VATS assists student veterans, families transitioning to higher education

Veterans who return home from the military face unexpected challenges as they try to reintegrate into civilian living. Military members and their families frequently relocate due to service, and these frequent moves can make it difficult for veterans to establish a routine once they settle into a new place and begin to consider their future.

Often, this future includes plans for higher education, which some veterans say can be quite daunting.

Fortunately for veterans and their families at Texas State University, the Veterans Alliance of Texas State (VATS) exists to help them navigate the university system from pre-enrollment to graduation day.

“The organization started 11 years ago when a group of veterans noticed a lack of services on campus for veterans,” VATS vice president and senator Amanda Gomes Torres said. “There is a lot of support [on campus] for veterans now, for all military students, dependents and their spouses.”

VATS strives to provide a connection between student veterans, the university and the community. According to the VATS website, the organization is “a chartered student organization made up of US military veterans and their supporters with the mission of assisting military members with the transition from service to student.”

How does VATS help with that transition? The organization offers both outreach on campus and within the community, providing opportunities for in–person mentoring as well as social activities. Statistics compiled by The Postsecondary National Policy Institute (PNPI) state that student veterans commonly report hardships when transitioning from a military style of education to an open university type of learning. To help with this, VATS has a guide program through the Veterans Academic Success Center to help veterans and military-connected students acclimate to campus.

“They are taking students to the VA on campus, and to the VATS Lounge on the 4th floor of the LBJ student center,” Gomes Torres said. “The guides have the opportunity to tailor the tour for the person, depending on their needs. It’s a really great mentorship program.”

Gomes Torres said that VATS mentors also help student veterans who are experiencing mental health challenges related to higher education. PNPI reports that student veterans are more likely to face mental health issues, with between seven and eight percent of student service members and veterans reporting a past suicide attempt and up to 35% reporting having suicidal thoughts.

“We’ve even had guides who would go and sit in classes with people if they were having anxiety about attending class,” Gomes Torres said.

In addition to the Guide Program, VATS endeavors to build a social network for veterans to become involved within the community, such as Vet Rec Outdoors and group participation in projects such as Operation Comfort, Bobcat Build and mass canned food distributions. In April, VATS hosted a Crawfish River Day Social at City Park, and on April 29, they held their 11th Annual Golf Tournament at Putt Pub.

“Typically our events are local on The Square. They’re all family friendly. We do hikes, which involves Hays County veterans as well as Texas State,” Gomes Torres said.

As of Spring 2023, Texas State has had 4,232 requests for veteran services, which is an increase from the fall. According to collegefactual.com, approximately 6.77% of the students enrolled at Texas State are student veterans. To put this number in perspective, Student Veterans of America estimates that between three to four percent of college students in the US are veterans, which means Texas State has more enrolled veterans than the national average.

However, as with many campus programs, members’ numbers dropped during COVID, so a major goal for VATS now is recruitment.

“People don’t know about us, so we want to reach out,” GomesTorres said. “We want to do more for students, so we want people to show up.”

To learn more about VATS, drop by the VATS Lounge on the 4th Floor the LBJ Student Center, Suite 4-13.3 Monday through Friday, 8 to 5 p.m., or visit their website: inclusion.txst.edu/ students/identity-empowerment/ veterans-and-military- connected-students/ vats.html or find them on social media at instagram. com/texasstatevats, facebook. com/TexasStateVATS or twitter.com/Texas-StateVATS.