Veterans Awareness Month graphic

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, military service veterans face a number of unique challenges when returning to civilian life — challenges many civilians may not be aware of.

Veterans may find it difficult to relate to those who haven’t shared their experiences, or they may struggle to re-establish connections with family and build a new community.

These challenges are often compounded by the demands of pursuing higher education, said Agustin Ramirez, B.A. ’07, psychology, himself a U.S. Navy veteran and the director of CSUSB’s Veterans Success Center (VSC) since 2017.

“Our mission is pretty straightforward. We're here to support our former, current and future service members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their dependents,” Ramirez said. “And we want to support them with the transition from military service into school by offering programs and services that recognize, celebrate and support them.”

Mission accomplished. Last year, Cal State San Bernardino was once again named a Military Friendly® School with gold ranking, and a Military Spouse Friendly® School, both in the large public university category. CSUSB, which earned gold for 2021-22 and 2022-23, is the only California State University in the 23-campus system to attain the gold classification.

Ramirez believes the key to the VSC's success lies in housing school certifying officials (SCOs) directly within the center, making it a “one-stop” support system for veterans. SCOs play a vital administrative role and are authorized to handle enrollment verifications and other certification documents, ensuring that veterans receive their benefits for attending college.

“The SCO used to be housed in the registrar’s office prior to my arrival here, and one of the things I wanted to do as director was to move that specialty to the VSC,” Ramirez said. “Students who are veterans or using benefits come here anyway, so why not have the certifying official here so it's all in one house?”

Ramirez noted that CSUSB has two certifying officials, and part of helping with the veterans’ transition to college is ensuring that the SCOs are reaching out to incoming students as early as possible. “As soon as the admissions office sends new veteran students their acceptance letters, we want to be the second letter that the student gets, explaining who we are and introducing the certifying officials: ‘This is the person you need to talk to about your benefits,’” he said. “That way, that student immediately makes a connection with the person who will be handling their benefits for the next couple of years.”

Approximately 2,180 students engaged with the VSC during the 2023-24 academic year, Ramirez said, including prospective and current students, alumni of CSUSB, veterans’ dependents, former members of the U.S. Armed Forces, members of the National Guard and Army Reserve, and Air Force and Army ROTC cadets.

“We serve a lot of first-generation students as well as nontraditional students here, so when they enroll, they’re typically in their mid-20s, if not older,” Ramirez said. “Many of our veteran students have never been to college and are seven to 10 years older than other students in their classes. The transition to a university can be intimidating, and many veterans have other obligations — some have families, some have homes, many have jobs and some still have military commitments. We understand these factors and we're here to assist them.”

Among the many services the VSC provides are preadmission advising, a new student and transfer student orientation, academic advising, free access to computers, printing services, testing materials, scholarships and a Veteran graduation celebration. The Student Veteran Organization (SVO) also provides tutoring and math coaching.

Alejandro Camacho, B.A. ’24, theatre arts, is a paraprofessional at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus VSC and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He shared how the VSC helped him during his college journey. “The center provided personalized academic counseling and introduced me to veterans who had successfully transitioned into careers, which offered me invaluable mentorship,” Camacho said.

Today, he is pursuing a master’s degree in digital media management at the University of Southern California. “My experience with the VSC has significantly shaped my perspective on higher education and its role in achieving my personal and professional goals,” Camacho said. “The VSC provided me with valuable opportunities to engage in hands-on learning, collaborate with diverse peers and develop practical skills directly applicable to my future career.”

The VSC also offers several longstanding programs to enhance veterans’ overall growth and well-being, Ramirez said. Mission Ready is a skill-building workshop facilitated by subject matter experts or CSUSB’s Counseling and Psychology Services (CAPS) to help veterans prepare for life outside the classroom. Topics vary and can range from relationship advice, time management, how to set boundaries, confidence-building, and meditation.

The Veterans Round Table is a group therapy program facilitated by a counselor from CAPS who specializes in issues affecting the military population. “This program is very beneficial because some veterans may be ashamed to go and seek counseling or psychological help,” said Ramirez. “There is still a stigma around mental health services. So, they can come here in the Vet Center, and no one's the wiser.”

Student veteran Ralph Figueroa began attending CSUSB in 2022 and is pursuing a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling — and at age 47, he fits the profile of a nontraditional student. Today, he works as a veteran benefits and resource specialist paraprofessional at the VSC and coordinates the Mission Ready series and the weekly Veterans Round Table.

Since fall 2022, he has served as the SVO president. In 2024, he was recognized by the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement (OSLE) as the Outstanding Student Club Leader, and the SVO was named Club of the Year. In October, he was selected to attend the prestigious Student Veterans of America (SVA) Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C., and was named an SVA Leadership Fellow.

“The VSC has been one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had,” Figueroa said. “It showed me that good people exist and genuinely want to help students find their greatness. That belief leads me toward achieving my goals and creating new ones. Working in the VSC has allowed me to see the growth of others and has facilitated the opportunity to mentor others, all of which align with my core values.”

David Briggs, B.A. ’14, social sciences and Islamic and Arabic Studies, regularly volunteered at the VSC as a CSUSB student, worked in the Arabic summer programs and participated in the Model United Nations. For Briggs, the most beneficial aspect of the VSC “was having a home on campus. The veteran community has a lot of camaraderie. It was great to have somewhere to go with everything I needed, whether it was a computer lab, a place to eat lunch, or somewhere to hang out with people who have a bond.”

Ramirez said the number of veterans and their families who seek support through the VSC has increased significantly during the past year, and he sees no signs of that slowing down. “This semester has been the most active we've been since the pandemic. We're averaging 50 visits a day from students, which is a lot considering that at this time last year, it was about 10. We're actually starting to see participation increase in students using resources at the pre-pandemic level.

“We’ve made it a priority of ours to reach out to our veteran population and to be very intentional in our planning and programming,” he said. “We're doing it because we care. We care about these students and because we care about their success, we're going to do what we can to make things possible for them.”