My LMU EXP: New Experiences, New Family

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The transition from the military to college is not always easy, but senior Joshua Williams has thrived at Loyola Marymount University thanks in part to its veterans support programs. 

LMU’s Veteran Programs department, housed within Student Success, assists the student veterans with their transition to the bluff by providing co-curricular engagement opportunities.

To assist with the financial burden of attending a private university in Los Angeles, Veteran Programs has received and awarded more than $376,000 in scholarship funds to student veterans over the past four years. The department has also provided work placements on campus for student veterans through its VetWork Program.

Additionally, Veteran Programs supports and advises the Student Veterans Organization and coordinates individualized services. All this and more is what Williams credits for making LMU a welcoming home for student veterans like himself.

November 7-11 is Veterans Appreciation Week 2016, ‌‌when during the week of Veterans Day, Veteran Programs collaborates with various departments and organizations to create a campus awareness of LMU’s veteran population. The week of educational and fun events culminates with the annual Veterans Day Luncheon, where Williams is set to be the student speaker.

Joshua Williams, senior

Major: Economics

Hometown: Orange, California

When I graduated from high school, Loyola Marymount University was not on my radar due to the cost, and I wasn’t a strong enough student to earn scholarships to provide me with assistance.

While I served in the military, many of my friends attended LMU. So I came to a lot of events on campus and I knew my way around.

After four years serving the Navy and Marine Corps team, my options opened up, and it made me think I also could attend LMU. I believed there was nothing that I couldn’t do with the skills and experiences I had at that point. Then I was accepted at LMU and began attending school here.

I missed the Navy way of life, but for those of us who have transitioned out, the freedom can be — let’s just say — freeing. To be honest, my transition to LMU was easy. That’s not always the case for student veterans.

I feel as if we all have different expectations and experiences when moving on to the next part of our lives — especially with one as structured as the military where many of us came from. Having one semester of community college may have helped, but nothing was as helpful as the confidence my family and friends had in me and support they provided.

LMU has been a warm and inviting place including staff and veterans that I first met here to the rugby team. They all have largely helped my transition to be nothing short of seamless.

My LMU EXP as a student veteran has been to try everything to be involved and get connected at LMU from joining the rugby team and working at the Loft, to being involved in the Student Veterans Organization. This combined with the type of people that LMU produces helped me find another family in a place that was so unfamiliar.

The student veterans at LMU are students just like everyone else but may have different perspectives on the world because of our experiences. This by no means should require anyone to tiptoe around us or treat us differently because of what we may have seen or been through.

I encourage you to engage in conversation with a veteran. Find out where we are from and we will most likely share our experiences. It’s always nice to have someone who is interested in your past and we’ll likely be just as intrigued about yours.

I look forward to joining my grandfather, who graduated from Loyola University, by adding another Williams to the list of LMU alumni. I am thankful for the staff, the students and the veterans, but most importantly those who came before us and served our nation so that I could have this educational opportunity.

Learn more about LMU’s Veteran Programs.

My LMU EXP is a series of student profiles, where in their own words, Loyola Marymount University students write about the co-curricular experiences that have helped shape them during time on the bluff.