KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — There are over 1,000 student Veterans at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. However, in a school of over 30,000 students, that community can feel very small.
The Veterans Success Center works to connect those students to one another, and provide a space that they can call their "home" on campus.
Just over a month ago, the center launched a new podcast, Dog Tag Dialogue. It highlights the life of a student Veteran, shares stories, and plugs resources for students.
Thomas Cruise started Dog Tag Dialogue and said it was his way of keeping everyone connected.
"The first idea and talks about it came in the midst of COVID," Cruise said.
It was a time where both Veteran and civilian students felt increased rates of isolation, depression and anxiety.
"Even though they weren't here on campus, we still want to keep that connection. So the idea came about to kind of create a podcast just to talk about those things," Cruise said.
For many Veterans, the transition from service to school is a challenge.
According to Cruise, the average age of a freshman student Veteran is 28 years old. That is almost 10 years older than the average age of a civilian freshman, at 18 years old.
"With that age comes more life experience," Cruise said. He said it is one of the things that makes college socially-difficult for people who served in the military.
Although that's the case, nearly 1 in 3 Veterans will pursue a Bachelor's degree. Cruise was one of those students. he served in the Air Force for six years before becoming a student at the University of Tennessee.
"It was a challenge, absolutely. Coming out of active duty facing not only a transition into a civilian role, but also a student's role as well is very challenging," Cruise said.
The Veterans Success Center opened on campus in Cruise's senior year, in 2017. He immediately got involved, and eventually became a Coordinator for the Center.
Now, he works with student Veterans to ensure they are on a pathway to success.
"There's some students that haven't set foot inside a classroom since high school. So just adapting to that that academic culture outside of that mission-focused culture can be a big shock," Cruise said.
Dog Tag Dialogue was created with the intent to bring comfort to students in the midst of that culture shock.
"I think it sends a very strong message to the campus community that we care," said the Center's director, Jayetta Rogers.
The podcast is still in its starting phase. So far, they have released two episodes. The first talks about Veterans strengths and what skills they can bring to the academic environment.
"We talked about who they are now versus maybe who they were before the military," Cruise said. "If they learn how they're able to engage in these strengths, it will make them as successful as possible."
"They bring a lot to the campus, and they have certain skills that a freshman student just doesn't have," Rogers said.
The second episode featured a discussion with Veteran, Jim Haslam, who shared his transition from service to success. Haslam is he owner of the Pilot Corporation.
Cruise said the podcast is off to a successful start. The Center is encouraging Veterans to reach out for an opportunity to be a guest on the podcast.
"We definitely want to continue the message and not just at UT but just the greater community as well," Cruise said.