Creating Opportunities and Camaraderie Among USD Veterans

In the Military and Veterans Center at the University of San Diego (USD), Jazmine Blanchard moves with purpose. The mechanical engineering student weaves between study groups, stopping occasionally to check in with fellow veterans, share scholarship opportunities, or relay information about upcoming events. As president of the Student Veterans Organization (SVO), she's made it her mission to ensure no veteran feels alone on campus.

Blanchard is motivated by her own first days on campus, when the weight of imposter syndrome made her question if pursuing higher education was the right move.

"I felt like I wasn't smart enough," Blanchard recalls. “I felt too old for this. It was really overwhelming."

The feeling of being alone wasn't new to Blanchard. At 17, she found herself in a similar position when she walked into a Navy recruiter's office in Fontana, California. As the youngest of three siblings in a tight-knit Mexican-American family, she was charting unfamiliar territory – the first in her family to join the military.

"I really wanted to pursue college, but I didn't have the grades or the motivation," she says. While her siblings followed more traditional paths – her sister working in healthcare and her brother following their father into sheet metal work – Blanchard's parents supported her decision to enlist, accompanying her to sign the paperwork that would alter the course of her life.

In October 2015, Blanchard found herself at Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois for bootcamp, far from the familiar embrace of family gatherings and holiday celebrations. The distance was lessened by a steady stream of letters from home – Halloween cards, Thanksgiving wishes, Christmas greetings and stacks of photos showing snippets of life back in California: their dog, the house, everyday moments frozen in time.

"The biggest thing that helped me was all the letters I got from family," she says. Those letters, which she still keeps today, carried her through the transition from civilian to sailor.

After completing bootcamp, Blanchard's journey led her to an unexpected destination: Yokosuka, Japan. The assignment came as a shock – California had been her preferred destination. "I walked into the office, and they said 'Yokosuka,' and I'm like, 'That's not in America. I don't know where that is,'" she remembers with a laugh.

As a machinist mate on a Naval vessel, Blanchard found her footing in engineering. The work sparked an interest that would later shape her civilian career path. "Being in the Navy is actually what inspired me to study engineering," she explains. "I thought to myself, 'Well, I can do this. This is fun.'"

During her four-year service, Blanchard experienced the dichotomy of military life. "It was the best and worst times of my life," she reflects, "but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Those were good growing pains. I needed them to be who I am today."

The Navy also brought an unexpected gift: she met her husband and they are now celebrating six years of marriage.

After transitioning to civilian life in 2019, Blanchard initially moved to Massachusetts with her husband before finding her way back to California. She began her academic journey at San Diego Mesa College before transferring to USD, where she maintains a delicate balance between academics, veteran advocacy and internship opportunities.

Her recent internship at Solar Turbines in downtown San Diego offered a glimpse of what she's seeking in her post-military career: a sense of community reminiscent of her Navy days. "The biggest thing that I've chased since being out of the military is camaraderie," she explains. "There's something about that military camaraderie — it just creates different relationships."

This pursuit of connection drives Blanchard's work with the SVO. Under her leadership, the organization has been revitalized with increased engagement and plans to help more veterans with opportunities such as the Student Veterans of America national conference. Her approach is hands-on and personal, often recruiting members through face-to-face conversations in the Military and Veterans Center.

"I know what it's like to come into a school and feel alone, like your military experience doesn't transfer over. It's really isolating," she says. "I'm the type of person that's like, if I'm going to eat, you're going to eat. I'm going to help you out."

As she approaches graduation in spring 2025, Blanchard is considering graduate school while maintaining her connection to Solar Turbines, where she hopes to continue working. But her impact on USD's veteran community will be forever.

Through her leadership, Blanchard has created what she once sought: a place where veterans can find their bearings in the choppy waters of academic life.

"Veterans have a unique experience," she reflects. "We're older, we have different responsibilities. But we're all experiencing the same thing. We're just going through it together."

— Kelsey Grey ’15 (BA)