UA South Employee Helps Student-Veterans Navigate College

UA South Employee Helps Student-Veterans Navigate College

By Amanda BallardUniversity Relations - Communications
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Clara Gonzalez is the military and veteran services coordinator for UA South.
Clara Gonzalez is the military and veteran services coordinator for UA South.

When veterans go from active duty to civilian life, the transition can be challenging. Fortunately for student-veterans at UA South, there's an invaluable resource in the form of Clara Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is the military and veteran services coordinator for UA South, the University's branch campus headquartered in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Her job is to help student-veterans navigate their college careers every step of the way.

"We are a military-friendly school and we are here for them," Gonzalez said.

Of the nearly 500 students who take classes in-person at UA South, around 24 percent are student-veterans, directly supported by Gonzalez. As of fall 2014, the UA had approximately 1,100 total student-veterans enrolled, according to data provided by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning Support. The Student Vets Center, located on the UA's main campus, serves as a hub for all UA student-veterans to find resources and adapt to student life.

"Clara is truly a remarkable advocate and a resource for veteran students in southern Arizona," said Sarah Wieland, assistant dean of academic advising and student services at UA South. "Not only does she consistently go the extra mile to provide support for her UA South students on academic, individual and community resource information, she is also seen as the 'go-to' expert on veteran and military students for staff, support organizations, veterans, active-duty service members and family members across our southern Arizona communities."

Gonzales, whose father served in the military, is a self-described "Army brat." She lived across the U.S. and Puerto Rico before graduating high school and attending Bronx Community College in New York.

Once she earned her associate's degree, Gonzalez decided to put her academic career on hold and start working.

"At that age, I was still young and I wanted to work," she said. "Always in my mind, I wanted to go back (to school). But life got in the way."

Gonzalez's career landed her in Sierra Vista in her late 20s, and at 38 she resumed her journey toward a bachelor's degree, taking night classes at Cochise Community College while working at a local elementary school before transferring to UA South for her upper-division classes.

"I'm the epitome of the transfer, non-traditional student," she said. "I'm the poster child."

Gonzalez was initially hired at UA South as a student worker, eventually becoming a full-time employee and taking on all of UA South's student-veteran services in 2013. She earned her bachelor's degree in family studies and human development, and continued on to earn her master's degree in teaching and teaching education.

"Education is very, very important to me," Gonzalez said. "If I were to do a Ph.D., it would be something in regards to the veteran population – the challenges they encounter while transitioning from their active-duty status to civilian life and integrating back into society. That holds so much interest to me."

Gonzalez leads UA South's outreach efforts to local veterans, along with veterans at sites across the state. She helps coordinate career fairs and family-friendly celebrations to educate veterans on UA South and its offerings.

In addition, Gonzalez helps student-veterans throughout their college careers, assisting them with their Veteran Education Benefits and advocating for them when needed.

She said the most rewarding part of her job is seeing the students she works with on graduation day.

"I always cry," Gonzalez said. "Not all of them, but a great number of them, mention me. ... If my contribution, albeit small, was enough to make them realize how much I care about them, that is the most rewarding thing."

Student-veteran Billy Zsambok, a senior majoring in network administration at UA South, said Gonzalez's dedicated service and knowledge of veterans' resources has allowed him to focus on his studies rather than administrative requirements.

"Clara Gonzalez has been an invaluable resource to me as a student-veteran," Zsambok said. "Clara has enabled my continued studies as a full-time student at UA South and I am grateful for her efforts."

John Michael Stone, also a student-veteran, is studying applied science at UA South. He said he recommends student-veterans get in touch with Gonzalez as soon as they enroll in classes.

"When I went back to school last year, I thought I understood the process – I did not," Stone said. "Seeing Clara has resulted in no issues with certification, tuition payment, housing allowance and book stipends over the last four semesters. She is one of UA South's most valuable assets."

Despite being approximately 75 miles south of the UA's main campus, Gonzalez said she doesn't feel a major difference working at the branch campus.

"All the people I work with at main campus have been fabulous," she said. "It would be nice to be on main campus because of the college experience ... but work-wise, I don't see anything different. The advantage of working at UA South: I'm five minutes away from my house. There are no traffic jams."

However, she does say the type of student she works with on a daily basis is different from the typical 18-year-old incoming freshman at the UA's main campus. Many of the student-veterans she works with have full-time jobs and families to support.

"The reason they come back to school is because they need that bachelor's degree in their work, or they have their bachelor's degree and they need their master's degree to move up in their career," she said. "The ones who gravitate to UA South are a little more mature. It's a bit of a different dynamic."

For Gonzalez, the most important requirement of her job is understanding the human side of higher education – something she says the UA does very well.

"Even though we are a school and education is our business, we put the human side first," she said. "We care. We put students first. That is something, to me, that is very important. In my life, I will not settle for anything else."

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