In an effort to be prepared for veterans coming to Bakersfield College in the future, and to serve better those who already attend BC, a seminar addressing the issues that veterans face was held March 27 at BC’s Fine Arts 30.
The seminar had a panel that included Kurt Rivera, news anchor of CBS 29 and FOX 58; Mike Penney, supervisor of the Kern County Veterans Office in Bakersfield; and Russ Sempell and Patrice Maniaci, founders of FRONT LINE, a project of the National Alliance on Mental Illness focused on assisting veterans and their families. Veterans Denita Hartfield and Jillian Smith also shared their experiences.
Skip Hill, counselor for Disabled Student Programs & Services, who emphasized the need to identify the veterans attending BC, conducted the seminar. “The veterans are already here, but they are not identified,” said Hill.
According to Hill, 311 identified veterans currently attend BC, but counselors and faculty are not, in most cases, prepared to deal and help with the issues that veterans have to confront in life transitions.
Ben Lopez, BC counselor, said that counselors and instructors should attend this kind of seminar and become aware of the issues that veteran students have to deal with in order to help them through their transition to college life. Lopez said that he is dealing with about 100 students on academic probation, and, that in the future, he will make sure to find out if any of them or their relatives had any military experience.
Veterans as well as their family members may suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can occur after the veteran has been through a traumatic event, according to an information booklet for the seminar.
It was the case of Patrice Maniaci, daughter of a World War II and Korean Veteran, who survived PTSD thanks to the support and counseling of NAMI. She had to deal with her father’s untreated PTSD. She is the co-founder of FRONT LINE and a living testimony of how PTSD can be treated.
In a video of the series “The War Within,” Rivera exposed several examples of veterans struggling with PTSD. “It was eye-opening,” said Rivera in reference to the information he collected for the series.
The video showed how veterans dealing with PTSD may be upset even by things such as a sound, music, a specific word, the smell of something, etc.
“I’m worn out every day physically and emotionally,” said Denita Hartfield, a 17-year Army veteran who was wounded after her convoy was ambushed in Iraq.
The attack resulted in broken ribs, compressed spine, pericarditis and severe brain damage for Hartfield. “At first, it’s embarrassing admitting that you are hurt,” said Hartfield who explained how, regardless of her wounds, she continued the mission and how she wanted to continue helping her fellow soldiers. When she returned home, Hartfield had to spend one year in a hospital, and, later, she had trouble when she returned to school. Her memory was affected, and studying was almost impossible. Simple tasks such as combing her hair became difficult. She was misdiagnosed with PTSD. But after Mike Penney noticed her chronic headaches, he made the right diagnosis: traumatic brain injury. With the correct diagnosis, she could get the right treatment. She now holds a master’s degree, and she is working on her doctorate. The information exposed at this kind of seminar will help BC faculty and counselors understand better the struggle of veterans who choose to continue their education. Also, a project to start a veterans club at BC is taking shape. Jillian Smith, 22, animal science major at BC, is a Navy veteran. She was a victim of sexual assault while serving in the Navy. ?”BC needs to know that veteran students are affected, and people can’t see it,” said Smith, who will help with the Veteran’s Club doing informational gathering.
Smith shared her bad experience in the Navy and explained how difficult it is to socialize and participate in group activities. Also, she thinks that instructors can’t treat veteran students the same way they treat young students. “In the service, you learn to grow fast. We can’t be treated as kids who just got out of high school,” said Smith.”I think their sensitivity is very important, and we need to learn to understand them,” said Hill. He said that he would happily volunteer to be BC Veteran’s Club advisor.
For more information or for help for veteran students, call Veterans Services at BC 661-395-4332.