MSU named Top Military-Friendly School

For some student veterans, the transition from active duty to civilian life can be difficult. According to Todd Bucher, the director of the Travis W. Atkins Veteran Support Center (VSC), helping students with this transition is essential. 

According to the MSU News Service, the University was recently named the Top Military Friendly School in the nation by Military Friendly — a designation given to employers, schools and organizations that show a strong commitment to supporting active duty military, veterans and their families. 

“Veterans and their families are coming from a completely different world. They’re coming from a world where they’re being told what to do every day — everything is mapped out for them,” Bucher said. “Family members are there to support that veteran when they’re on active duty, and that can take a huge toll on them as well.” 

Bucher said the VSC, which is in located in Romney Hall room 136, is utilized by 400 separate students on a weekly basis, including veterans, spouses of veterans and dependents of veterans. 

Bucher, who is also a Marine Corps veteran, said that MSU being ranked as the No.1 military-friendly school is the result of a combination of the veteran students' hard work and the resources provided to students at the university. 

“A large part is the veterans themselves: them doing the work, them staying in school, having a good retention [and] having good high graduation rates,” Bucher said.

According to him, the main goals of the VSC is to help veterans transition between military discharge and enrolling in university. They also help student veterans certify and process Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.

Taryn Nell, a former Army Ranger and a student majoring in computer science and cybersecurity, said the VSC will talk to the VA on their behalf. 

“Sometimes the VA is really great, but they run the benefits for us — all of the students, veterans, spouses of veterans, dependents of veterans, [the VSC takes] care of all of them,” Nell said. 

Bucher explained that when he came out of the military and transitioned into college, there were not as many resources for veterans when they came back from overseas. He said this is why he now works in the VSC, which he described as meaningful work.  “I think it’s really important to understand the needs of your students, and the only way you can understand those needs is by making sure you're getting out there and communicating with them and talking with them every day and understanding what they’re going through on a daily basis,” he said.

Alex Reid, a veteran and agricultural education major, said that the VSC provides many services to ensure students are able to succeed academically — including tutoring, printing and assistance processing VA benefits. 

“The way it works is the vet center’s main job is that the employees will run and help process all the VA benefits that students are using, with the idea of making it as easy as possible for them to focus on schooling,” he said.

Reid said he hangs out in the office. “I use [the VSC] a lot for when I’m on lunch, it’s a nice place to just eat food,” he said. “It’s kind of away from everything else. I’ve used the tutoring a lot. I used the printing a lot.” 

Nell, who medically retired from the military,  gave insight on his personal experience when utilizing the VSC. “When I found out I had to talk to the VSC, I immediately located them. They gave me all my information that I needed to enroll with admissions, enroll with the school, get a schedule made and get my benefits up and running so that I could be successful at school,” Nell said. 

The VSC provides not only academic assistance but will help with other matters including finding housing. “There’s an extreme support system. So, if there’s something going on —  whether it’s financial, whether it’s at home, whether it’s finding a place — they will help with all that,” he said. 

Nell, who also partakes in a work-study at the VSC says that he has been able to schedule work around his class schedule while getting paid to help other students. “I help a lot of people out. I teach them not only what their benefits give them but what the VA gives them outside of school. It's a really good and rewarding job for sure,” he said. 

The VSC also allows veterans to form a community with other veterans. “People are respectful. We still have that camaraderie that we desire from the military, whether they experience that or not,” Nell said. 

Nell not only encourages veterans to utilize the VSC, but also dependents of veterans. “I’d say about two-thirds of our benefit users are children of veterans — and they’re always welcome here. They don’t feel like they’re welcome here, but I always encourage them like, ‘Hey, this place is for you,’” Nell said.

James Mayfield IV, a veteran and a history education and special education major, said the community is his favorite part of the VSC. “It's cool to have a place to hang out — like, you can talk. It's not always crazy talk or whatever, but just to have a similar experience,” he said.

Mayfield IV spends his time outside of class in the VSC, allowing him to get to know other people in the community. “I get to help more people for sure, but, it's a pretty tight community in here — working or not working,” he said.

Bucher said the No.1 Military Friendly University designation would not have been possible without the students who utilize the space and the staff who work it. 

"There's a huge network on campus that supports veterans. There's no way that we would be the number one military-friendly university without that network,” Bucher said. “That goes all the way down to financial aid, admissions, financial education, advising, the admin, the registrar — all those pieces need to be together and build a network to be able to support this specific affinity group and make sure their needs are being met.” 

To learn more about the VSC, visit https://www.montana.edu/veteran/.