RADFORD – Seven years ago, Brandon Robinson served as an infantry medic in the U.S. Army. Today, he is a business management and marketing major at Radford University -- one of 138 students currently enrolled at RU who are certified with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“My experiences matriculating back to the civilian world were somewhat difficult at first,” Robinson said. “But my classroom experience has only been aided by my time in the service. If I had gone straight into college, I would have failed to meet the standard. Now it means that much more.”

Robinson (right) is president of RU Speakers-Toastmasters International, a group that assists individuals with the ability to communicate and lead. He is also a member of Delta Sigma Pi, a professional fraternity that fosters the study of business in universities; Beta Gamma Sigma, an honorary business society; the Society for the Advancement of Management; Appalachian Arts and Studies in the Schools (AASIS); Chinese Club; Phi Kappa Phi, an honor society that recognizes and promotes academic excellence in all fields of higher education; Sigma Iota Epsilon, a professional fraternity for management students; Collegiate Entrepreneurs; and Kirk Scholars, a program that allows select RU students to study Mandarin Chinese.

“I have loved my time at RU so far, and I’ve had many opportunities to lead as well as be part of several organizations on campus,” Robinson said.

One of Robinson’s fraternity brothers, Yanil Escobar, is also making the transition from the military to the academic life. A staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, Escobar served in Operation Iraqi Freedom III from 2005 to 2006.

“When I returned to RU, I didn’t know anyone,” said Escobar, an economics and Spanish double major from Alexandria, Va. “All of my friends had graduated, but members of the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi welcomed me back to campus with open arms. At the same time, I was able to meet other veterans who helped me make the transition.”

This week, as the country pauses to honor the sacrifices made by veterans, RU works to expand special services for some of those veterans who are seeking to continue their education and transition from military to academic life. There are several services already available at RU for student veterans. One such organization is the RU Veterans Student Organization led by faculty advisors Jim Borling, a music professor, and Don Cunningham, an English professor. Garland Wiggs, a management instructor and Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in executive outplacement, serves as a career counselor/resume editor for the organization. Wiggs said the group strongly encourages student veterans to seek a mentor at the university.

“My advice to my veteran students is to not be a loner but try to establish a mentoring relationship with one of their faculty members,” he said. “Someone who knows what they have experienced while serving and can relate to their personal issues and concerns by having been in their shoes.”

Escobar was instrumental in getting the RU veterans organization started and now serves as president.

“We needed a place to network and help one another move from the battlefield to college life,” he said. “I know many college kids who have relatives who have served and understand what it is like to be part of a military family. This group is for everyone who wants to help support our troops and our RU classmates while they are serving overseas.”

The group is currently seeking faculty and staff members who are veterans to volunteer their time as mentors. The next meeting for the organization will be held Wednesday, Nov. 19, from 7 to 8 p.m. in Hurlburt room 229.

On Thursday, Nov. 13, RU’s Faculty Development Center (FDC) will host a panel discussion, “Who Are Our Students? Military Veterans,” with a focus on helping veterans successfully make the change to college life. The event will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Hurlburt 249-250. Wiggs and Cunningham will serve as two of several invited panel members for the event.

According to Cunningham, there is also a VA Service Officer from Salem who visits Christiansburg each month to meet with area veterans and assist with health programs and other benefits. But he stresses that more services need to be implemented because more veterans are expected to enter college next year under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, a new education benefit program for individuals who served on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001.

Under the bill, benefits are payable for educational training pursued at schools in the United States that are authorized to grant an associate degree or higher. Benefits, which are based on the length of active duty service, include a percentage of the cost of tuition and fees (not to exceed the most expensive in-state undergraduate tuition at a public institution of higher education), a monthly housing allowance equal to the basic allowance for housing payable to military members with dependents, and a stipend of up to $1,000 per year for books and supplies. There is also a one-time $500 payment to certain individuals relocating from highly rural areas.

“An increased number of veterans will be entering college next year to take advantage of the increased financial resources offered by the new GI Bill,” Cunningham said. “They are going to need much more assistance to take advantage of all that they are entitled as veterans, especially with health and education benefit programs.”

Cunningham has been working with the RU Office of Sponsored Programs and Grants Management to research funding to staff a Veterans Center at RU that would address the educational and employment needs of veterans.

To learn more about the RU Veterans Student Organization and volunteer opportunities, contact Garland Wiggs at (540) 831-6021 or gwiggs5@radford.edu. To learn more about the “Who Are Our Students?” event, visit the Faculty Development Center website. For more information about veteran services at RU, contact Becky Alls at (540) 831-5950 or ralls@radford.edu.