Hiring Our Heroes: For Marines Coming Back, Campus is Foreign Territory

Three Marines go back to school

Transitioning to college life is difficult enough, but for three former Marines, coming onto the University of Southern California campus was like traveling to a foreign world. Before enrolling here last fall, Joshua Jacobs, 27, was deployed to Afghanistan twice.

"People that are brilliant on an international level, all going here and now you are competing with them. I hadn't been to school in six or seven years," said Jacobs, who enlisted in April 2007 and spent four years in the military.

Benjamin Reynolds, 25, is a father of two with another on the way. He enlisted days after graduating high school at the age of 17 and saw combat on the streets of Iraq during his four-year tour with the Infantry Second Battalion, 4th Marines.

"We did a lot of just patrolling the city and maintain order ... you get back and think back and say I almost died there. I almost died there. My friends almost died. The ones that did die aren't there anymore," Reynolds said.

Being around those who understand what he went through helps. The guys are among the inclusive membership of the USC Veterans Association, created in 2008.

"We know that we can immediately call on one person who will have some kind of a solution that might be able to help out," Jacobs said.

Kyle Hudson, 24, went from Arabic linguist overseas to studying international relations at the home of the Trojans. The Huntington Beach native left active duty on January 2 and started school just 7 days later.

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"You learn a lot about yourself. I don't think I would have never knew how strong you could be mentally. If you make up your mind to do something, how you can do it," Hudson said.

Employers may appreciate that "get it done" mindset. But according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, businesses are looking for skilled, high tech, educated workers, veterans or not, for a pool of jobs much smaller in California since 2008.

The national unemployment rate is 8.3 percent last year. Compare that to the 12.1 percent for the veterans who served following Sept. 11, 2011. Male veterans post 9/11, ages 18-24 had an unemployment rate of 29.1 percent while young male non-vets were at 17.6 percent. Women vets in that group were at 12.4 percent.

This increase at USC has developed into a position for Syreeta Greene within the last year. She deals specifically with transfer and veteran students and explains 89 veterans were registered at the university in 2008.

There are more than 500 undergraduate and graduate veteran students. Nationally, vets and their relatives are at over 6,500 campuses and take advantage of benefits like the Post 9/11 GI bill, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. It offers up to $17,500 in tuition and fees, housing allowances and other funds.

"With the end of the war we are seeing more students applying," said Syreeta Greene, Assistant Director of Transfer and Veterans Student Programs at USC. "Our program sort of compiling that information and making that information readily available decreases the stress."

"Almost every day I get an email from either Syreeta or veterans association or my advisors you know check out this internship, or look at this opportunity," Hudson said.

"I've had opportunities to go to social events with businesses, big 4 accounting firms, local accounting firms," Reynolds said.

And the idea is those opportunities and the "got your back" attitude the military instills will lead to jobs upon graduation.

Reynolds was a squad leader when he entered the military at 17. Jacobs led a supply chain and kept asset records for his unit. At one point, Hudson was translating between French, Arabic, and English. These skills from their field experience are qualities they will highlight when looking for jobs.

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