Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

James Herndon

Abstract

Colleges may not be prepared to support veteran students transitioning from the military to higher education, resulting in more significant attrition levels for veteran students struggling to adapt to their new surroundings. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the experiences of post-9/11 veteran students as they transitioned from the military to higher education and their involvement and interaction with cocurricular, extracurricular, and nonacademic programs during their first year of college. The research questions focused on how veterans-students described the transition from the military and into their first year of college. The theoretical framework was a combination of Bridges's transitional model, Astin's theory of involvement, and Schlossberg's adult transition theory. Data were collected from 10 student veterans from a small college in Central Florida. Participants were interviewed via zoom, using open-ended questions, and data were transcribed and organized using NVivo 12. Using the modified van Kamm method, data analysis identified multiple emergent themes related to change, involvement, and adaptability, all critical aspect of the veteran students' transition from military service to their first year of college. Participants indicated that veteran students exiting the military were looking for new skills/opportunities, were not new to involvement in cocurricular, extracurricular, and nonacademic, and were effectively adapting to college during their first year of enrollment. The emergent themes can be used for positive social change by developing transitional or bridge programs for veteran students entering college and provide the rationale to support current veteran-based programs.

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