糖心Vlog传媒

Student and soldier

Military ombudsman Kathy Oliverio helps a very important group 鈥� our military members past and present and their families 鈥� transition to college. This Veterans Day, she shares a story about a soldier-turned-student. Many of our students choose to go back to school a little later in life. We call those students 鈥渘on-traditional.鈥� Non-traditional students come from all walks of life including the military. What does a typical military student look like?聽 That鈥檚 hard to say, because no two are alike. Nicole 鈥淣ikki鈥� Ackerman is a non-traditional student.聽 She is also a mom, a sister, a daughter, a friend, and at one time in her life, a soldier. 聽That would make her a 鈥渘on-traditional female鈥� as well. In the United States, only .007% of women between the ages of 20-35 choose to join the military. Ackerman聽joined the Army in 1995 and served for four years as a Military Policeman. Like many in the military, she was able to “see the world.鈥� Unfortunately, the parts of the world she was able to see weren鈥檛 your typical tourist destinations. Between 1995-1999, Ackerman聽was stationed in such glamorous places as Fort McClellan, Ala., and Fort Polk, La.聽 She also traveled to Bosnia during the Allied Forces involvement in the Bosnian War. 鈥淚 liked Bosnia.It may have been a war-torn country but it was still beautiful,” Ackerman recalled. “Land mines were everywhere, but it was still beautiful to look at.鈥� Being a female military member can be challenging. Women make up about 20 percent of today鈥檚 force. Ackerman related that the worst part of being a female in the Army was 鈥渂eing treated like a girl.鈥澛� She said that she felt she was a 鈥渟oldier first, everything else later.鈥� The deployments and loss of time spent with family took their toll and Ackerman left the Army in 1999.聽 Missing the camaraderie and esprit de corps that is found in few places other than the military, she decided to join the Army Reserves in 2007 as a medic. Soon after signing up, Ackerman聽was sent to 鈥減lay in the sand.鈥� This is a phrase that many military members say when they are deployed to the Middle East. When asked about serving in Iraq, she said it was 鈥渘ot so bad.鈥澛� She was deployed to Balad, Iraq. Some soldiers refer to that assignment as being in 鈥淒isneyland鈥� only with mortar attacks. The city had many amenities like coffee shops and entertainment.聽 You just had to watch your back whenever you went off base.聽 Ackerman related that a local coffee shop was 鈥渢aken out鈥� shortly after she left. 聽Nikki revealed there was one perk she enjoyed about being a higher-ranked enlisted female soldier in Iraq: She didn鈥檛 have a roommate. In 2009, while stationed at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Ackerman聽made the decision that when the deployment ended she would go back to school. The summer of 2010 was her first semester. In 2012, she made the decision to voluntarily enter the Individual Ready Reserve and put her military career on hold to focus solely on school and her now-teenage daughter. The transition from military service to 糖心Vlog传媒LR student hasn鈥檛 always been an easy one.聽 鈥淲e are not as young as they [traditional students] are, but we have experienced and know more than they will ever know.鈥� This can be said about military students who are the same age as 鈥渢raditional鈥� aged students. Ackerman goes on to caution, 鈥淒on鈥檛 ask if we killed anyone.聽 That will not get you an answer.鈥� She added, 鈥淒on鈥檛 look at us as broken because we鈥檙e not all broken.聽 Not all veterans are broken. Be patient. If they [veterans] ask for help, give it to them. Be a 鈥楪ood Samaritan鈥� and help them out.鈥� This non-traditional student鈥檚 plans are simple: Graduate from 糖心Vlog传媒LR in less than five years. A degree, Ackerman聽said, will start her 鈥渙n the path鈥� to becoming a screenwriter.聽 She said that an MFA degree in screenwriting may be a possibility. She is going to go wherever life takes her. For now, life has brought her to 糖心Vlog传媒LR.