After serving in the U.S. Army in Germany, Michael DeLuzio \u201984 arrived at ESU in 1980 feeling older than his fellow freshman.<\/p>\n
He was only 21, but his experiences in the service and abroad gave him a different perspective, and he found few other veterans on campus to talk to about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t relate after being in the military for three years,\u201d DeLuzio said. \u201cI had some issues with just getting assimilated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast forward three decades. DeLuzio is now a social worker\/readjustment counselor for the Scranton Veterans Center and comes twice a month to ESU to work with veterans on transitioning into civilian and campus life.<\/p>\n
In January, ESU created a special place in Zimbar-Liljenstein Hall for veterans so they\u2019ll have an easier time with that transition. Student veterans come for help with GI Bill benefits or other services, as well as to hang out, use computer stations, drink coffee or watch TV.<\/p>\n
The ESU Student Veterans Center also gives the Student Veterans Association a home base.<\/p>\n
Since DeLuzio\u2019s student days, the number of student veterans on campus has grown. There are now 102 receiving GI Bill educational benefits, a number that has been inching up.<\/p>\n
![\"Veterans-Center2\"](\"http:\/\/quantumnew.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Veterans-Center2.jpg\")
Coming from the Air Force, ESU sophomore Nicholas Hunt \u201915 was used to dealing with bureaucratic red tape and had every reason to think getting his benefits might be a nightmare. But Hunt found the process much more streamlined than he expected, thanks to June Pepe \u201900, ESU\u2019s Veterans Services counselor and VA certifying official.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s one of those behind-the-scenes, know-how-to-get-things-done people,\u201d said Hunt, who is studying recreation services management with the intent of becoming a park ranger.<\/p>\n
Pepe runs the Veterans Center and is training work\/study students who are veterans how to help others receive benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many inspire me with their leadership qualities and their strong sense of purpose,\u201d Pepe says.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania National Guard reservist Joshua McKenna \u201911, who graduated with a degree in political science and is working in Washington, D.C., as a military instructor, said he still contacts Pepe for advice when veteran friends are having trouble with benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cJune is very good at doing this,\u201d DeLuzio added. \u201cShe helps expedite that for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pepe has been providing this help for years in her work in Enrollment Services, but the new Veterans Center consolidates ESU\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to have a one-stop shop for veterans where they can get all the services ESU has for them,\u201d said Geryl Kinsel \u201901, ESU associate registrar. \u201cWe want them to have a place on campus to call their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese men and women have served our country and continue to contribute by bringing to campus a special perspective borne of their experiences in the military,\u201d said university President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D. \u201cThe Veterans Center is one way we can thank them for their service and make them feel valued.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunt says it\u2019s good just to have a place on campus where veterans can talk. He served in nuclear security at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana for four years, leaving the service as a senior airman.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing from the military, we\u2019re used to a much more rigid style of doing things, we have our own vernacular and needs,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cIt\u2019s good talking to somebody on the same wave length.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s certainly true for veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, DeLuzio said. After leaving the regular Army, DeLuzio served in the
\n\u201cThese men and women have served our country and continue to contribute by bringing to campus a special perspective borne of their Army Reserves, including a stint in the first Gulf War in 1991 when he helped run a prisoner-of-war camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re coming from a very disciplined society, a military subculture and you\u2019re coming back to a totally different environment,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it can be difficult winding down.\u201d<\/p>\n
All those who return from a war zone are entitled to free services through the Veterans Administration for five years, according to DeLuzio. \u201cThat goes for counseling as well as other health care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pepe also helps student soldiers, such as National Guard members, who are taking classes but can be deployed with little notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey might get a call and have to leave the next day so June will contact all the professors,\u201d Kinsel said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had people calling us from Afghanistan and they didn\u2019t know what to do about their classes. She makes sure they don\u2019t fail.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for DeLuzio, he\u2019s happy his job has brought him full circle \u2013 easing the transition for soldiers who might be feeling the way he felt 33 years ago.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than giving back, doing what I like to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After serving in the U.S. Army in Germany, Michael DeLuzio \u201984 arrived at ESU in 1980 feeling older than his fellow freshman. He was only 21, but his experiences in the service and abroad gave him a different perspective, and he found few other veterans on campus to talk to about it. \u201cI couldn\u2019t relate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[162],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-veterans-center"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6261"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6264,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261\/revisions\/6264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/backup_insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}