Former Navy officer Winnow Driscoll will graduate from UC Davis in December. Campus services for vets helped him make the transition from military to campus life.

UC enhances veterans' services

UC campuses are ramping up their veterans programs in anticipation of the 2009 start of the new GI Bill. The new federal benefits will cover the full cost of UC fees plus give vets housing and book allowances.

"The new financial package is so much more robust, I'm hopeful this will be the thing that will inspire returning veterans to consider a four-year degree," said Ron Williams, coordinator of Re-entry Student and Veterans Programs at UC Berkeley.

UC, along with the California State University and California Community Colleges system, participates in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Troops to College initiative aimed at attracting more vets to California's public higher education institutions. There were about 1,000 veterans enrolled at UC campuses last year.

"UC has been honored to have the number of veterans enrolling at our campuses growing, and we expect those numbers to increase even more when the new GI Bill goes into effect in 2009," said Judy Sakaki, vice president of student affairs. "We're committed to doing all we can to help make their transition from military life to campus life a successful and rewarding experience."

Each UC campus has a dedicated veterans coordinator and orientations, support groups and other services. Mental health counselors recently held an in-service training to better serve combat vets who may experience post-traumatic stress syndrome. Williams has 20 vets enrolled in the one-unit Veterans in Higher Education course he started this fall.

These services play a critical role in welcoming and retaining veterans like Winnow Driscoll, who was ready to quit UC Davis after the first year. The former petty officer second class in the U.S. Navy found it hard to adjust to attending classes and living with typical college freshmen.

"I was used to being responsible for hundreds of lives and $50 million aircrafts," said Driscoll, who served in the Navy special search and rescue operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. "I was the commander of teammates who were always dependable. Suddenly I was with all these students who had no responsibilities. They haven't seen what I've seen."

Driscoll said keeping in touch with his still-deployed teammates and talking to other campus vets like program coordinator Phil Knox and campus counseling psychologist Frank Greer, a Vietnam vet, helped him with the healing process. Driscoll, a wildlife biology major, will graduate in December and pursue a science teaching credential.

"I'd say my biggest frustration was financial," he said. "The new GI Bill is going to be amazing. I won't benefit from it, but I'm really happy for the new veterans who will."