Students who attend Ashland University come from various backgrounds, spaces, and places. Military students on campus are no different, coming to AU for an affordable education and even more opportunities in their civilian lives.
According to the Military Family & Veteran Services webpage, “Transitioning from military to civilian life includes a lot of challenges, both known and unknown. Ashland University is dedicated to ensuring that if college is the next step in your journey, you will always have the support you need. Ashland University was named among the top 12 schools in the nation for military-connected and veteran students and is the only private university on the list.”
David Sollberger, the NE Ohio Military Service Admissions Specialist, served in the US Marines for four years as an 0311 Infantry. Sollberger also served with The Ohio National Guard as a 11B/Infantry and a 79T Recruiting and Retention NCO.
Sollberger’s 22 years of serving ended with him honorably retiring from The Ohio National Guard. He now educates and recruits other service members to AU; he is the first person recruit who will meet amongst a team of talented educators and staff.
“It was a very exciting adventure and provided stability for my family,” Sollberger highlighted. “Military service was a long tour, however, the honor to serve this country was worth every second of my time. I met the best people in my life during my service time.”
Randy Spade, executive director of admissions, organizes and executes an end-to-end service for all military-connected students. This means every military member is provided admissions support through job and placement support.
Spade said, “Two of our staff members are dedicated to preparing students for career placement, to helping them find their life calling, and doing all the activities for veterans. For veterans it looks a bit different; translating those military skills into civilian jobs that may be of interest or passion for them.”
Military students and affiliated students must abide by the student code of conduct and can live in the newly renovated USA House in Fraternity Circle.
Alongside living accommodations, they can access resources within The Jack W. Liebert Military & Veteran Resource Center.
“We have the resource center [Military and Veterans Service Center], military students have 24-hour access to the lounge downstairs. There are various studying spaces, a couple pieces of gym equipment, and a tv lounge. They have access to our staff to help them advocate their needs and whatever that might be around campus,” Spade explained.
Service members have first right to dorm rooms in the USA House followed by military dependents.
Anna Sanders, senior exercise science major, is a student in the army national guard. Sanders currently lives in the USA House and has found many connections through the services the university provides.
“I seriously don’t think I would have done as well [academically] if I was in a regular dorm with a roommate, distraction wise,” Sanders said. “They have offered us many accommodations and avenue’s we can take.”
Coming from military backgrounds, students often have the worry of what their student experience would be like either coming back to university or this being their first time attending.
Sollberger said, “My son attends Ashland and his time at the USA house provided a piece of mind for him. I would have to assume the accommodations Ashland provides could only be positive towards the service-connected individual.”
Shelby Salatin, a biochemistry first-year student with military affiliation through her mother, experienced training a bit differently than other students. In high school, Salatin was the Battalion Commander of her high school Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps [JROTC] program, which meant she oversaw the program.
“It was never easy, but it was a challenge I liked to push through. It was more of a mental challenge to accomplish a lot of those tasks than it was physically,” Salatin said.
Salatin acknowledges that AU is an inclusive space for military students and affiliates.
“These accommodations have overall made life here at AU more enjoyable and inclusive,” Salatin explained. “I feel there is always room for improvement however AU has gone above and beyond the expectations of many military affiliated students of how they provide a safe space for everyone.”
As the school year progresses so do the chances of the university continuing to increase their help and accommodations for all students, especially military.
Salatin offered a piece of advice for incoming military students looking for a future university.
“One piece of advice I’d like to give to other military affiliated students when choosing a university is to think of your background. Will the colleges or universities you are looking into be able to accommodate every part of what you have been through to make your college experience the best it can be,” Salatin said.
