When I arrived at Rutgers-Camden I met Mr. Davis in his office as I had no idea what I was supposed to do in order to use my educational benefits. I was given the wrong information by my vocational rehab counselor and Mr. Davis cleared all of that up for me. When I started school, I had wanted to start up a PTSD support group amongst the Veteran population and Mr. Davis helped me with getting that going. When I started at Rutgers, I didn’t really want anything to do with the various programs that the office and student groups were running. I had spent so much time being told where to go and when to be there that I had no desire to be involved in anything I didn’t have to. It was at this time that I was also moving away from my Veteran identity and trying to move on from my Military service.
I met an OIF Veteran named Drew Bendler who was bringing me back into the fold. He saw that I was dealing with things, and he constantly would get me to talk to him about what I had going on. We discussed various things from combat to just everyday life struggles. Drew brought me to the lounge and showed me around. He introduced me to other Veterans and was attempting to get me more involved. Drew unexpectedly passed away on March 15th, 2019. Drew was a as patriotic as you could get, and he was a great friend. Because of Drew I began running a PTSD group with a local VFW and helping other Veterans the way Drew helped me.
During the pandemic I was looking for more ways to help Veterans, so I reached out to Mr. Davis to see if he had anything for me whether that be volunteer work or paid work. Mr. Davis immediately hired me as a work-study in his office. During my time working in the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs I worked with great people such as Emily and Anna. As a team we would handle anything the Veterans at Rutgers-Camden needed, and we would discuss various ways to better their experience.
While working in the office I worked closely with Mr. Davis, and I was given the opportunity to voice various concerns in a meeting with Chancellor Tillis. It was during this meeting that I brought up the need for new programming for incoming students and faculty. Rutgers-Camden will now use that programming for orientation and for faculty training. The opportunity to make things better for the Veterans at Rutgers-Camden was a great experience that I would not have had if Mr. Davis didn’t bring me on.
I mention Mr. Davis a lot because working with him I saw first hand what he does for the Veterans at Rutgers. Mr. Davis will do whatever he can to assist his Veteran population. He has created endowed scholarships, workshops to help in various aspects of Veterans lives, has gotten rejections that Veterans have received from programs overturned, talks to professors in order to assist a struggling Veteran. The list is endless and without someone telling you, you wouldn’t know about all of that behind the scenes that is going on. Mr. Davis has become a great friend and mentor to me. If there is anyone who will go to the wall with you it’s him. Anything a Veteran at Rutgers-Camden needs can and will be handled by Mr. Fred Davis and those who work in that office.
The last thing I’ll say is get involved. Talk to the Vets around you. Pick each other up, reform the line and get back in the fight. Your strongest bonds can be formed with the Veterans around you.