Centralight

about," Hicks says. "We as veterans take care of other veterans, and the Veterans' Resource Center and SVA are great resources. "When you're with a group of people who've been through the same things as you, it's that camaraderie you're used to that so many others don't understand." Making essential connections Even though they've never met, Kathleen Logan knows exactly what Hicks is talking about. Kathleen Logan, an Army veteran and member of the National Guard, is completing her degree through CMU Off-Campus Programs after serving a combined 16-month deployment to Iraq. corrective surgery led Hicks to serve on a medically required light duty status. "Even when I was off because of my leg, I never stopped learning," Hicks says. "When I finally got back to the flight line by November 2007, my hand really started to go. With the surgery I no longer could work on the helicopters." He retired from the Marines in 2010. Even before Hicks retired he knew he needed to go back to school. He soon returned to LCC, elevated his grade point average and received an associate's degree in May 2011. During this time he also applied to CMU because it offers a bachelor's degree in interpersonal communications. Hicks soon learned about the CMU Veterans' Resource Center and the SVA chapter and immediately became involved when he enrolled the beginning of this academic year. He got so involved he even had the opportunity to serve on the Veterans' Outreach Panel at the national SVA conference in Las Vegas last December. "I'm upset I didn't get to serve the way I wanted to, but I have the opportunity to work with something I'm very passionate 22 centralight spring '12 The Army veteran and senior public administration undergraduate major is working with Rellinger to increase the presence of the CMU Veterans' Resource Center and SVA chapter in the metro Detroit area. These are all-too-important entities that help veterans to move forward, says Logan, who returned home to Oxford, Mich., in 2008 after serving for 16 months in Baghdad. Through her experiences as an Army mechanic, Logan, who still serves in the National Guard, says that entering civilian life after serving in the military can be overwhelming. If veterans don't know such a resource exists to help them, it's too easy to become frustrated with the processes related to college and quickly drop out of higher education. "I see that happening a lot," Logan says. "It's important to have the resource center. One of the best things to come out of this is networking with other veterans. We feed off each other and reach out to each other. "When you're serving and you get into formation, you look at each other as if to say, 'I will die for you.' It's a loyalty that doesn't stop." During her time following the Army, Logan has concentrated on earning her degree. She married a fellow soldier the same week she got out of the Army, and they moved to Georgia where he continued serving at Fort Stewart. Finding a "military friendly" university was Logan's top priority. In Georgia she discovered South University. "A military friendly university gives credit for time served in the military, and that's huge right now for all the veterans who are returning from their service," she says. "Schools really need to have something in place to make this happen." This is how Logan found CMU when she returned to Michigan to have her son, Jack. She soon began pursuing her undergraduate degree with classes taught at various CMU off-campus centers in metro Detroit, including Auburn Hills and Troy. In addition to classes at CMU she re-enrolled in Oakland Community College to complete some of her related elective courses. And it was at the community college where she launched an SVA chapter. "I set up a small booth at the Welcome Week event to see if there was any interest," Logan says. "And wow! They came out of the woodwork, and I had 32 people signed up the first day." "It's an honor to serve my fellow veterans in this way." She is continuing this passion by pursuing with Rellinger the opportunity to launch a Detroit-area Veterans' Resource Center satellite office as well as an SVA Off- Campus Programs chapter. And CMU is heading up efforts in providing similar resources for all veterans throughout Michigan. By developing a collaborative consortium of the state's 15 public universities, Rellinger currently is working with the state of Michigan to host a website that addresses issues specific to all veterans interested in pursuing higher education degrees. "We're doing the right thing with taking the lead on this," Rellinger says. "This is an important population, and we need to do well by them. "It's an honor to serve my fellow veterans in this way." •

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