Starting college can be a life-changing experience. Many students at UNM face the additional challenge of adjusting to civilian life after serving in the military. As Veteran Affairs certifying official in the Office of the Registrar, Lee St. Pierre verifies that students meet the requirements for veterans’ financial aid benefits – and helps them understand how to get through the process. There are currently about 555 student veterans using benefits.
Photo: Lee St. Pierre
A disabled Vietnam veteran himself, St. Pierre said, “That’s part of my passion for helping vets.” Having faced the challenges of getting back into civilian life and navigating college, he wants to guide others. “A lot of them don’t know what they have in benefits.”
Since joining UNM 15 months ago, St. Pierre has helped smooth the financial aid application process for veterans. Until last fall, students had to visit the Veteran Affairs office in downtown Albuquerque to file paperwork and get a certification letter for financial aid. Now, they can file with St. Pierre right on campus.
He recently became advisor to the newly created Student Veterans of UNM (see related story on page 2). St. Pierre said the group will provide a good way for veterans – many of whom are nontraditional, older students with families – find peers for social and academic support, including study groups.
St. Pierre recently built a new – and final – home, and now spends much of his time off on landscaping and working on the house. He has lived in New Mexico for two years, at first working at the Department of Labor helping disabled veterans find employment.
He said there are many on and off campus willing to help veterans. “New Mexico is a very vet friendly state.”
“After Vietnam, people couldn’t separate the war from the soldiers,” he said, adding that people in New Mexico today are making an effort to separate supporting the troops from political views on the war. He said doing that and being sensitive to the different experiences and needs student veterans have can help them through the transition to college life. If students need more help, St. Pierre can refer them to available resources.