Dec 28, 2015 4 min read

Andrew Drilak spent four years in the U.S. Navy, a sonar technician who served aboard the USS Gonzalez off the coast of Somalia.

After completing his military service, Drilak opted to return to Bethany College, where he attended as a freshman before he enlisted in the Navy.

But Drilak felt a disconnect between his military and civilian lives.

“There aren’t many nontraditional students here. I’m in the minority already, and then you add being a veteran, you’re wondering if you belong,” said Drilak, now a senior.

“Coming back to school was a whole different experience. In the military, you’re told when to eat, when to wake up, what to do. And then you go back to setting your own schedule and everyone’s younger than you. The transition can be difficult.”

To ease that transition for other veterans, Drilak, a 2005 graduate of Chartiers-Houston High School, founded Bethany College’s chapter of Student Veterans of America.

The goal of the organization is to provide veterans with the resources, support and advocacy needed to succeed in higher education.

Drilak also hopes to create awareness of the difficulties veterans may face going from a deployment to campus.

Drilak got the idea to start a veterans club while he was completing an internship at the University of Pittsburgh.

The campus has an active Student Veterans of America club (there are now more than 950 nationwide), and Drilak thought the organization could help Bethany’s campus address the unique needs of former service members.

Already, Drilak has organized campus events including a lecture on PTSD and veteran homelessness.

On Veterans Day, SVA held a memoriam for MIA/POW soldiers. The organization also held a lecture on the challenges facing female members of the armed forces and a physical fitness competition.

SVA also has plans to partner with other campus organizations for events to benefit veterans and service members on and off campus, including a penny collection and greeting card drive.

“I want us to be an active presence on campus. I’m a senior, and when I graduate in May, I want the club to be equipped to continue to make a difference,” Drilak said.

Assistant Professor Aaron Anslow is the club’s adviser and a 2006 graduate of Bethany.

Like Drilak, Anslow left for deployment during college.

He served in Iraq as a member of the Army Reserves.

“I felt such a jolt coming back home after getting used to a regimented lifestyle where the rules are very clear. You become used to a disciplined lifestyle, and it’s difficult being around other people who aren’t as disciplined as you and can’t even get out of bed to make it to class,” Anslow said. “When I came back, I just felt so much older. I didn’t think the person I left behind was the same person.”

Anslow, like other returning veterans, also dealt with the loss of comrades he served with, and felt he needed to live a life worthy of those who did not come home.

His life experiences, Anslow said, were different than classmates’ experiences.

“When veterans come home, they need cushion and support to get back to their lives. They give up so much to serve our country, so anything I can do to help them, I will do it. I wish they would have had this club when I came home because it was a jarring return. It’s like looking at life through a different lens,” Anslow said.

Drilak said he is working to increase membership, which now consists of a wide range of veterans and includes reservists and Army National Guard members, as well as people who have served in the Navy, Army and Marine Corps.

The organization welcomes nonmilitary members.

Drilak is a computer science major who plans to attend graduate school and would like to become a research scientist for the Department of Defense and protect the country from cyber security threats.

He hopes the club will help other veterans complete their degrees.

“If a veteran comes on campus, we want to point them in the right direction to get their GI Bill handled, and if they have health issues, we want to point them in the right direction and connect them with the right resources,” Drilak said.

“I see public universities like West Virginia University and Pitt, and how they have a five-star program to meet the needs of veterans. My goal for Bethany is to offer those kinds of services, to add a veteran’s preference to the application, to recruit more veterans and to help our veterans reach their goals.”