EOU honors veterans, offers tailored services

EOU honors veterans, offers tailored services

Nov. 10, 2020 LA GRANDE, Ore. – As the nation recognizes Veterans Day, those who’ve served in the United States Armed Forces develop their careers and build lasting relationships on campus. 

Inlow Hall is home to Veterans Services at Eastern Oregon University. Active duty military members and retired veterans who attend EOU have access to a range of resources on campus and off.

Services include peer-to-peer tutoring, scholarship opportunities and tuition assistance, among other resources that benefit their education. For example, Active-duty students receive a scholarship that helps with a portion of their tuition and veterans can also apply for the Veterans United Foundation Scholarship to help cover costs that the GI Bill leaves to students.  

The designated area for student veterans to study incorporates a quiet environment with computers that are accessible to them regardless of degree. 

With 150 student veterans on campus, Military/Veterans Coordinator Kerry Thompson explained that they are in the process of moving the services to a more central area on campus to reach more students who are in need of support.  

“It helps them so they have a place to go, a place that’s relatively quiet that they can go study, do homework. It gives the veterans a sense of camaraderie, a sense of belonging,” he said.  

Thompson also said that many of EOU’s student veterans are older than the average college student, and may have problems relating to their classmates, so having these resources and a place specifically for them helps develop a sense of community on campus. 

As a veteran himself who finished his education at EOU, Thompson recognizes that there is always room for program improvement. 

“In the 8 years I have been here, EOU has come a long way with what we offer our veterans, we may have a long way to go, but we are getting there,” he said.

For more information about Veteran’s services at EOU, please visit eou.edu/veterans. 

By PR Intern Emily Andrews