Stepping onto campus in East Lansing as a newly enrolled Spartan student is thrilling. Each student brings their own experiences and perspectives with them, whether they are fresh out of high school, transferring from another college, or getting used to civilian life after a military career. As exciting as these transitions can be, they can also be challenging.
For example, military service members are often older than the average student, with years of professional experience. During their military career, their life has been regimented and segmented — now their schedules are their own. Getting used to student life can be a daunting task.
That is where MSU stands in the gap to make veterans feel at home on campus with the Center for Veterans and Military-Affiliated Students (CVMAS). This center is dedicated to providing servicemembers, veterans and military-affiliated students with the resources and support they need to thrive at MSU and beyond.
The invaluable resource is supported by donors — Spartans who want to say thank you by letting veterans know they belong. Veterans like Ashley Cooper, who remembers the very day she began boot camp — on her 19th birthday.
“I enlisted as an aviation ordnanceman,” says Ashley. “I spent majority of my time while I was in the Navy on an aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman.”
When she decided it was time to finish her degree in Michigan, she specifically looked for a university that had a veterans center. " It was deal breaker!” Ashley said. “Because I didn't know how I was going to integrate into the school without a veterans resource center.”
The CVMAS gave her a sense of belonging as a veteran student in East Lansing. As she learned about all the resources available, she quickly grew to love the university.
“I love the way the school is built and how many different programs campus has,” Ashley says. “It's so tailored to each individual. No matter what your hobbies or interests are, there's like a spot for you at MSU.”
Ashley has worked at CVMAS for the majority of her time on campus and finds a sense of purpose in helping other veterans and military-affiliated students as they transition to civilian life as Spartans.
As Ashley looks forward to graduating with her degree from the College of Communication Arts & Sciences next spring, she is confident, knowing that her fellow Spartans and the CVMAS community will always have her back.
Besides being a proud Spartan, Ashley really appreciates being a veteran, and if you ask her what Veterans Day means to her, she will express gratitude: for her fellow veterans, our freedoms and everything that brings us together as Americans.
LEARN MORE about the Center for Veterans and Military Affiliated Students by contacting Associate Director of Development Cooper Adams at adamscoo@msu.edu or (517) 353-7379 or visit MSU CrowdPower.