Veterans of the Classroom

Former U.S. soldiers discovering futures at community college

By Ed Johnson

The Gresham Outlook, Jul 2, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Shanda Tice / The Outlook

Mt. Hood Community College student and Iraq war veteran Joshua Ray studies for his classes at Mt. Hood Community College. He is trying to help veterans make the transition from life in a war zone to the life on a campus.

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Joshua Ray doesn’t consider himself unique among veterans — he’s struggling with the difficulties of life after serving just like everyone else.

But as the president of the Veterans Association at Mt. Hood Community College, the 27-year-old father of three hopes he can help other veterans transition from military life, and with less headaches than he went through.

After serving in the Army for five years, including 13 months in Iraq where he sustained injuries to his knees and back, Ray said he left the service at Fort Benning, Texas, and decided to head home, back to Oregon and his family.

At the time, Ray was recently divorced from his wife due to “basically being gone all the time,” and he was living with family. “I basically spent a year alone in my room.”

Then he decided to go back to school, and looked around at the area colleges and universities. He eventually decided to attend Mt. Hood Community College because it was “the most veteran friendly.” He’s been there for a year and three months, and is taking online classes for summer term.

After arriving on campus, he checked around for veterans groups and discovered that the older organizations had fallen by the wayside. From there, he reinvigorated the Veteran’s Association for the more than 200 veterans on campus.

Ray said that the student group is there to support veterans from every service, and in any way they need. The group also provides a social network for veterans, letting them get together with people who understand the hardships of life after serving in the military.

“Our group is there for people who want to come find help,” Ray says, “when they have nowhere else to turn, that’s what we’re here for.”

A veteran’s education

There are 357,000 veterans in Oregon according to Department of Veterans Affairs, and more than 6,000 claim education benefits through the GI bill.

A new G.I. bill was signed into law by President W. Bush on June 30, providing more funding and greater flexibility for veterans who wish to pursue higher education. According to Jerri Ellis, the veterans Admission counselor at Mt. Hood, the new G.I. bill represents a long overdue improvement for student veteran funding.

“It’s closer to the Montgomery GI bill of the ’40s,” Ellis said. “This should alleviate some of the stress that’s on veterans.”

Ray is also positive about the new developments for the GI bill, but after dealing with the heavily bureaucratic Veterans Administration for so long, is guarded with his enthusiasm.

“It sounds good,” Ray said, “but I don’t know how it’s going to work, we won’t know until it’s implemented.”

In the meantime, Mt. Hood Community College has announced a plan that makes the school even more appealing to veterans — a tuition waiver for 50 percent off their first term of enrollment.

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