David DiRamio

From Combat to Campus: Voices of Student-Veterans

What needs do veterans bring to campus? Little is known about this emerging student population. The researchers interviewed 25 students who served in the current Iraq and Afghan conflicts. This was a multicampus study, with the sample derived from three geographically diverse universities representing northern, southern, and western regions of the United States. Using a model of adult transition by Schlossberg as a guiding theory, a grounded theory epistemology was used to generate a conceptual framework for understanding students who are making the transition from wartime service to college. Findings and implications will help institutions organize a holistic approach for assisting veterans and improving their chances for success.

Walking a Gender Tightrope: A Qualitative Study of Female Student Veterans' Experiences within Military and Campus Cultures.

This article describes findings from a qualitative study of the experiences of female student veterans in the military and in college. Twelve women were interviewed from two public research universities. Findings revealed individuals “betwixt and between” the complex intersection of identities: in the military, grappling with a sense of self as soldiers and as women, and trying to figure it out; and in college, as undeserving veterans struggling with the social and cognitive dissonance experienced as students. Under implications, we discuss how the complexity of identity complicates our understanding and support of this population in college.