If you come from a military family, or have a partner/significant other in the military, you may be interested in a new resource that has come to campus. Assistant Director of Residence Life and Housing Christine Gallardo, who is also the Veterans Affairs (VA) work study supervisor, initiated the Military Affiliated Resource Center (MARC) for Roger Williams University. Gallardo said MARC just became up and running this semester, and they have 4 VA work study students working for them.
“They’ll be here for in person support, offering a friendly face and comradery,” said Gallardo of the work study students. Gallardo also said they will be collaborating with the RWU School of Law, the UC campus and the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) to put on the Veteran’s Day Ceremony, which will take place Thursday at 11 a.m. in front of the administration building. In addition, Gallardo said they are in the works of setting up “a trivia night for military affiliated students, either right before Thanksgiving or the finals week.”
Gallardo also said that MARC is a space where “those that have a shared experience can come together,” and that a lot of veterans coming back to school have a hard time getting a sense of belonging amongst other students on campus. “For the students I’ve been working with so far, just with their own experiences and age, they feel like they don’t belong in the campus community,” Gallardo said. “Finding others where they do have a shared experience they can connect on that…as well as a space where they can receive help navigating coming back to school.” Gallardo added that veteran students coming back to school have probably been out of school for at least five years since high school, and do not have a guidance counselor to help them.
Gallardo reiterated that MARC is a space for anybody military affiliated, including those in a military family, as well as military spouses, which Gallardo herself is. “I think a military spouse is definitely a different experience that others might imagine,” Gallardo said. “This is not just for veterans, it’s for anybody who’s connected, and we welcome everybody.”
Gallardo is not alone, either. Veteran Liaison Michael Jones said, “many of us were surprised that something like this hasn’t existed on campus before.” Jones added “Roger Williams [University] is all about community and inclusion…We are excited and honored to be recognized by the community and look forward to our futures at Roger Williams University.”