University of Akron Veterans Education and Retention Focus

The University of Akron (UA) is the current home of second-year Ohio Campus Compact AmeriCorpsVISTA Bridget Ludwa, the Veterans Service Coordinator at the UA Adult Focus Office. The office assists, aids and advocates at all levels for adult learners at UA to help them transition and succeed in college. Bridget focuses specifically on building supportive webs for student veterans by raising awareness on campus, serving on various committees, inviting local veteran-specific resources onto campus, informing the student veterans about those resources, and helping with UA’s New Student Orientation for Veterans. Bridget is effective as a student veteran VISTA because she both understands military culture as a current reservist in the Ohio Army National Guard and the culture of higher education, holding a master’s degree in religious studies.

OCC VISTA Bridget Ludwa, serving at the University of Akron, talks about building the capacity for academic success for student veterans

Contact Bridget via email or in the office at 330-972-2754. View her 2010-11 VISTA Impact Report.

UA also has a Military Services Center that focuses on certification needs of veterans educational benefits, but the buck doesn’t stop at enrollment. Most students have a unique set of needs that have to be addressed by the campus for the student to be successful. In addition to juggling family, work and school, some also have a difficult time transitioning from military to civilian life. Even more challenging is that some student veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. This is where Bridget comes in, to assist with connecting student veterans with resources they might benefit from.

 Veterans culture at UA

“Our [UA] veterans are very diverse! There are some trends discernable amongst veteran students, based upon age, ethnicity and the fact that many are first generation college students with varying levels of preparedness. There is no set formula for addressing their academic, social and career needs. This leads to the issue of persistence and retention.” -Bridget Ludwa

The challenges facing student veterans brings a welcome challenge to Bridget’s work to assist her peers with continuing education and locating resources that will help them succeed as a UA student and contribute back to the community.

“From admission to graduation, we [UA] are working to provide services and programming to assist veteran students in making the transition back to civilian life and the skills to thrive in today’s world employment market,” says Bridget. In turn, these students become productive community members, generating more funds in the local economy and contributing their time to community empowerment and betterment.

UA is consistently ranked “Military Friendly” each year due to its extensive efforts focused on recruiting and retaining veteran students, and to solidify that effort UA also opened a brand new veterans-only lounge in September 2011, constructed mostly from donated funds.

If you are not yet a member and would like to join OCC please visit the Join OCC page.

Laura Conley, Director of the UA Adult Focus Office, discusses veteran students and the VISTA program (preview)

To view the full 14-minute interview with Laura click here.

Contact Laura via email or in the office 330-972-5793.