East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) has opened a new Student Veterans Center to act as a one-stop shop for student-veterans who need help with GI benefits, transcripts and other issues as they transition into college life.\u00a0 Currently 102 students on campus receive veterans educational benefits, and the center is designed to help them cut through red tape and be a place to meet others who served and share their experiences.<\/p>\n
Run by June Pepe, ESU\u2019s Veteran Services counselor and a VA Certifying official, the center in Room 118 of Zimbar-Liljenstein Hall opened in January but will have its official grand opening 2-4 p.m. April 9. The event is open to the general public at no cost.<\/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 at ESU.\u201d<\/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 Pepe. \u201cWe want them to have a place on campus to call their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Air Force veteran Nick Hunt said June Pepe\u2019s ability to navigate the bureaucracy of government veterans\u2019 benefits has been invaluable since he arrived at ESU in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s one of those behind-the-scenes, know-how-to-get-things-done people,\u201d Hunt said. A sophomore, Hunt is using his GI Bill benefits to study recreation and leisure services management, with the intent of becoming a park ranger.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania National Guard reservist Joshua McKenna \u201911, who graduated from ESU 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 friends of his are having trouble with their veterans\u2019 benefits.<\/p>\n
The center, which will feature computer stations, a TV, coffee and snacks, gives the Student Veterans Association a home base and Pepe plans to start a subgroup for women veterans on campus. A counselor comes from the Veterans Administration Center in Scranton twice a month to aid veterans with readjustment counseling.<\/p>\n
Hunt says it\u2019s good just to have a place on campus where veterans can talk to others with similar backgrounds.<\/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. \u201cThe military mindset is, \u2018I\u2019m here to do a job, I\u2019ve got my priorities, the task is the thing.\u2019 It\u2019s good talking to somebody on the same wave length.\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 I will contact all the professors,\u201d Pepe said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had people calling us from Afghanistan and they didn\u2019t know what to do about their classes. We will make sure they get the help they need, even if it\u2019s long distance.\u201d<\/p>\n