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b"Donald Stockton joins the #YearOfTheVet family with a strong urgency to help the veterans trying to integrate back into the civilian world\\u2014by coaching them on the best ways to use their time in college.

A Seabee at heart, Don now serves as a Veteran Advocate primarily through a program implemented by the Department of Veteran Affairs named VITAL, as their Outreach Program Specialist; as well as the President of the University of Nevada Veterans Alumni Chapter.

Through our conversation, Don takes us through the hard times that forced a tough decision of whether or not to sign the papers to get back into the service\\u2014and move forward in his career as a reservist\\u2026 and shares the hardships of trying to be a student, when he frankly wasn\\u2019t ready for that role yet.

But as most vets that come to share their stories on here will dive into\\u2026 there was a SIGNIFICANT bounce back from the man he had once looked in the mirror and hadn\\u2019t recognized, to the hero he\\u2019s become today.

I first met Donald in Reno at the California Disabled American Veteran\\u2019s State conference, and was instantly drawn in by the phenomenal resources that he shared with me that the Nevada colleges have adopted for their student veterans, so if you\\u2019re skimming through show notes to find which episode to listen to\\u2014and you may want to know more about what other colleges in the nation are doing\\u2026 this is the one to pay attention to\\u2026 and then go over to Jose Roman\\u2019s conversation and fill in any gaps of missing information there!

I had a blast talking to Donald, so much so that we stayed on the line for another half hour afterward\\u2026 and I highly encourage you to reach out to him using the contact information at the bottom of the page!

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Show Notes

\\uf06f What veteran resources looked like when Donald had first went to college in Reno after the Navy, and what it looks like now (7:06)

\\uf06f How veterans can become an asset to the community after college (10:32)

\\uf06f Pre-Navy Don (11:26)

\\uf06f Why not do what you\\u2019re good at? (12:10)

\\uf06f How JROTC led Don to join (13:58)

\\uf06f When America declared war\\u2026 (17:05)

\\uf06f How being colorblind carved his career (21:02)

\\u201c If you\\u2019re not a part of people\\u2019s teams, they\\u2019re going to ask you to leave\\u201d

\\uf06f \\u2026 c\\u2019mon guys\\u2026 grow up\\u2026 (21:23)

\\uf06f Struggling between enlistments (22:56)

\\uf06f The challenge of being reserve (27:27)

\\uf06f How life can make you re-enlist (30:55)

\\uf06f Learning by experiencing looking for a job in the civilian sector (34:59)

\\u201cYou gotta look at where you went wrong, and make adjustments, because if you\\u2019re always in the feedback loop, you\\u2019re never going to move out of it and move up\\u2026\\u201d

\\uf06f The tightness in the chest (37:49)

\\uf06f The second time around: Explaining the \\u201cWeekend Warrior\\u201d (40:26)

\\uf06f A brief explanation of Seabee history (42:04)

\\uf06f SuperDon! (43:34)

\\uf06f Perfecto\\u2019s perfect timing (45:25)

\\uf06f How the Student Veterans of America National Conference changed the game\\u2026 (47:35)

\\uf06f V.I.T.A.L (Veterans Intergration To Academic Leadership program) (51:19)

\\uf06f If you earned it\\u2026 USE IT! (55:08)

\\u201cIf you think you\\u2019re country owes you an education, you have an attitude problem. They didn\\u2019t do this for any generation since WWII\\u2014until yours. If on the other hand, you feel you owe the American people who gave you wings, via your academic success\\u2026 I think we\\u2019ll all become better veterans\\u2014and a country.\\u201d
- Gen. Eric Shinseki

\\uf06f Life after VITAL\\u2026? (57:17)

\\uf06f LEGACY (1:01:48)

\\uf06f Alumni Chapter of University of Nevada (1:04:20)

\\uf06f A call to action (1:08:01)

\\uf06f What Don would tell other vets who are struggling to find themselves today! (1:10:25)

\\uf06f The art of Fencing (1:12:48)

\\uf06f Retrospective Don (1:17:24)

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Shout out to:

Cesar Melgarejo with the governor's office in Nevada. Thanks for all your help & Perfecto Manuta for opening your doors to this level of advocacy!"