From the barracks to the classroom: the struggles of adapting to a new life after service  

Most people are told to pick their battles, but student veterans don’t have that choice, often facing the reality of feeling like a rusted knife after leaving the service.  

From loneliness to a lack of purpose, student veterans share their stories of going from a place where it feels like everybody has their back, to a college campus with its own battles.

“Then you leave the service, and you go into the civilian world, and you go into the college campus, where it feels like nobody has your back…You’re the loneliest you’ve ever been, because it feels like nobody understands what you’ve been through before. It can be a very, very lonely time,” said Sam Lynn, director of veteran services and who served 10 years in the Marine Corps before coming to Lipscomb for his undergraduate and graduate degrees in business.

Student veterans face significant barriers such as the age gap and having very little in common with their classmates.

“The lack of a challenge was challenging. In the military, you’re so used to being tested over and over again, whether it’ll be for your job, or your physical capabilities,” said Isidoro “Izzy” Castillo, a freshman pastoral leadership major from Clarksville, TN, who served in the United States Army from 2016 to 2022 as a drone flyer operator.

“Not having that kind of structure and that kind of push to be better can be mentally degrading, like a knife sits and rusts away with no use or purpose,” said Castillo.

The bright side

Most Lipscomb veterans can successfully transition into college life by taking advantage of the hardships from their past careers.

“When I was in undergrad, especially when it came to quizzes and exams, I felt like I was the least stressed out person in the classroom because I had been through much, much worse in my life than getting ready for a test,” said Lynn. “Yes, I had an easier time with test and quizzes in undergrad, but I had a much more difficult time for 10 years prior to that”

Beyond the service

Military life also provides skills that they can apply to the civilian world.

“I think discipline is the most important life skill that anybody can learn… Discipline is what allows you to get up on time every day with enough time to get yourself dressed…get everything prepared. Get out the door on time,” said Lynn. “That is probably the biggest contributor to success for our veterans on campus.”

This skill helps students stay focused, be punctual and avoid distractions, which is a challenge for many traditional undergraduates. Another skill Lynn shares is the ability to have a goal-oriented mindset. This allows veterans to set realistic goals and establish steps to accomplish them.

The average student veteran is 33 years old.  The overwhelming majority are married, have jobs, children and live off campus.

Veterans are often misunderstood, precisely because of these differences.

“Something a lot of people don’t understand about most veterans is that college is not life. To a veteran, college is a means to an end. It’s something additionally that they are doing in order to better provide for themselves, their families, their kids,” said Lynn.

This is a radically different perspective from the traditional college-aged student, who comes straight out of high school, and has life events primarily centered around campus life.

For “Izzy,” college has been a rewarding experience because it has allowed him to connect with people without a military background and learn from them. “It’s like iron sharpening iron.”

He is one of the 149 student veterans currently at Lipscomb. Castillo, who describes himself as a radical optimist, hopes to become a religious leader one day.

The fight continues

Castillo wants to keep serving, this time by re-establishing the Campus Veterans Organization. He’s working hard, boots on the ground, to help student veterans flourish and to enable them to support others.

Castillo expects the CVO to be back up and running by the end of the semester. He has a piece of advice for student veterans: Don’t fight alone. It’s better to go in numbers.