As part of the expanding services and programming of the St. Thomas Veterans Resource Center, Director of Veteran Services Norm Ferguson is offering Green Zone training (GZT) for interested faculty and staff.
“We have found that those who have attended are committed to helping student veterans at St. Thomas,” Ferguson said. “We have already seen changes due to GZT – such as changing office layouts or going further in learning about veterans.”
Green Zone training is for faculty and staff who wish to learn more about the military-affiliated student experience. The goal is to train members of the St. Thomas community to know more about the issues and concerns faced by military-affiliated students and to identify individuals who are available to support these students. The goal is not for individuals to become experts who can ‘solve problems,’ but to be individuals who can lend a sympathetic ear and help the student veteran identify and connect with the appropriate resources.
There are several goals with Green Zone training:
- Identify key aspects of military culture.
- Describe characteristics of the student veteran.
- Discover the issues potentially facing student veterans.
- Identify questions and comments that student veterans find offensive.
- Identify referral resources on campus and within the community available to student veterans.
Trainings are in a one- to two-hour session. Once the training is complete, each participant receives a card to post in his or her office or on his or her door. It shows any student veteran who may see it that this individual has taken the time to learn something about student veterans and is willing to take the time to listen.
Departments interested in taking part in Green Zone training can contact Ferguson at ferg1727@stthomas.edu.
