USD Veteran Students Find Community at National Conference

Anne Borrell sat frozen in her chair, fighting back tears as University of San Diego President James T. Harris III, DEd, delivered his orientation speech to first-year and transfer students. The crowded auditorium felt suffocating. Surrounded by teenagers fresh out of high school, the 30-year-old former U.S. Navy corpsman was experiencing a panic attack – one of many that manifested during her transition from military service to civilian life.

That was last fall.

Earlier this month, Borrell found herself in another crowded space – this time at the Student Veterans of America National Conference in Colorado Springs. But something was different. Among the thousands of student veterans, she noticed she wasn't alone. Borrell had found a community; she was growing and healing.

"For the first time in such a long time, I could see a future for myself," Borrell says, her voice breaking with emotion. "Before USD and this conference, I was just trying to make it from day to day."

Borrell's journey reflects the challenges many veterans face when transitioning from military service to higher education. After serving eight years as a Navy corpsman, including humanitarian deployments aboard the USNS Mercy and Brunswick, she was medically retired in 2021. The shift was abrupt – "like you’ve been playing a game of chess your whole life and all of a sudden you’re playing a game without any rules or instructions," she describes.

Borrell came home from the SVA National Conference equipped with plenty of statistics about the veteran experience. According to SVA data, veterans are half as likely to reach director or VP-level positions compared to non-veterans. Sixty percent make less in their first post-military job, and 61 percent feel underemployed three years after leaving service.

"Those statistics really solidified on how we need to do a better job on improving the transition programs for vets,” Borrell says. "That’s what hit home for a lot of us, because it’s like one day you're in and the next day there's nothing.”

Many of the keynote speakers’ words resonated with the 11 USD student veterans who attended the conference. This marks the first year USD students attended.

USD stood out by bringing one of the largest student delegations to the conference. For USD's Student Veterans Organization President Jazmine Blanchard, the representation was crucial.

"Being a veteran is isolating and scary, but SVA's National Conference changed that,” she says. While she has attended other professional conferences like Society of Women Engineers (SWE), she found something unique at SVA’s National Conference. "While other conferences are incredible experiences, I felt something was missing —people like me, veterans. I was surrounded by people who truly understood my journey to higher education.”

Blanchard also noted how the conference created opportunities for growth. "My primary motivation was to create opportunities for USD veterans," she says. "I expected to network, learn about resources and bring back actionable ideas to enhance our SVO chapter. What I didn't anticipate was just how inspiring it would be to hear the stories of other veterans and see the depth of support from organizations."

The three-day event featured keynote speakers, breakout sessions and networking opportunities. One speaker who left a lasting impression on the group was Israel Del Toro, a retired senior master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. Del Toro shared his story of surviving severe burns while continuing to save others after the Humvee he was traveling in drove over an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan.

"He's really a hero," Borrell said. "Everything that people said he wasn't going to be able to do, he did. It's just a level of strength that you don't often encounter."

"The conference created a space for veterans to connect on a deeper level, sharing stories and building camaraderie,” says Blanchard. "It was far more than just a professional gathering — it was a reminder of the strength and unity of the veteran community.”

Beyond inspirational, the conference also provided practical resources. Veterans could submit disability claims at an on-site clinic, learn about LinkedIn optimization from company representatives and connect with employers who understood their unique value.

"Hearing Tinisha Agramonte, SVP and chief diversity officer at The Walt Disney Company, was incredibly inspiring,” says Blanchard. "She emphasized the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion within organizations and highlighted Disney's commitment to supporting veteran leaders. Her message about leveraging the unique strengths that veterans bring to the table — such as leadership, resilience and adaptability — really resonated with me. It was a reminder that our experiences as veterans are assets that can drive innovation and growth in any environment.”

The impact of the conference extends beyond individual stories. Participants returned to USD with plans to implement new resources and programs for their fellow veterans.

"I think all veterans should have the opportunity to attend this conference,” says Borrell. "It was a little bit life-changing for me, personally. For example, Sabrina Dalton hosted a breakout session called ‘Mentorship Matters.’ The part that stood out to me is that she said, ‘Adults without a good mentor in the workforce are similar to kids growing up with bad parenting, left to their own devices.’ She then told us how to find mentors and cultivate those relationships, which I felt was important.”

As she looks ahead to spring semester, Borrell's outlook has transformed from mere survival to active planning for the future. The conference, combined with USD's support, has shown possibilities she never imagined. "It's like the movies where they say you really find yourself in college," she says, laughing. "I didn't originally know USD existed, and it's completely changed my life."

Looking ahead, Blanchard hopes USD can expand this opportunity to more veterans. "It's important for us to attend conferences specifically for student veterans,” she says. “Although there are opportunities for us [veterans] to attend other conferences with organizations like SHPE, SWE, NSBE, etc., they don't compare to experiencing a conference dedicated specifically to our student veterans. I hope USD is able to continue to fund and provide this opportunity to more student veterans in the future.”

– Kelsey Grey ‘15 (BA)