Veteran Identity (Perceptions) in Higher Education: A Veteran/Scholar/Advocate’s Story

Abstract

Through autoethnography, a research method that considers how personal lived experiences are impacted and made visible through inquiry into cultural and systemic issues, the author shares her story of being a research administrator and staff member at a veteran center within a land-grant, Midwestern, top-tier research university. As both a veteran and a scholar of veteran studies, the researcher paints a picture of the consequences of a multi-decade war on the post-9/11 generation of veterans, veterancentric scholarship, and veteran services within university settings. Her story illustrates the consequences of a lack of military cultural insight and attunement of higher-education leadership and demonstrates why administrators of veteran centers and spaces must be well versed in military cultural awareness. The overarching themes of this piece reify how truth, empathy, and cultural competency are paramount to overcome barriers of both research and praxis related to veteran issues. Most importantly, this piece both shows and tells why veterans need a seat at the table.