From Afghanistan to a UNC master’s program

Jessica Buddi recalls her grueling training in the mountains of Spokane, Wash., and vividly describes her first experience with a car bombing in Afghanistan — yet for her, coming to UNC has been one of the toughest things she’s done.

“Compared to all my military experiences and all the schools I’ve gone to and the deployments I’ve been on, I think school has been the hardest experience of my life,” Buddi said.

For the first time since World War II, a record number of military veterans are attending college. Amber Mathwig, student veteran assistance coordinator, said the number of veteran students enrolled at UNC has increased 95 percent since 2009. Since fall 2014, the number has doubled to 430 veterans using their benefits.

Like Buddi, who graduated from UNC in the spring and is now pursuing a degree from UNC’s TransAtlantic Masters Program, many veterans are using the Post-9/11 GI Bill to pay for schooling, but the transition to school poses challenges.

Raised in Miami, Fla., Buddi went straight from high school to the military, a decision she said was necessary to provide better opportunities for herself than where she had grown up. With the events of 9/11 still fresh in her mind, Buddi enlisted into the U.S. Air Force in 2002.

When Buddi was completing her training in Texas, she was certain it was the worst mistake she had ever made. Nothing could prepare her for the tough ordeal, but she went on to become an intelligence analyst, deployed several times to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Buddi and her husband met in Afghanistan — a romantic tale, as Hunter Rudd tells it.

“I was the young hunk in a green beret in special ops; my wife was a beautiful intelligence analyst — and I swept her off her feet,” Rudd said, laughing.

Rudd is proud of his wife’s passion and ability to handle adversity — from the war zone to the classroom.

Michael Hart, president of the Carolina Veterans Organization, said the new GI Bill is much more accommodating for veterans returning to school. Yet veterans often have families, jobs and bills they must balance with school — making it difficult to identify with traditional students.

“They go to class and then go home. A lot of folks don’t really address the opportunities student life provides. It’s like they are walking around with blinders,” Hart said.

That’s why Buddi volunteers with the Veterans Organization. She wants to mentor veterans who have an even harder time transitioning to student life than her, such as those with PTSD or those who hadn’t written essays since high school.

“It’s not transparent, getting out and trying to immerse yourself in the university. It’s really hard for some people,” Buddi said. “They don’t know what classes to take; they don’t know where they need to go to get advising or where they can get help with their writing.”

Hart said negative stigmas can surround the veteran community.

“Obviously, there are certain things you shouldn’t say, like ‘How many people have you killed?’” Hart said. “But if you start the conversation and approach the veteran, they will open up to you and lead the conversation and keep it on the course that we definitely feel comfortable on.”

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