Wright State named Military Friendly again

The Office of Veterans Affairs hosts a number of events throughout the year, including a meet and greet during the second week of school.

G.I. Jobs, the premier magazine for military personnel transitioning into civilian life has awarded Wright State University the designation of Military Friendly School for the third consecutive year.

The 2012 Military Friendly Schools list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members and veterans as students.

Nearly 700 current Wright State students are military veterans.

Patrick Nekoranec, of Beavercreek, joined the Marines out of high school and in 2003 was deployed to Iraq, where he provided security for convoys that carried ammunition, food and water. Nekoranec, who is currently in the Air Force Reserve and works as a loadmaster at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is studying criminal justice at Wright State.

When military veterans typically come to college, he said, some fellow students simply don’t understand what military deployments are like.

“It’s hard to talk to them at times about it,” he said.

But Nekoranec said Wright State is definitely military friendly. He said professors, some of whom are veterans themselves, are approachable and more than willing to discuss the military experience.

Gloria Chavez, of Riverside, was in the Air Force for 26 years and was based at Wright-Patterson. She is studying communications at Wright State.

Chavez said she emerged from the military with a strong work discipline and the ability to work with others. Those kind of things set veterans apart from the typical college student, she said.

“We’re exposed to different situations, different people, and are more accepting of change and deadlines,” she said.

Valita Wilhoite, a Wright State employee and member of the Veterans and Military-Connected Student Committee, helps assess the needs of veterans studying at Wright State.

“Wright State acknowledges that the veterans are here. Wright State acknowledges the value of veterans who have served their country,” Wilhoite said. “I think that Wright State wants to give back to those who have given.”

Wilhoite was an Army air traffic controller from 1974 to 1977. She graduated from Wright State in 1981.

“I’m glad that Wright State is doing what it’s doing so the veterans can step into a community where they don’t feel they’re isolated,” she said. “We want the veterans to be successful students, taking them from the battlefield to the classroom.”

Click here to read more about our military-friendly initiatives in the Wright State University Magazine.