Serving those who served
ALLIE LONGO /ASST. FEATURE EDITOR
The U.S. News & World Report recently published its 2024 Best College rankings, selecting the University of San Diego as one of the best colleges for veterans. USD was voted number 98 in its overall ranking among the country’s top 100 national universities and number 65 in best colleges for veterans. U.S. News is a digital media company that uses data and technology to publish independent reporting and rankings and determines its ranking of the best colleges for veterans, based on the benefits they provide for veterans and active-duty service members — from financial to community building opportunities. USD has various programs in place for veteran students.
Photo courtesy of Emma-Kate Squires
Nelson Chase, the Director of the Military and Veterans Program at USD, was one among many of those who heard about USD’s recent ranking. Chase oversees the Military and Veterans Program at USD, with their department located in the University Center (UC). The program holds this space to host any events and meetings, and is also used as a general “hangout” space for veteran students. As both a veteran and a USD alum, Chase wishes this program existed while he was a student.
“We had nothing [back then]… I didn’t even know there were other veterans on campus,” Chase noted. “The university has made tremendous strides in wanting to connect military students to each other, and provide resources centered on them. We’ve come leaps and bounds since I was a student.”
Chase emphasized the importance of USD having a well-developed Military and Veterans Program.
“There’s at least five or six military bases within a five to 10 minute drive of USD,” he stated. “So we really have a focus on growing the population [of military students] and supporting them.”
One of the things USD does in aiding its student veterans is through finances. Many veteran students come to USD with the GI Bill. This is a federal law which helps veterans pay for college, graduate school and training programs by providing them sums of money based on their time in service. The GI bill won’t cover all of USD tuition, so the school participates in “Yellow Ribbon,” which is additional funding from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which the school matches. Chase explained that USD recently uncapped the limit of Yellow Ribbon funding, which according to Military.com was $27,120.05 for the 2023 school year.
“Any veteran student who’s eligible [for Yellow Ribbon] will never have an out-of-pocket tuition fee here at USD,” Chase explained. “So we’re really committed to making the funding available to have [veterans] come here.”
The Yellow Ribbon also extends to dependents of military veterans as well. Not only does USD have financial support for veterans, but they continue to support their students through various programs in place. Chase elaborated more on these programs.
“We have ‘Lunch and Learn’ where we bring in different campus partners,” he explained. “We’re having an LGBTQ+ military education seminar in October. We have a bi-weekly wellness group just for active duty and veterans facilitated by a counselor from the wellness center.”
Some veteran students said they take advantage of these opportunities put on by the Military and Veterans Program. All of these opportunities put in place prove further to USD’s voting among the best colleges for veteran students. Both staff and students agreed with the recent ranking. USD junior Hunter Thompson served five years in the U.S. Navy, enlisting when he was 17 years old. For three years during his service, he was overseas in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. Now, he’s 25 and getting his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering, Thompson expressed gratitude for the opportunities and support USD has provided.
“The support staff we have here is unparalleled to anywhere else that I’ve gone to school,” Thompson stated. “The school offers us so much… the school really does look after its veterans.”
Thompson takes advantage of all the center has to offer. He spoke about all the opportunities it has given him.
“Every other Tuesday, we have doughnuts with Father Greg, which is absolutely phenomenal,” Thompson said. “We also have ‘Wellness Wednesdays,’ with lunch provided, where we have a person from the Wellness Center talk with us.”
Thompson acknowledged the support and acceptance not only within the Military and Veterans Center, but also throughout the entire USD community.
“Everybody’s very welcoming. I’ve never been anywhere on campus where I felt out of place,” Thompson said. “But I also try to include myself in the campus too — I did rugby last semester, and that was a blast.”
To improve and further support the veteran students, Thompson’s only request would be a bigger Military and Veteran space.
“Really the only thing that I could see needing improvement is a bigger space, because it is relatively tight here,” Thompson admitted. “Especially as the years go on, we get more and more students and it becomes known that there’s a vet center on campus, because we’re always hosting various things.”
It’s not just Thompson that had a positive experience as a veteran on campus. New student veteran Briana Burton is a sophomore at USD and described how she was welcomed with open arms by the USD community. 25-year-old Burton served in the Navy for a little over five years and landed at USD, after hearing about their well-known architecture program. This is Burton’s first semester at USD, but so far she reports feeling positivity throughout the campus.
Prior to attending USD, Burton went to a different school, whose Military and Veteran program was still shut down following COVID-19. Therefore, finding resources, support and the Military and Veteran center at USD exceeded all her expectations.
“There’s a lot of support here. You can’t really be lost or go wrong from my personal experience. There’s support all over the place,” Burton explained. “Everybody here has been very nice and welcoming.” Burton said one of her favorite parts about USD is all the events the campus offers. She has attended any event she could find since starting school.
“I went to all the other orientation events. But the events are lit. Oh my gosh. They’re so fun. They’re always giving you food and stuff,” Burton exclaimed.
From the reviews by both faculty and students of the veteran services offered at USD, the ranking on the best colleges for veteran students appears to be well-deserved. Not only does USD offer financial aid for veterans and their dependents and support through the Military and Veterans program, but that support carries over into the general campus community.
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