Stephanie D. Martinez / The SWC Sun
VETS WELCOME HERE—SWC has one of America’s largest cohorts of ex-military students due to its proximity to several Navy and USMC installations.
By Stephanie D. Martinez
A young Naval officer took a deep breath then scanned the floor covering the ballast of the USS Tarawa. They had been underway for days and he had reports from his crew that an essential valve was stuck open. He was early in his career but already in charge of a critical mission to deliver 2,000 tons of life-saving rice to typhon victims in devasted southeast Bangladesh.
It was a deceptively dangerous moment in the lonely bowels of the 40,000-ton ship.
“I’m probably going to die in here if this doesn’t work,” he thought as he searched for the malfunctioning valve. He carefully placed his feet on the watery, slimy floor and used his 6’ 4”, 180-lb frame to counter the sway of the ship so as not to be dragged across the slick sole.
He found the faulty valve and repaired the malfunction. Like a dog suddenly free of a painful thorn, the massive ship perked up and began to realign itself. Mission accomplished. Thousands of starving Bangladeshis would be fed.
Attending Southwestern College is generally less fraught than a high seas mechanical crisis, but there are days military veterans can feel lost at sea. SWC has a company-sized veterans population of somewhere between 200-300, according to fall 2025 data. Southwestern and San Diego City College are two of America’s most popular colleges for veterans due to their proximity to military installations.
SWC’s well-regarded Veteran’s Center is on watch to insure that former and active military personnel can accomplish their mission and earn certificates and degrees. It serves people from all branches and through every rank, according to J.D. White, its director and himself a former Marine.
Navy veteran Diasy Johnson enrolled after completing her service and will graduate with an Associate’s degree in communications in May as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
“I’ve had a great experience at Southwestern,” she said. “The only problem I’ve run into is trying to get an appointment with the Counseling Center if I need to change my SEP or get something clarified.”
Jeffery Melton, a retired Navy Lt. Commander, is on a more leisurely path. He began attending Southwestern College in 2011 on the G.I. Bill to study Recording Arts and Technologies and Business in hopes of augmenting a karaoke business he operated. He eventually changed his major to Philosophy and earned an Associate’s degree.
“I’m taking classes that are fun,” he said. “There are many knowledgeable professors here and it is enjoyable for me to learn some of what they know.”
Brandon Evans is a U.S. Marine Corps infantry veteran who admitted to some struggles transitioning from the military to civilian life and college.
“It was harder than I thought,” he said. “I go to therapy for PTSD and anxiety. Transitioning from a place where I was in charge of 18 year olds to now where they are my peers is a little tough because how I talk to people in the military is different (than) how I talk to a student. We are on the same level here. I now have to take that military role and move into a student-slash-civilian role.”
College culture can be starkly different from that of the Marines, said Evans.
“It is hard to see that some students do not show respect to their professors,” he said. “It makes me want to stand up and silence them. Respect is a big part of the military, but I had to learn that enforcing respectful conduct is not my job anymore. I am a student now.”
Ex-Marine Brandon Cappelletti agreed.
“It is a lot different coming from the military side,” he said. “I was in the Marines for six years and now I go to college with kids just out of high school. They do not have the same life experiences I have. I was in a foreign country for seven months fighting for my life and protecting our base. High school graduates do not have that same kind of experience.”
USMC veteran M. R. Ponce said it could be challenging talking with younger students about his life in the military.
“It is not their fault that they are not experienced (like veterans), but it is hard to adjust to younger, non-military people,” he said. “It is hard to talk about stuff that we take seriously that maybe they do not.”
Evans said soldiers have to adjust to the situation and veteran students need to do the same. He said the Veteran’s Center has been very helpful.
“The Veterans department has been awesome,” he said. “Any issue I have had with the G.I. Bill or applications they have been on top of it. They have helped to make it a smooth transition. I feel very fortunate and grateful for that.”
Veterans sometimes get a bad rap from civilians and young students, said Evans.
“Veterans are much nicer than people think,” he said. “Maybe someone can think that we are serial killers, but that is not the case. That is a serious misconception.”
Faculty members like Dr. Chris Hayashi said veterans are most often excellent students who are mature and take their studies seriously.
Students including Mauricio Torres agreed.
“Vets in my classes are cool,” he said. “They’ve been around and they know things. I’ve learned a lot from them.”
Eduardo Ruiz contributed
to this story.
