Resources for Veterans | Shawnee State

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You Served Us, Now Let Us Serve You

We are grateful to you and your family members for your service to our country! We understand that transitioning from military service to student life can be both challenging and rewarding, and we are dedicated to your success and wish to support your successful navigation of this transition.

Visit the SSU Veteran Services webpage for more specific information on benefits, contacts, and how to make the most of your military educational benefits.

Moving from Combat to Academic Zones

Returning home from deployment or service to a college environment produces a unique set of challenges and stresses. Some of these are observable and apparent: you get to pick your own clothes, there aren't any formations, and camouflage gives way to school colors. However, most transitional issues are far more subtle and complex.

  • Difficulty relating to students who don't share your values or life experience. Age differences and trivial student concerns like grades, parties, and joining organizations seldom have the same significance to veterans, who are often more mature and focused on the mission of graduation.
  • Navigating the cultural differences between the military and higher education bureaucracies (e.g., knowing the rules of campus, where to go to get things done, how to address professors and others in positions of authority).
  • Feeling safe on campus (e.g., choosing classroom seats that allow for monitoring of others and rapid escape, such as sitting with their back to the wall and near a door).
  • Reintegrating with your family (e.g. being a parent, daughter, and partner). As much as you love them, your military service and deployment has probably changed you in a manner that's difficult to understand.

These issues, when coupled with the challenges related to returning to general civilian life, place returning veteran students at higher risk of dropping out.

IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN CRISIS:

  • Veterans Crisis Line: A 24/7 resource for veterans to call, text, or internet chat with Department of Veterans Affairs responders. 1-800-273-8255 (Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish).
  • Make the Connection
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
  • National 24/7 Suicide Hotline: 988
  • List of State of Ohio Suicide Hotlines 
  • Local 1010 Hotline: (740) 354-1010
  • SSU Crisis Text Line: text "shawnee" to 741-741 

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