Course to help transition veterans into civilian life
By Stacy Quillen-Armstrong, Published July 5, 2007

The nation’s first college course designed to assist returning Iraq veterans in making the transition back to civilian life is being offered by the two-year Citrus College and the East Los Angeles Veterans Center.

The course, entitled “On Course to Success,” will cover combat stress, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other issues affecting veterans returning from deployment.

“A war is going on and it is psychologi­cally impacting some of our soldiers who will eventually return home and become students,” said Manuel Martinez, course instructor and readjustment counseling therapist with East Los Angeles Veter­ans Center. “As far as I know, there has never been a psych-educational model that has systematically addressed these issues, while providing coping skills and strategies to help correct them.”

Also referred to as “Boots to Books,” the course will be offered for three de­gree-applicable credits during the fall 2007 semester, which begins Sept. 4.

According to the Department of Vet­erans Affairs (VA), this is the first time the federal agency has done outreach at the college level.

“This partnership between the VA and a community college will serve as a model for all of California and the rest of the nation,” said Bruce Solheim, a Citrus College instruc­tor and volunteer veterans coordinator.

According to Martinez, courses such as this one are becoming increasingly necessary.

“Research shows a large percentage of veterans will have some difficulties adjusting to the civilian culture and often their problems go unnoticed,” he said. “A class like this will not only help increase the college retention rates of veterans, but it will also help them to avoid the problems that veterans of other wars have encountered.”

The goal of the program is to help fa­cilitate the transition from military life to civilian life, Martinez said.

“Participating veterans will gain an opportunity to develop skills that will enhance their academic, social and pro­fessional success,” Martinez said. “These include interpersonal, problem solving, coping, conflict resolution, assertiveness and stress management skills.”

Special emphasis will be placed on transitioning their combat skills to career-building and academic skills, he said.

Although the course specifically tar­gets recently returned veterans, it is open to everyone. Friends and family mem­bers of returning veterans are especially encouraged to consider enrolling.

“Veterans, their family members and their friends should take this class to find out how combat stress can be dealt with effectively in the transition to civil­ian life,” Solheim said. “By getting this information and establishing coping skills early, veterans can possibly avoid developing post traumatic stress disorder later on. It will also give them a sense of community with other veterans and their supporters here on campus.”

Citrus College recognizes the impor­tance of helping veterans, Solheim said.

“These vets will come to community colleges first and it is our responsibility to be ready to help them,” he said.

A “positive campus environment” led the East Los Angeles Veterans Center to con­sider offering the inaugural Boots to Books course at Citrus College, Martinez said, adding that the college is a veteran-friendly culture and the faculty and staff have cre­ated an awareness of veterans’ needs.

In addition to Boots to Books, Citrus College has several other programs and services designed to offer veterans a strong support system, such as a veterans network run by student veterans and a veterans fund that helps them pay for textbooks.

Solheim predicts that the services Citrus College provides its student veterans, spe­cifically Boots to Books, will serve as a blue­print for other educational institutions.

A veteran himself, Martinez has a per­sonal reason for becoming involved in the program.

“My primary motivation comes from my personal history and the difficulties I experienced in adjusting to academic life following my tour of duty in Viet­nam,” he said.

Quillen-Armstrong is a publications spe­cialist at Citrus College (California).