleviate transition challenges and make post-secondary education more accessible to personnel leaving military service.

“California has the greatest higher education system in the world, and our veterans deserve easy access to it,” Schwarzenegger said in a written statement. “The men and women of our armed forces put their lives on the line to protect us, to protect our country, our state and our freedom. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude for their service, and we should do everything we can to honor them when their time of service has ended.”

The goals of the program include improving outreach to veterans to inform them of educational opportunities, offering greater academic and financial counseling and expanding priority admission for veterans. These efforts will greatly benefit veterans returning to the university system, Weston said.

“There’s a lot of good coming out of it. It’s going to be a really great thing, not just at this campus, but across the whole CSU system.”

Sac State’s website for veteran affairs was recently revised to be more user friendly and easy to navigate, Weston said. In fact, it was used as the model for all 23 CSU campuses. The website is a crucial tool in communicating with future students because of distance and time differences, he added.

The department is also ready to implement other projects that have been in the works. Weston said he hopes a network comprised of faculty and students will connect veterans with their peers.

“It will provide contacts in different departments so that students can go talk about their academics or other things they are struggling with,” he said. “In the military you develop such a bond with other service folks, so it’s very therapeutic to be around people that went through the same things and have the same types of stories as you.”

Senior Adam Benavides, a math major, said this network would help veterans.

“I was in a situation where I couldn’t relate to anybody,” he said of his return to school from the military. “I think that would have definitely helped me.”

Benavides, an avionics technician who worked on F-15 fighter planes during his two years in the Air Force, is completing his education through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program, where he remains a member of the armed forces. Upon graduating, he will return to active duty as a commissioned second lieutenant. It is a move he looks forward to.

“The adjustment that is necessary is leaps and bounds,” he said. “You have to realize that you’ve been through things that other people haven’t and, likewise, you haven’t been through what college people have been through.”

Weston said this is a common situation. He is working to ease those concerns by meeting with each individual to develop an academic plan and address any other pertinent issues.

While statistics have yet to be compiled concerning growth in veterans returning to college campuses, Weston said he has seen a definite increase.

“More and more veterans are contacting us now,” he said. “But we want those numbers to keep going up.” He said the governor’s initiative will also help nail down measures to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

Soldier vs. student

Transitioning out of the military groove is something Kroom knows will not be easy. Currently stationed as a staff sergeant in military intelligence with the 4th Infantry Division in Baghdad, Kroom is on his third overseas deployment and his second in Iraq. He has been there for 10 months.

While he knows challenges lie ahead, he is ready to embrace them.

“I am ready to get at it,” Kroom said in an e-mail. “Not to mention, have a little fun in the process.”

Kroom originally joined the military to finance college but soon felt a calling to stay in the service and continue fighting for his country, he said.

“After my first enlistment was up, I realized a true spirit of patriotism had emerged in me, and I raised my hand for four more years of service,” Kroom said. “Now it’s time to pursue my original goal and finish my education.”

Weston said he looks forward to welcoming Kroom and ensuring that veterans have the necessary resources to achieve such goals.

“Even though our primary goal here is to process and get them their payment, we’re here to help them with any need they have,” Weston said. “We’re here to serve the veterans.”

Funds

Weston refers to the GI Bill, a fund that soldiers can pay into during their service and then withdraw from afterwards for education. The monthly payout is currently $1,034, with 96 percent of soldiers contributing to the fund. But Weston is bothered by the fact that most veterans don’t take advantage of the stipend.

Margita Thompson, press secretary for the governor, also hopes more veterans will begin claiming the educational benefits available to them.

“For military personnel, only half of those eligible take advantage of the GI Bill, which guarantees funding for education,” she said through Bob Maile, her spokesman.

Weston, who graduated from Sac State in 2005 with a degree in government, used the GI Bill to finance his undergraduate studies. Now, the stipend is also helping him pay for part-time law school classes.

In addition to work, academic and family commitments, Weston also visits community colleges and military bases to encourage veterans to consider going back to school.

“I tell them I’ve been through it,” Weston said. “And that it opens up a whole lifetime of possibilities that would never have been possible without taking that first step.”

Looking Ahead

When he takes his first step on the Sac State campus in January, Kroom knows it will be a change. He is aware that he will be referred to as “Tom” instead of “staff sergeant” and that he will have to adjust to a completely new lifestyle. But he is confident that wherever he goes, he will be able to draw on the strengths he honed during his years as a soldier.

“The army instilled in me a will to succeed,'” he said. “Now my future can take me anywhere I want it to.”

Megan Chuchmach can be reached at [email protected]