Mary Skrenta joined the Army for one reason: to pay for art school.
"I really have to be honest with you that I joined the military for the college benefits because I had always loved the arts," Skrenta said. "I wanted to go to art school and an art education is a very expensive education, even back then."
She walked into a recruiting office with a clear ask: "I want the least amount of time in, I want the most amount of college money, and I wanna go to Europe. And if you can give me that, I will do it."
The military delivered. But Skrenta struggled with the transition.
"I was absolutely like a fish out of water and immediately regretted what I had done," she said. "However, I made the commitment and I am one to honor my commitments."
For years after her service, Skrenta hid the fact that she was a veteran. That changed as she came to see her military experience as inseparable from her journey as an artist.
"I realized that now that is such an integral part of my journey," she said. "So I'm very proud of the fact that I did what I did and I survived what I survived, and I'm using my powers for good, not for evil."
Decades later, Skrenta is using both experiences to help fellow veterans turn trauma into expression. She now teaches art through the VA's Veteran Arts Initiative, part of its Whole Health program.
Teaching wasn't part of her plan until a friend asked her to step in and finish a drawing class he'd been leading.
"From the first five minutes, I absolutely knew that I had found a calling," Skrenta said. "I love making art, but teaching it is so rewarding and so powerful because it's not just the skills, it's the sharing, it's empowering others with this opportunity for expression."
Now she brings both her artistic expertise and her lived experience as a combat veteran into the classroom.
"There is a lot of stuff that happens when you're in the military, combat especially, very harrowing experiences," she said. "You're faced with big things. You're faced with life and death situations, and you want to express them creatively. And art is therapy."
Skrenta is proud to be the only instructor in her program who combines high-level art teaching experience with a firsthand understanding of combat.
"I'm the only teacher working with these veterans who is also a combat veteran with higher-level art teaching experience," she said. "So I'm proud of that."
The impact on her students is profound, she said. After a recent six-week course, the class ended with hugs and tears.
"I've literally had folks in tears telling me this got them out of depression," Skrenta said. "They have something that all the thoughts in their head they can now express. And that to me is the biggest paycheck. Like that is worth a million dollars. I just love it so much."
Veterans' Voices is presented by Wright-Patt Credit Union. Additional support comes from the Dayton Ombudsman Veterans Transition Team and Montgomery County Veterans Service Commission. Veterans' Voices is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices.
