Combat Veteran Turned UMD Student Advocates for Support Towards Veterans Entering College Life

DULUTH, Minn. — A combat veteran turned UMD student shared his experience overseas and the hardships he has faced while transitioning into scholar life.

Jacob Heytens gave a speech at the college as a part of its Perspective Speaker Series. His speech titled “From Combat to College” focused on the lack of research surrounding veterans transitioning into college.

Before enrolling at UMD, Heytens served overseas and suffered a traumatic brain injury after he was blown up by a roadside bomb in Iraq. When at college the veteran found himself facing a different form of challenges.

“You have some of these times where you are crunched with, like, papers and exams you have to do, but when you go through combat in Baghdad it makes it a lot easier, but it also brings about its own challenges as well,” said Heytens. “Something as simple as you need to sit in the back of the classroom because your trauma brain is telling you, I need to be able to see everything and be near and exit.”

Heytens says he chose UMD because of its available resources for veterans, upon arriving he found a supportive community.

“I had a wonderful professor who put me in touch with other veterans to try to help them through UMD and I got the same message from those veterans saying ‘I don’t belong here, I don’t feel like the work I am doing is meaningful,” said Heytens. “So what I hoping to do through this speech and through future events is that we can show them that they do have a place here.”

Heytens says he plans to continue to his work by pursuing a doctorate and helping veterans and trauma victims on a higher level.