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September 22 , 2009

New Student Organization at CSU Dominguez Hills Focused on Peer Support for Student Veterans

(Carson, CA) – While many of America’s young men and women have witnessed and survived the rigors of supporting current military operations around the world, arriving at college after active duty may prove to be nearly as daunting as the first day of boot camp.

A new student organization at California State University, Dominguez Hills has been created to provide a network of peer support for student veterans that will help them adapt to college life. The Veterans Alliance is supported by the Military Student Center, which offers veterans a variety of services, including admissions advising, assistance with determining transferrable units toward their degree, as well as a host of other resources available to them.

“Veterans are a unique group because they come from a background of well-defined structure and direction,” says campus military advisor Erika Valdez. “Transitioning into the university setting, where information disseminated to students may be ambiguous or conflicting, can be quite difficult. It is important to provide an on-campus forum where student veterans can find the information they need from one common source and at the same time, help each other through a peer-support system.”

Michael Chesnut, a senior in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on environmental studies, is the president of Veterans Alliance at CSU Dominguez Hills and established a similar organization at El Camino College.

“There are a lot of things that happen to veterans over the years that they won’t go talk to just anybody about,” he notes. “They need someone to relate to that will understand their particular situation. There is no one that knows better the problems that the veterans are facing than the ones that are currently going to college here.”

Veterans Alliance has been recognized as Chapter 199 of the Student Veterans of America, a national nonprofit organization of student veteran groups on campuses across the United States.

Useful links for more information:
Veterans Alliance at CSU Dominguez Hills, www.csudhvets.ning.com
CSU Dominguez Hills Military Student Center, www.csudh.edu/military
Student Veterans of America, www.studentveterans.org

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About CSU Dominguez Hills -- California State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse, urban university located in the South Bay, primarily serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered environment. Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology, business administration, and digital media arts, new degree programs include computer science, criminal justice, recreation and leisure studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus is the Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex that hosts world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and cycling.

Media Contact:
Amy Bentley-Smith
(310) 243-2455
abentleysmith@csudh.edu

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