For veteran students around Chapman, the transition from military to higher education consists of not only a change in environment but also a change in lifestyle. Many are able to grow their hair out and explore non-military required fashion while finding their individualism. However, without a structured chain of command and the fraternal camaraderie found in their years of service, many of these students experience isolation and mental health struggles. 

Doctorate student in education and leadership studies Nick Irwin, who serves as a mentor to the Veterans Club, spoke to The Panther about the difficulties of transitioning to life outside of the military after 20 years of service in the Navy. 

“We're taught to be emotionally stoic, meaning to hold our emotions inside and just get through the mission,” Irwin said. “When you leave the military, and you have this military conditioning, you don't want to burden people with your problems. You don’t want to appear as the weakest link around others. We’re taught to not talk about our problems. That, in turn, isolates veterans. When they’re around people who don't understand them, who aren’t willing to listen to their story, that further isolates them.”

In order to ease the transition out of service, Chapman’s Veterans Club seeks to create a space where veteran students can find a sense of community, get help integrating into life on campus and be educated on their benefits as they move into a new stage of life. 

When junior creative producing major Roxie Arce first arrived at Chapman in 2022, she went to the Veterans Resource Center (VRC) to find Chapman’s Veterans Club, only to discover the club consisted of one member –– the president –– who hadn’t made the club a priority. In the summer of 2023, Arce, who served in the Navy for 14 years, was able to revive the club with the help of the VRC and was voted as the new president after an executive committee election. She rewrote the constitution and got the club recognized as a chapter of the Student Veterans of America (SVA). 

“After serving 14 years, you grow an appreciation for the community. You grow an appreciation for your own type of patriotism,” Arce told The Panther. “When I got to Chapman, (a Veterans Club) was one of the things I sought out. I wanted to connect with my community because spending as much time as I did in the military, I want to be with like-minded people. I like to surround myself with people who don’t question the verbiage I use or question the way that I dress. In the veteran community, we are accepting of all creeds and all kinds because of those shared experiences.”

In honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11, the club will be hosting several events the week prior. The Veterans Club will host an open house at the VRC on Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., an event with the American Legion Post 132 on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and yoga with veteran Khiry Carter on Wednesday from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. On Thursday, Food Truck La Granja will be on campus offering food to students from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. with free meals to veteran students, staff and faculty. They’ll cap off the week with a bonfire celebration at Huntington Beach on Friday evening. 

The goal of the Veterans Week celebration is to introduce veterans to one another and, as Arce put it, “to let them know that their service matters and the money that they bring to Chapman matters.” The club also hopes to build a relationship between veteran and non-veteran students. 

“We have a lot of life experience to offer,” Irwin said. “We’ve been away from our families. We’ve been in isolated situations. We’ve been through a lot of mental health situations. We can relate to a lot of students and extend that offer to be mentors as well. Coming together in this club, we are talking about all these ways that we can use what we've learned from the military to bring to not only our community but (also) other communities on campus.”

Khary Carter, the club’s vice president of recruitment and student engagement, served in the Navy for five years. He now works as a fitness session leader teaching yoga classes under Chapman Wellness & Recreation. Carter will be opening up an additional class on Nov. 8 at 2 p.m., where veterans can discover the benefits of yoga and mingle with non-veteran student participants. 

“After the services, I got into yoga and mindfulness. I know that a lot of veterans typically struggle with their mental health, and most people do when they’re going through a tough transition,” said Carter, a master’s student in leadership and development. “You’re moving from a full-time career with benefits to going to school full-time. Coming here as an older student as well makes you feel a little bit out of place.” 

One struggle the young club has had to endure is the matter of space. Irwin told The Panther that Chapman’s 231-square-feet “broom closet” does not meet the standards for a Veterans Resource Center — which requires four rooms, a separate room with computers, military/veteran-specific staff for mental health or counseling, a director and a lounge. 

Thus, expanding the VRC and finding additional trained and qualified staff members will be a future goal of the club. Arce hopes to bring VET NET Ally — a program that educates faculty on how to navigate veteran students — to Chapman, connect with the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization, offer a Veterans Day orientation and fundraise for an SVA national convention to connect with other chapters and business organizations. 

As the club continues to grow, Arce urges veterans and non-veterans alike to stop by a meeting. She expressed the importance of creating a diverse community and opened their doors to anyone who wishes to support. 

“Folks have neighbors, cousins and people three doors down who served in the military and they want to be affiliated. They want to support. That’s the whole idea of the Veterans Club,” Arce said. “All the communities that we’re surrounded by — LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, Asian Pacific Islanders and more — all of those folks are part of our military community. We are a community of the diversity that is the United States. We welcome those same people to be a part of our small community at Chapman.”

The VRC is located at 526 N. Shaffer St. Club meetings are held on Wednesdays at 12 p.m. at the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics at 549 W. Palm Ave.