By Nicole F. Park

Daily Titan Staff Writer

When Joseph Chang returned to the United States after a year-long tour of duty in Iraq, he experienced symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and had a difficult time adjusting to college life. While Chang was accustomed to living a rigidly-structured Army life for nine years of both active and reserve duty, starting classes at Cal State Fullerton was overwhelming.

Chang found solace in the familiar camaraderie friendships with other student vets, he formed his own group and sparked administration interest in the small movement. After his graduation in May 2008, Chang was offered a brand-new position at CSUF: Veterans Student Services coordinator. He took his position in July 2008.

“I struggled so much with a small classroom setting,” said Chang, who had become familiar with strict discipline, Iraqi sandstorms and his job high atop a guard tower – a common target for enemy gunfire.

He said he was always anxious and remained “on-guard” upon returning home.

“I was not really normal at the beginning,” Chang said.

According to Chang, 40 percent of returning Army Reserve soldiers suffer from PTSD upon arrival, while a total of 60 percent report symptoms eventually. An estimated 1,000 veterans attempt suicide per month. Up until one year ago, the only resource available to CSUF students returning from military duty was the Veterans Certification Center, which he said only aids veteran students by processing necessary paperwork for them, like G.I. Bill documents. He needed something more.

Chang said he started becoming more and more “normal” by talking to other vets with similar experiences.

He said issues for vets range from family dynamics to finances. Chang had to leave for Iraq during his wife’s pregnancy and, he says, it wasn’t until about six months after his return home that his baby finally began to recognize him and realize, “Oh hey, this guy’s staying!”

Another issue returning soldiers face in a new life off base and on campus is financial woe with new credit freedom and without the nearly-free living base life offers.

Home dynamics can be affected because, “When a soldier returns home, he or she feels out of place because the spouse ran the household, while he or she was gone,” Chang said.

Chang also said vets may experience culture shock when they transition from military to civilian life.

Regardless the severity, he said returning vets will be changed people after their term of service.

“They’re not the same person they were when you hugged and kissed them goodbye that last day. They’re going to change, it’s just a matter of how and how much,” Chang said.

Health major Jessica Cuen, 20, concurred with the statement. She visited the Women’s Center to find out more information on Veteran Student Services. Cuen’s brother served four years as a Marine and nine months on tour in Iraq. Her boyfriend, also a Marine, just returned from duty in Japan, and Cuen herself plans to serve the country in the U.S. Air Force after her graduation in December 2011.

“I have noticed that (my boyfriend) has changed. He has been home since early September and it has been hard trying to adjust and make our relationship work. Everyone changes whether you are in the military or not, I just think there is a greater effect on military personnel because of all the things they witness overseas,” Cuen said.

“I expect to change over the course of my service, but my family experienced hardships upon my brother’s return and we were able to overcome them,” she said.

“Talking to others was pretty much my cure,” Chang said.

So Chang, along with a few others, started up the group Student Veterans Association, a discussion group started in fall 2007 which became a club recognized by Associated Students Inc. Chang served as the founding president in spring 2008; Peter Jimenez is the current president. By spring 2008, the group had grown to 20 members.

“We started to raise a voice for our group’s needs and be our own advocates,” he said.

With ASI funding, the new club threw its first Veteran’s Appreciation Night in May 2008, “to say thanks to student vets and celebrate veteran graduates of CSUF,” of which there were 12 honorees, Chang said. Three students with upcoming deployments were honored at the event.

It was at this seminal event that members of CSUF administration saw a need for services for veterans pursuing education.

“Drs. Robert L. Palmer (vice president of Student Affairs) and Silas Abrego (associate vice president of Student Affairs) were the initial two who saw potential and helped support funding,” he said.

It was that same month that Chang graduated. With a new degree in hand, he was offered a position to remain at CSUF and continue to spread awareness and deliver more aid with Veterans Student Services. The Veterans Certification Center is still in operation and performs the essential function of filing for G.I. benefits for those qualified.

One year after starting, VSS offers many services to students. New or returning student veterans are welcome to attend an orientation, various workshops, discussion groups, peer mentoring and support counseling sessions.

Additional information, resources and referrals are available at VSS, located in University Hall 214 and/or the Women’s Center, UH-205.

Although it may seem like an odd office pairing at first, Chang says the Women’s Center, where he completed an internship before his hire, is “actually a very nurturing place for our veterans.” He added that he would like to see VSS have its own center someday.

Oliver Buck came by VSS to chat with Chang, a fellow Army vet. Buck served from 1993 to 2000 and is now a CSUF student majoring in sociology. The two are part of a group of five vets who get together to share stories and “just talk” at Aloha Java on Tuesdays and Thursdays around noon.

Buck said the VSS helped his transfer from Cypress College go smoothly.

“Going from a community to college and coming to Cal State Fullerton, it’s a big change. The service has helped me with finding out who I need to talk to, as a veteran,” Buck said.

Chang urges student veterans to become involved and accept the services that are provided to them by the G.I. Bill and VSS despite any resistance they may feel toward asking for help.

“In the military, asking for help is seen as a sign of weakness,” Chang said, acknowledging that this is a different world than the one they were trained in.