OFFICE OF ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT
Learning as a Journey for WSU Student Veteran
Learning as a Journey for WSU Student Veteran
By Beverly Makhani
Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement (DAESA)
PULLMAN, Wash.– Wounded U.S. Army combat veteran Joseph Malan spent eight months in therapy in 2021, re-learning how to walk, read, and write. Following a year in the Washington National Guard, he enrolled for fall 2023 as a pre-nursing student at Washington State University Pullman. As he completed his first semester, he is confident he is in the right place and thankful for the educational opportunities and new community he’s enjoying.
“I’ve been given certain challenges in my life so far, but I’m getting my self back and working to be whole again, and I believe WSU is the place to be now on my journey,” he said.
Unique new-Cougar experience
AT New Coug Orientation this summer, Malan, 28, enrolled in UNIV 304, the “Student Veteran and Active-Duty Service Member Success Seminar,” a course led by staff from the Office of Academic Engagement (OAE). One day in class, he volunteered and was selected for a task related to Military Appreciation Day at the Cougar football game Sept. 16 against Northern Colorado University. He sat with dozens of other veterans and their families and enjoyed a tailgate organized by OAE’s Veterans Student Support Services (SSS) program, New Coug Orientation, and the Veterans and Military-Affiliated Student Services program where he works part-time.
On that Saturday, 30 minutes before kickoff, Malan, wearing a loaned Cougar T-shirt, made his way to the Martin Stadium flagpoles and was instructed to wait for a signal. With two minutes of countdown left til game time, he got the thumbs up.
“I pulled the cords to raise the Coug flag as fast as I could and then waived to the camera. There I was, on a huge jumbotron screen, smiling to the crowd. It was a first for me. It was kind of thrilling. I’d only been a WSU student for a month and I felt lucky but also grateful for the honor.”
A winding, sometimes dangerous path
Going to college as a young man was not his first goal. The Prescott, Ariz., native started a four-year Army enlistment in 2018, assigned to and trained as an active-duty combat medic with the 10th Mountain Division, headquartered at Ft. Drum, New York. In 2020, he deployed to the Helmand Province in the south of Afghanistan and worked with an area surgical team. He helped to treat various injuries, heat-related illnesses, and scorpion and snake bites.
One night on patrol, friendly fire left him with shrapnel wounds to his stomach, face, and mouth. On another occasion, stationed in guard tower, a rocket attack gave him a severe concussion, causing balance problems and some hearing loss.
“For a time, there was nothing in my head. It was totally isolating. For two-thirds of a year in therapy, I had to work hard and learn to do so much again—walk with balance, read, and write. The experience of learning became almost a spiritual process for me.
“I don’t want to lose appreciation for the endeavor of learning. I want to give time to the effort,” he said. “WSU has become something of a temple to me, a new place where I my learning can continue. I feel blessed to be here.”
Building a community
At WSU, Malan has also become part of a new community of peers and colleagues that support each other, personally and academically. In his UNIV 304 course, for example, he has appreciated that instructor Jonah Bates and teaching assistant Collin Helsel—both part of Veterans SSS—invite guest experts who speak on subjects relevant to veterans’ student success. Malan also attends Veterans SSS mentoring sessions with coordinator James Dalton to share ideas, chart course plans, and address concerns. Malan also joined the WSU Pullman team group that traveled to WSU Vancouver in November for the annual WSU Veterans’ Symposium; he shared information about WSU resources.
He said that veterans’ programs and groups are “my people, my rock, and they help me get out of my head and enjoy a complete college experience.”
Keeping academic options open
Malan came to the university intent on becoming a nurse or physician assistant and perhaps commission back into the Army. With his first semester of studies complete, he said he’s still considering that but is keeping his options open.
“I want people to rely on me to take care of them. That’s the feeling I had as a medic, and it’s pretty special to me. Wherever I end up, I want to make a difference for people and their health. My WSU education is how I am moving toward that.”