A VETERAN AND A VETERINARIAN

IT WAS a culture shock when I entered Colorado State University in 2017, ultimately to earn a bachelor’s degree in microbiology.

For eight years, I had served in the U.S. Navy as an Arabic linguist. I was deployed to places around the world and was focused on conflicts in the Middle East and Africa with the goal of supporting combat operations. After my service, I put my skills to use as a medical translator for Syrian and Iraqi refugees in camps on the Greek islands during the height of the refugee crisis there.

When I arrived on campus from my hometown in southeastern Oklahoma, I had no ties to Colorado; my college decision- making process had amounted to a dart throw. At 27, I was almost 10 years older than most of my classmates, had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and my close friends in the military had gone their separate ways. It would not surprise me if this were the standard experience for most military veterans starting college in their mid-20s and 30s.

There is a vast difference in life experience when comparing most student-veterans to traditional college students coming to campus shortly after graduating from high school. Age is just the beginning. Student-veterans have lived in structured, often intense circumstances – very often against a backdrop of conflict, war, and life and death. The transition to campus can be tough.

It’s no wonder, as the U.S. Government Accountability Office reports, that “student-veterans … are more likely to experience anxiety, stress, depression, and suicidal ideation than their nonveteran peers.”

I was not immune. The first challenge I faced was loneliness. I went from being surrounded by people I had everything in common with to being surrounded by virtually no one with experiences like my own. I naturally withdrew and had an isolated existence. Over time, it got to me. I found myself not exercising, socializing, or taking care of myself in ways I normally would. I didn’t see the point.

Eventually, in search of a healthier existence, I decided to strike out and meet people. I started by doing volunteer activities with CSU’s Adult Learner and Veteran Services, met some cool people at the dog park, started working out again, and got a job working as a technician at the livestock hospital within CSU’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The feeling of loneliness never completely faded, but it eased up with these intentional steps to interact on campus and in the community.

The second challenge I faced was grappling with my purpose. After leaving the Navy, I knew only that the Navy wasn’t my future. In the classroom, everything felt dull and uninspiring. Realizing that sitting still wouldn’t lead me to my passion, I began volunteering in various capacities – for instance, helping a professor capture bats for infectious disease research; working in a laboratory in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology; and tutoring other students in anatomy. Along the way, I declared my major in microbiology and realized I had an interest in veterinary medicine.

I was fortunate to be accepted into the highly competitive Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program at CSU. Yet, I soon realized that choosing to be a veterinarian and actually becoming one are two very different things.