After Mike Carrell retired as a full colonel in the Air Force, he spent 12 years at Ohio State University helping build programs for military-connected students.
Now, as chief operating officer of the National Veterans Leadership Foundation, Carrell works with universities nationwide to better serve the nearly 1 million student veterans enrolled in higher education in the U.S..
"Our customers are the universities, not necessarily the military-connected students," Carrell said. "But everything we're trying to do is to improve their programs, their policies, whatever they might do to give the military-connected students a better experience."
He said most campus veterans' offices are understaffed and underresourced, often operating with just one or two people. Carrell also said that military students can be "camouflaged on their campus," which means present but not always visible to administrators who could help them succeed.
WYSO Community Voices Producer and army veteran Dave Smith said he rarely tells people about his military service because of how others react.
"I'm already a big guy and loud, and the minute I tell you I'm a veteran... 'You make me uncomfortable,'" he said.
While at Wright State University, he said a professor asked him to leave class after he used strong language about a computer.
We want to build a group of these students that can help each other and change the worldMike Carrell
Fellow WYSO Community Voices Producer and army veteran Diamond Smith (no relation) said she faces a different challenge as a female veteran.
"Even when I was on active duty, if my ex-husband and I were somewhere and he was in uniform and I wasn't, people came up to him, 'thank you for your service,'" she said. "And then he was like, 'my wife is in the military too,' and they just looked at me."
She said that's despite the fact that she's been closer to combat than many male service members. That experience has led her to stop mentioning her veteran status, though she speaks up when she hears misconceptions about military service.
"I hear a lot of people say like veterans are entitled, they're this and they're that," Diamond Smith said. "It's not an entitlement. We made a sacrifice that 99%, 98% of the rest of the country did not want to do."
Carrell said his organization works directly with university leadership, presidents, provosts, and boards to create systemic changes that benefit military-connected students.
He said he's optimistic about the long-term impact of supporting military-connected students, who he said volunteer in their communities at higher rates after graduation.
"I know it sounds corny, but they're going to change their little space at least. And by changing those spaces is how we're going to change our state, country, and world."
Veterans' Voices is produced for the ear and designed to be heard, not read. We strongly encourage you to listen to the audio by clicking on the blue "LISTEN" button near the top of this page, which includes emotion and emphasis not on the page.
Veterans' Voices is supported by Wright-Patt Credit Union and the Montgomery County Veterans Service Commission. Veterans' Voices is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
