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By Kenya Godette

������ was ranked as a top institution in the rankings. The University ranked fourth out of 14 in Virginia, placing it in the top five in the state, and 87th out of 304 overall, putting it in the top third nationwide.

But rankings like this aren’t awarded without a deep understanding of what helps veterans succeed in higher ed. According to Lauren Thompson ‘09, student support and programming coordinator for the Military Connection Center (MCC), ������ goes above and beyond the required financial support for veterans – it’s the buy-in from leadership for veteran activities, programs and offices that nudges the University over the edge.

“Not every campus has this,” Thompson said. “Only 300 colleges are ranked and there’s a lot more than that.”

������’s strong ROTC programs, Military Connection Center, veteran peer advisors and success coaches, veteran scholarships and military partnerships with ������ Athletics all contributed to the Military Times' ranking of the University, according to Thompson. Per the Military Times scoring rubric, there’s an emphasis on military-specific resources, financial assistance and admissions and registration policies – with a particular focus on student success metrics.

To that end, Thompson noted ������’s transition programs for veterans as “one of the things we were able to brag about the most.” Operation BLUE – Bridging Life and University Experience – is one of them. The yearlong active learning program aims to guide student veterans through activities to gain practical experience, self-awareness and transferable skills.

“In other words, we are helping veterans gain civilian experience and get acclimated to campus,” Thompson said.

Another component of student veteran success at ������ is the built-in military community that forms strong bonds between veterans and their military-affiliated peers. Thompson, a daughter and granddaughter of Navy veterans and wife of a Virginia Air National Guard veteran, understands just how important that is.

“Having that community and camaraderie, that’s one of the things the military does, maybe even unintentionally,” she said. “It’s like building that group of people who have gone through ‘the thing,’ and we have that here.”

Having peer-to-peer interactions help veterans surmount challenges from registration to classwork. Having someone explain solutions from a similar lens and in digestable terms has created many “light bulb moments” for veterans at ������, Thompson said.

It also bridges the gap for student veterans who self-isolate. “It’s a totally different environment. And whether they liked it or not, there was a lot of structure in the military,” Thompson said. “Adjusting can be really interesting.” Some think they will be the eldest in their classroom, fear the stigma of being in the military and hesitate to take advantage of resources offered to “traditional” students.

Another key feature that aids in veteran student success is the student veteran success coach embedded in the MCC. The goal of the position is to assist veterans with everyday issues that could affect their academic life. “No matter how old the student is, their life experience is different than what other students may be dealing with. Having someone who understands that and speaks the ‘military jargon’ is proving to be really important,” Thompson said.

With nearly 30% of ������’s student population being military-affiliated, veterans form an essential thread in the fabric of the University – and people like Thompson are the ones weaving it all together.

“We’re here to help them use what they earned. You did the time, and you have this benefit at the end of the road. We want to make sure they take advantage of that to the fullest,” she said.