“You Need People in Your Corner”: A Student Veteran’s Journey at DU
When Air Force veteran Caleb Smith arrived at DU, he felt worlds apart from traditional college life. Thanks to DU’s robust support network, he found belonging, purpose, and a chance to lift up others.
Like many veterans, DU senior Caleb Smith found the transition from military service to college life “harsh.”
A business analytics and computer science major who served in the Air Force and National Guard, Smith came to DU in 2022 straight from a U.S. base in Germany, where he was a critical asset security officer.
“In the Air Force, I did a mix of law enforcement and base security,” Smith says. “I provided flight-line security for F-16s and C-130s. I also did nuclear security in Minot, North Dakota, for a year.”
When he arrived in , Smith not only enrolled at DU but also joined the National Guard at Buckley Space Force Base and took a security job in Douglas County. At all once, he was starting college and a new job, buying his first house, and sorting out his military benefits.
He found himself in classrooms with 18-year-old first-year students who had very different life experiences and had come straight from high school—while Smith hadn’t been in a traditional classroom for six years.
But he was not alone. More than 500 DU students are veterans, and many of them find a supportive home in the , or the VMR.
In his first quarter at DU, Smith secured a work-study job at the VMR, where he supports his fellow vets by answering emails and phone calls and talking to students who come in about everything from GI Bill benefits to upcoming social events.
“What I find working here is that a lot of veterans don't understand their benefits,” he says. “When you leave the military, you go through a transition program that's supposed to teach you about going to school, getting a job, and transitioning to civilian life, but it’s not enough. A lot of veterans miss out on benefits they are eligible for because they don’t know about them or understand them. So, that’s a great need that we try to help with.”
Where student veterans find community
Early on, Smith also joined the (SVA), of which he is now president. SVA is a great “lighthouse” for student veterans, he says, offering social and networking events and opportunities throughout the year.
Senior Caleb Smith, president of the Student Veterans Association, raises a glass at DU's 2024 Veterans Ball
“A lot of veterans may feel disillusioned coming straight out of active duty and into college. You really don’t know anybody. You don’t relate to other students. The SVA brings vets together to find a community,” he says. “You can be with people who have been in the service, who understand what it's like. It’s both a social space and a place for networking opportunities—you can meet other veterans who are on the same career path and have similar aspirations.”
Smith, who is graduating in June, is excited about the upcoming Veterans Career Network event, where local employers who are interested in hiring vets come to campus and meet with students. “DU offers a lot of career fairs and opportunities, but having a veteran-specific event feels different. You know that these employers are looking for people like you,” he says.
Other events in the works include a fun “backyard games” event featuring cornhole and a life-size dartboard, as well as a “mess night,” a formal dinner tradition during which student veterans follow a set of arbitrary, humorous rules, like speaking in pirate voices when addressing the table.
On a more serious note, this year the SVA is organizing its first “fireside chat” with Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. Smith says the chancellor is organizing the meeting to talk with student veterans about the issues they face on campus and how the University can improve their experience.
DU has been the right choice for him, Smith says, thanks in large part to the VMR and SVA and also to the , which provides tuition-free education for vets who are enrolled at DU full-time. DU was recently named a by U.S. Veterans Magazine.
“Not all schools have unlimited Yellow Ribbon benefits, so that was a big motivator for me,” Smith says. He was also drawn to DU’s R1 status and, of course, the nation’s winningest hockey team. But the “cherry on the top,” he adds, has been a community that really cares about student vets.
“I’ve had great tutors and professors here, a great supervisor in VMR, and I’ve made some incredible friends who have motivated me when times get tough. College isn’t easy, and you need people in your corner—and I found that here.”
Learn more about what makes DU a U.S. News and World Report Top 100 school for veterans at .
