She woke up before the sun even thought about rising. She split her ponytail in two and wrapped it into a bun, gelling it in place. She looked in the mirror. It had to be perfect to meet the standard for a female Marine.
Now, Skye Barkley, a 25-year-old UF wildlife ecology and conservation student, tames her hair with a palm full of mousse and leaves it down. She has transitioned into the civilian world.
To discuss the concerns of student veterans like Barkley, the UF Collegiate Veterans Society held a luncheon at Yon Hall with UF Board of Trustees’ members at noon Thursday. Among those in attendance were Lt. Col. Jason Rosenberg of the Air Force Reserve, and Vice President of Student Affairs and retired Army Gen. Dave Kratzer.
The group discussed communication between advisers and the Office of Veterans Affairs, recruiting veterans to the university, GI Bill benefits and having different sections of the required What is the Good Life? class for veterans.
Rosenberg said he wants to especially help veterans because they often battle issues that other students don’t have to deal with.
Barkley found out she was pregnant after she was released from active duty while her husband was stationed elsewhere.
“I immediately went from being a female Marine enlisted to a civilian whose husband was still in (the service), and now, I’m pregnant.” she said, “I have absolutely no skills to apply to the world to get a job.”
The UF community was welcoming, she said. She found a support system through the society that helped her transition into the civilian and college world.
“We are doing the things that we think, at the trustee level,… (are) encouraging veterans to be a part of our campus community,” Rosenberg said, “and giving them an opportunity to meet and interact and help each other succeed at UF, just like many of our other student groups on campus.”
There are about 580 self-identified veterans on campus making use of the GI Bill, Kratzer said.
The next step in aiding these veterans stems from further communication between university officials and the group.
“To have him hear firsthand issues from students who are veterans going to school and to get that directly to the Board of Trustees’ level and not to the bureaucracy is really valuable,” Kratzer said.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 2/21/2014 under the headline “UF group, Board of Trustees discusses veterans’ concerns"]
