Auburn, Ala. -- Auburn University will be named on the 2018-2019 Military Friendly® school list that will be published in G.I. Jobs magazine in this month's issue. Current veteran student at Auburn, and Houston native, Melissa Villanueva, has experienced Auburn's top-notch support for military students first hand.
Villanueva has served as a staff sergeant in the Air Force and has been stationed all over the world. She has served in communications and has also served as a medic. Recently, Villanueva has decided to put more focus on helping animals and has moved back to Auburn University.
“I have taken classes at different campuses throughout my military career, and I can say Auburn has been the best place so far,” said Villanueva . “Auburn’s ranking is high when it comes to military friendliness.”
Villanueva began her career in the Air Force in 2005 because she wasn't sure yet if she wanted to go to college, but knew for sure that she wanted to travel. She was initially deployed to Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, where she first worked in satellite communication technicians. In this job, she worked to help provide communication for large groups by setting up various antennae.
After six years of working in communications, she decided to switch into the field of medicine. Villanueva has worked as a medic in clinical and outpatient settings. "My experiences in the field of medicine sparked my interest in animal medicine,” she said, which is why she has decided to come back to school at the end of her enlistment. This is how Villanueva found herself at Auburn.
Villanueva said that she has always been passionate about learning how to help animals and applied to three universities, including Auburn, to pursue this passion. In the end, she decided that Auburn is “one of the best schools to study animal science.” In 2016, she was accepted the Auburn to begin her studies and learned quickly how much the university excelled in supporting military students.
“Auburn’s Veterans Resource Center has been such a blessing to me since I’ve been here,” she said. “The center is a place I can go to and feel comfortable in, whether it be to study, use a computer or even just talk to someone who can relate to the transition from military to civilian life.”
Villanueva expressed that it does not surprise her that Auburn will be on the 2018-2019 Military Friendly® school list. Auburn is one of 941 schools on the list after extensive research of 8,800 schools nationwide. The research looked into public data, student veteran input, and surveys from participating universities.
The ratings combine the scores from the surveys and the assessment of the university's ability to retain the students and help them graduate, get jobs, pay off their loans and degree advancement. It also looks at the loan default rates for all students, specifically, student veterans.
Director of Auburn University's Veterans Resource Center (AUVRC) and retired Navy captain, Paul "Puck" Esposito, expressed his excitement about Auburn making the list as a Military Friendly School. However, he also expressed how the office is always looking to push further, and provide the best services possible.
“There’s so much more to it that doesn’t go into that rating that we offer,” said Esposito. He went on to explain that everyone in the office has past military experience or is married to a veteran.
The mission of the AUVRC, as stated on their brochure, is to “assist, transition and support veterans, guardsmen, reservists, active duty, military dependents and survivors who receive federal Veteran Affairs educational benefits in all aspects of benefits, both campus and community.”
The office works hard to serve 1,100 clients by providing services like tutoring, a textbook library, an annual veteran golf classic and a clothing locker that provides clothing for students to wear in professional settings, such as interviews.
“Along with the AUVRC staff, fellow student veterans have become my family here in Auburn,” Villanueva said. “When I moved here, I did not know anyone from Auburn or even from Alabama at that. The AUVRC staff are so welcoming and create such a great environment to help veterans feel at home. I am so thankful to have them here for support.”
