HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A program at Northern Kentucky University is aiming to make being a student easier for active military members and military veterans on campus, while also empowering professors to teach them more effectively.
Veterans who attended the Green Zone Brigade Takeover Day said the program has helped ease their transition to civilian life.
Kristen and Nicholas Bradd are both military veterans who’ve received education at NKU. While Kirsten graduated in 2012, her husband Nicholas is a current student. He’s studying to be a teacher of middle grade science and special education.
It’s been a big change.
“Veterans might not be the easiest to deal with. We live a certain lifestyle for a while, and then we come back out into the civilian world, so it’s hard for us to match up,” Nicholas Bradd said.
He often visits the veteran resource center on campus, and asked his wife to come along with him to the Green Zone Brigade Takeover Day on Thursday.
“It has helped him integrate into the school. It’s connected him with some people here at the school,” Kristen Bradd said.
The event provided NKU’s active military and veteran community with resources, education and other activities. Those included a resource fair where veterans could learn more about Veterans Affairs, Disabled American Veterans and NKU Admissions, among other resources. There was also an event in the NKU Planetarium, an obstacle course sponsored by the Kentucky National Guard, a performance by the NKU Chorale and a formal military style retreat.
The Green Zone Brigade is a group of more than 100 NKU faculty and staff members who have been trained in aiding veteran and active military students. They’ve been equipped with tools to assist students in achieving academic goals, and have developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of the military experience.
Suk-hee Kim, associate professor in the School of Social Work, said being part of the GZB has helped her greatly in the classroom.
“Learning together, creating a community on campus together, to understand the background, understand their own life experience,” Kim said. “It absolutely brings some different perspectives, and also learning about their needs. So without knowing it, we don’t know how to serve them well.”
Representing American Legion Post 203, Vietnam War veteran Chuck Wills attended the takeover day to try to connect with other veterans, many of whom he said often struggle to transition out of the military, and struggle with accepting help.
“It’s very difficult when you’re coming out of the zones they’ve been in, the war zones or different deployments, and then coming right back into civilian life,” Wills said. “A lot of people get to the bottom before they’ll accept that help. And there’s really no need for that. There’s nothing shameful in reaching out to get help from where it’s offered.”
Bradd said he’s grateful to have the support on campus, and plans to apply that same level of empathy when he’s the one teaching classes.
“It helps kind of get everyone on the same page. It helps them kind of be more aware of how we’re going to perceive things, and same with us going the other direction,” he said.
To learn more about the Veterans Resource Station at NKU, visit its website.
