Posted: 4/9/08 Section: Diversions

Media Credit: Patrick Traylor Stephenie Austin, junior in LAS, started the "Boots to Books" program at UI to help student veterans make the transition from the armed services to student life. "I'm getting deployed in September, so I'm going to be a student vet," said Austin.

The heavy black combat boots Jessica Sucic laced up each morning during her 12-month tour of duty in Iraq were much more constricting than the gym shoes that she wears to class these days. An altered dress code was only one of the transitions the 24-year-old student in LAS made as she readjusted to life on campus.

"Being back at school, on my own, without the support of my friends in the military on a daily basis has been quite a change and challenge," said Sucic, who served with an Army unit in Baghdad.

The tough shift from military to student life inspired the Counseling Center's workshop program 'Boots to Books.' Launched this semester, the Veterans' Services Committee has coordinated three Support and Advice Groups for veterans and one workshop.

Stephenie Austin, a counseling center para-professional, initiated the project during her psychology studies.

"It surprised me to learn that they didn't have any resources here on campus to focus on coping strategies and the problems that student veterans face in particular," said Austin, junior in LAS.

Her personal passion for the project comes from her own enlistment in the National Guard. Austin deploys in September for a year of service in Afghanistan. She led the Boots to Books workshop on April 2 while Ted Bonar, a Counseling Center specialist, has been organizing the Support and Advice Groups.

"It is hard for a veteran to come to campus and find other vets. There is not an RSO or Facebook group. They have no central place where they can go so we are trying to create that," he said.

The group addresses general socializing issues, like transferring from an authoritative military culture to self-initiated, unstructured student life.

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