Barbara Mujica

Think today's veterans are mostly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and barely making ends meet? According to a recent report by Got Your Six, just the opposite is true--today's veterans tend to be engaged citizens, more likely to volunteer and vote than the general population.

America's two million female veterans are looking toward the future, and many are improving their employment opportunities by enrolling in courses. What issues do women veterans confront when they return to school?

In 2013 women became eligible for the same combat opportunities as men in the armed services. President Obama has advocated vigorously for women in combat, and the goal is for the Armed Services to fully integrate women into all spheres by January 1, 2016.

All over the country. student veterans are taking the lead in transforming their campuses, improving conditions for fellow veterans and enriching campus life for everyone.

One aspect of the proposed immigration reform that has attracted little attention is the requirement that applicants for legal status show proficiency in English. The issue should be central to the discussion.

By expanding their applicant pool to include more veterans, universities might achieve not only a more desirable racial and economic balance, but also a greater diversity of experience and perspectives.

Faced with faculty animosity, veterans often have no idea where to turn. Many feel isolated on campus to begin with. They are older than their peers and their life experience is radically different from theirs.

Because veterans have actually experienced the realities of war, operated in foreign environments, and negotiated with people of other cultures, student veterans take classroom discussion from the theoretical to the real.

Veterans who do attend competitive institutions are usually highly successful. These young men and women are motivated, focused, and efficient at time management. They not only excel academically, but enhance the general academic environment.