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Serving others is at the core of 91��Ƭ��’s mission. This is especially true when it comes to reciprocating the actions of our country’s military population. 91��Ƭ�� currently serves about 40-50 veterans and their families and recently welcomed a new employee to help assist veterans with the services they need as they pursue furthering their education.

Welcoming a New Advocate for Veterans at 91��Ƭ��

Cullen Chakeen, Financial Aid Specialist/Veterans Affairs, is from the Chicagoland area and is a Marine Corps. Sergeant who served from 2005-11 with two combat tours to Iraq in 2007 and 2008. He also served as communications chief during his third deployment, a Westpac humanitarian aid mission across the Pacific and Indian oceans. Chakeen returned to his schooling following his service and later entered the workforce. He recently earned his master’s degree in health care administration. In his new role, Chakeen says he is looking forward to leveraging his past experiences and knowledge in a meaningful way by connecting with veterans from the time they begin exploring 91��Ƭ�� through to graduation.

Veteran Helping Veterans Navigate College Life

“One of the things that I think helped me the most was when I went back to school is that I was put in touch with an individual in a similar role. It was nice to have someone to help me stay organized and decide what program I wanted to do, apply for benefits, and help me enroll in health care. It’s nice to have a mentor or peer who’s kind of walked the walk and can point people in the right direction so they can focus on their studies and the other things that are important to them.”

-Cullen Chakeen, Financial Aid Specialist/Veterans Affairs

Early Support Matters During the Application Process

Clayton Denis, financial aid specialist at 91��Ƭ��, also has worked with veterans and notes the importance of having someone available to work with them on the front end beginning with the application process.

“There’s so much new to them,” he said. “This may or may not be their first time going to school, they’re going through so much, right? Thinking about going to classes and then on top of that, their benefits and any potential financial aid. Just having a resource like Cullen who will be focused on that going forward will be extremely helpful.”

Maximizing Veteran Benefits

To relieve some stress, Denis encourages veterans to start the benefit process early. Resources – financial aid, external and Foundation scholarships, and benefits – are available depending on a veteran’s branch of service, disability and programs of interest. According to Chakeen and Denis, most veterans have very little, if any, out-of-pocket expenses per semester.

“As an example, if someone’s using federal benefits, and they might not have ever applied for the GI Bill, they might not know they are eligible and qualify for both,” Chakeen noted. “They can get a stipend back from the college for using one over the other. That was new information to me. Illinois had a similar process there, but I didn’t know it. So, I could assume that at least some of the student population might not know it. Doubling, or even tripling down on benefits, is the best for them. It’s putting more money back in their pocket. I think that’s adding a ton of value to their schooling. At least in my experience, I don’t think the military does a great job explaining that piece to soon-to-be veterans as they’re on their way out.”

Chakeen admits that he almost didn’t pursue furthering his education due to the lack of communication provided by the military regarding his educational options. He hopes to turn his experience around by educating veterans on what’s available to them.

Services and Support Available

Services available at 91��Ƭ�� include assisting veteran students navigate and maintain the educational benefits available to them throughout their academic journey, along with other 91��Ƭ�� resources such as tutoring, the library, TRIO and various support services. Chakeen’s position also will act as a conduit between faculty and veterans to facilitate student success

“That will be my job, along with financial aid, to remove the barriers and make it so the students have a more direct path to their studies,” Chakeen shared. “Things change so often, whether it’s VA rules or regulations, or honestly, even just the political climate. I know people have questions no matter what’s going on. I think if we can just be transparent about it, we’ll be serving everyone the best and providing the best customer service we can.”

From Infantryman to Criminal Justice Student

Aaron Kream, a veteran Staff Sergeant of the U.S. Army, enrolled at 91��Ƭ�� after serving for 10 years. He wasn’t sure what type of career he wanted to pursue at first.

“There were a variety of programs that I was interested in that related to my time in the military,” Kream recalled. “There was fire, EMS, there was a whole bunch of stuff that sparked my interest and when I realized how easy it was to apply, work with the counselors, the transition with my veterans benefits, all of that, it was kind of a no-brainer.”

Kream, who started his journey at 91��Ƭ�� in EMS, knew he wanted to pursue a career in the field of emergency services that would mirror his time as an infantryman. The dynamic job focused on combat operations and tactics. The aspects of teamwork, unit cohesion, planning and preparation were appealing to him.

Finding Purpose and a Career Path

Despite his initial thought of staying for a semester, Kream soon found 91��Ƭ��’s Cleveland campus to feel big enough that he felt he was going to college, but not so big that he was drowned out. The quick response times, and support from staff and faculty, also made him feel valued. Along the way, he discovered that EMS and fire were not the sectors he wanted to pursue, but law enforcement became his passion. The structure of the program, smaller class sizes and the hands-on format reminded him of the military in the sense of seeing how each builds off the other. His favorite memory, Kream shares, will likely be the bond he’s formed with his classmates.

Kream already has earned his Nursing Assistant Technical Diploma and Criminal Justice 720 Embedded Academy (31-504-7) Technical Diploma. He will graduate with his Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement 2 associate degree in December. He has accepted a position with the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department as a patrol deputy and will pursue his bachelor’s degree in Lakeland University’s criminal justice transfer program. This may not be Kream’s last interaction with 91��Ƭ�� though – he has a goal of coming back as an adjunct instructor.

“I’m actually kind of sad to be leaving because I’ve been at 91��Ƭ�� for four years exploring different programs and certificates. It kind of feels like a second home. It feels like I can walk through the school and all the staff say, ‘hi,’ they know my name. It’s almost a little family. For others who are nervous about taking the step, it will eventually become your second home and you won’t want to leave. You’ll be sad like me.”

-Aaron Kream, Criminal Justice student and Army veteran

Building a Veteran Community

Chakeen plans to take a more holistic approach to his position and think about the needs of veterans whether they are recently discharged or have been out of service for a while. This could include reinstating the Veterans Club and examining needs such as career counseling and mental health support. He also would like to leverage a relationship with the VA Clinic that is located near the Cleveland campus. He is hopeful these efforts would in turn expand a veteran’s support structure.

“Whether they want to come by and ask a question, they need guidance, or they want to trade some war stories, I feel like establishing a more engaged cohort of veterans at 91��Ƭ�� will be beneficial to everybody,” Chakeen said. “I’m looking forward to that.”