Help for Student Veterans at CWU

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Story Published: Nov 12, 2009 at 6:15 PM PST

By Ryan Simms

ELLENSBURG -- For veterans, adjusting to life after deployment can be an enormous challenge, and now Central Washington University is trying to help.

In between classes at Central Washington University, Iraq war veteran Tom Mengelos is getting used to the freedom of a being a college student. It hasn't been an easy adjustment.

"The army tells us what to do all the time," he says. "But in school, you're encouraged to think outside the box."

Mengelos isn't alone. There are currently 289 veterans at CWU. And with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that number is expected to rise.

But with a new campus veterans center, CWU is prepared for more veterans.

"There's a camaraderie between veterans, and it's a good place for them to come and have that camaraderie," says Mengelos.

Besides sharing a common bond, the center will offer veterans the chance to receive guidance counseling, as well as advice on benefits from such things as the G-I bill.

Mengelos has been home three months now, and while the return to normal life remains a work in progress, CWU's new veteran's center should make his journey a bit more comfortable.

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