Many veterans say getting money for college is one of the main reasons they enlisted in the Armed Forces. However, going to school after serving in the military is often a daunting task.

Troops to College, a program started in 2006 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, takes aim at aiding veterans returning to college.

Sacramento State was active in getting the program off the ground. Since then, Sac State has expanded the program, opening doors for new waves of veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as bases at home and far away.

Jeff Weston, veterans affairs coordinator at Sac State, said the program helps veterans by helping them pay for school, build an education plan and offers support groups.

“The whole focus of what we are trying to do with our Troops to College initiative is to build a community,” Weston said. “We want to help them get a voice on campus and ensure their success at Sac State.”

Weston said many veterans feel they are too old to go to college, that college is not for them or they are concerned about how they will be treated on campus.

“Veterans tend to be older than the average Sac State student, and many have families and full-time jobs,” Weston said.

The Veterans Affairs office works with the Financial Aid Office to help veterans with the expenses related to school. One major problem for many veterans is the G.I. Bill does not pay out until one month after the start of classes, well after tuition deadline.

Daisy Enriquez, senior social work major, transferred to Sac State from University of California, Merced in fall of 2007. Enriquez said the program helped her find the best way to finance her education.

“The program has helped show me how to make my benefits stretch,” Enriquez said. “It has helped as far as making sure that I have my benefits on time, and that I have them the whole time I am in school.”

Enriquez said the difference between the Veterans Affairs offices at UC Merced and Sac State are tremendous.

“At my first school, there was one woman who was never there, I would just leave her notes,” Enriquez said. “Coming here, there was an actual office with students working.”

Next year, the Veterans Affairs office and the Troops to College program will, for the first time, offer scholarships to veterans. Through private donation, 100 scholarships of $1,000 each will be distributed.

Veterans have priority registration at Sac State, Weston said. The veterans affairs office also assists veterans by putting together educational plans.

“Each student that takes courses that are going through this office, we check to make sure courses are going toward their degree and meeting requirements,” Weston said. “We are able to remove a lot of the roadblocks faced by veterans when enrolling in school.”

Austin Sihoe, junior kinesiology major, came to Sac State in the fall of 2007 after serving five years in the U.S. Navy.

“There is a transitional process, and Sac State has been really good about helping me through it,” Sihoe said.

Sihoe contacted the Veterans Affairs office at Sac State while serving on an aircraft carrier in the Middle East. Through the Troops to College program, Sihoe was able to enroll in college courses before he left the Navy.

The Student Veterans Organization is involved with the Veterans Affairs office and the Troops to College program. “It’s a good community for veterans to talk about these things that we will understand, that people on the outside will not,” Sihoe said.

Charles Caraway, junior history and sociology major, said the Student Veterans Organization has been very helpful.

“I’m 27, so being around 18 and 19 year olds, I don’t understand them what-so-ever,” Caraway said. “I went into the military and my mentality is completely different than theirs. Now that I am around people my age, with my same experiences, it makes school something that I can discuss with other people who are having the same problems as me.”

Caraway finished two years of college before enlisting. He has seen his G.P.A. more than double since joining the Troops to College program. The average G.P.A. of veterans in the Troops to College program is 3.18.

Enriquez is the president of the Student Veterans Organization. She helps organize its meetings and arranges community service outreach programs.

Caraway found out about the Troops to College program through the Student Veterans Organization.

“I found out about it on my second day,” Caraway said. “I didn’t hear about it during enrollment because it’s not one of those things that is lit up in neon lights.” Caraway said before becoming part of the program, he was a typical student, but he now has more of an interest.

“Now that I have joined the organization, Sac State is more of a school to me, more than just a place to come get a degree,” Caraway said. Caraway served four years as a marine.

The Veterans Affairs office has found a great deal of support from other administrative groups on campus. President Alexander Gonzalez has been very supportive of the Troops to College program, Weston said. Psychological Counseling Services has volunteered a counselor to assist veterans with any problems they may have, and the Student Affairs and Financial Aid offices work closely with the Veterans Affairs office.

Weston said Gonzalez has made the Troops to College program part of the Sac State Strategic Plan.

“I am deeply proud that Sac State has over 1,100 service members, veterans and dependents,” Gonzalez said in an e-mail statement. “Every single one of them has made a tremendous sacrifice on behalf of our nation, and as an Air Force veteran myself, I feel a personal connection to their needs as they pursue their studies.”

Derek Fleming can be reached at [email protected]