For veterans with a dream of transitioning to college, completing their degree, and moving on to a successful career, John Jay’s Military & Veteran Services Center is an instrumental source of support. “We work with veterans before they come here and help them transition to college and adapt to any particular challenges they may face. But we also try to focus on life post-graduation and offer up peer support to make sure that our veterans know that they are not alone,” says Richard Pusateri, the Military & Veteran Services Manager. As someone who served in the United States Navy for 30 years, and retired as a Navy Captain in the Chaplain Corps, Pusateri understands the importance of offering services to veterans, military service members, and to military family members who receive benefits under special programs. That’s why he’s proud that John Jay is a pioneer in providing veterans with the services they need to succeed. “John Jay has a 90 percent graduation rate for veterans and all of them graduate with at least a 3.3 GPA.”

Staying Focused
Veterans and military service members that come to John Jay, represent every branch of the military—some come from the Marines Corps, others are from the Army, Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force. But what they all have in common, is that when they decide to attend John Jay, they’re fully focused on completing their degrees. “With our 400 plus veterans, they have knowledge of what they like, and they have a sense of maturity, because to survive in the military, they had to develop that. They have overcome obstacles and they come here with a purpose,” Pusateri says. “Veterans are at a place in their life where they’ve already been totally independent. They’ve been there, done that, and succeeded. When they come to John Jay, they are really committed to getting that degree and appreciate everything John Jay has to offer.”

Before coming to John Jay, students tend to reach out to Pusateri and ask for information about the College and the possibility of being part of the Center once they arrive. But the main way the Center ensures that military and veteran students start off on the right track, is by making sure they have a major. “When new military and veterans come here, they always come with one to two years of college credits. But I always tell them, before they continue, they have to decide what they want to major in. You won’t find a veteran who changes their major multiple times. Because of the experience they’ve had, once they choose something, they tend to stick with it.” And once a veteran has selected their major, the Military & Veteran Services Center makes sure that they have the encouragement they need to make it across the graduation stage. Along with peer-to-peer mentoring through John Jay’s Veterans Association, the Center offers job recruitment; a Veterans’ Center with a lounge, technology center, study and meeting spaces; and SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society chapter that honors the academic accomplishments of the students.

Welcoming Everyone
While many colleges have a space for veterans, there’s something extra special about John Jay’s Center. For starters, John Jay has about 600 veteran students. “We had 503 students under military benefits last year. Fifty students were in officer candidate programs, like Army ROTC, Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Course, and Coast Guard Pre-Commissioning Initiative,” says Pusateri. “And, this past spring, we graduated 214 veterans.” John Jay’s veteran community is made up of veterans and military service members, and their families, and it’s a sense of community that sets the Center apart. “We have a great positive veteran community here and that makes a difference. Veterans feel older than most of their classmates. But when you notice other veterans in your class, you feel a connection; you know that you’re part of the community. We want to make sure that our veterans know that we’ve got their back,” says Pusateri. “This Center doesn’t exclude anyone. Everyone can come and participate in the events we have and feel like part of the family.” This sense of community doesn’t stop when veterans graduate from John Jay. “Our alumni come back and offer to help the veterans here. Over the past 10 years, I can’t even tell you the number of alumni that come in when we have job recruiting, or all the alumni that contact me about a job opening and ask me to recommend a student veteran. Seeing this ongoing networking between current military and veteran students and alumni is an amazing thing.”

For Pusateri, one of the most amazing things about the College’s veteran community is the number of women there are. “We have about 25 to 28 percent women veterans here, which are about 150 women. That’s an incredibly high percentage for most colleges, and the U.S. military has about 16 percent, so we are actually higher than that too,” he says. “The women are very involved with everything we do here. We have women who have served in the Marine Corps, and some of them have kids. They can do anything, and having them here is really special.” When asked why he believes John Jay has a large percentage of women veterans, Pusateri didn’t hesitate to say it’s because of the female leadership at the College. “We have strong female representation here. We have our first female President, and we always try to highlight women as much as we can. It’s very normal to be a female veteran here and we are giving others a message that women have a voice and a place in the John Jay community.”

Surpassing Expectations
When Nicole Westry ’07, a First-Level Sergeant in the Army, returned to John Jay after completing her bachelor’s degree, she noticed that she felt more welcomed as a veteran. “The Veterans Association here really gives you the support you need. When I first started at John Jay in 2002, I didn’t feel a strong military presence here. And we didn’t have a Veteran’s Lounge at the time,” says Westry. “But now, I’m completing my master's at the College, and I feel an overwhelming sense of support as a veteran.” Pusateri also noted the other achievements of student veterans once they leave John Jay. “One veteran has gone on to law school. Another is currently a New Jersey State Trooper. We also have a veteran who was in serious combat in Afghanistan and after graduating from the College, is studying Urban Planning at Hunter College. And then there’s a veteran who graduated from John Jay in just two years, with a 4.0 GPA and is now working in marketing.”

Offering one last thought, Pusateri encouraged veterans to speak up if they’re struggling. “We understand that sometimes some tough stuff happens to people in the military,” says Pusateri. “Veterans need to know that they’ve got a lot of friends in the John Jay community. And, we are incredibly responsive to their needs. If you need help, talk to your peers, come to the Center, and don’t be afraid to raise your hand and speak up. We’ve got a lot of wisdom and resources to help you figure out what you want to do and where you can go. ”