Towson University: Providing Community For TU's Veterans

Press release from Towson University:

Kyle Hobstetter

August 3, 2021

Dena Allen-Few ’19 is ready to showcase TU’s Military & Veterans Center

When she started at Towson University in 2017 as a student, Dena Allen-Few ’19 didn’t
want to talk about her Army service. In fact, she says she didn’t like admitting to
being a veteran.

But like many veterans who use their Veterans Affairs education benefits, she had
to get help with the paperwork through TU’s Military & Veterans Center (MVC).

When she stopped at the MVC office inside the Psychology Building, she felt like she
found her place on campus.

“It was like walking into the barracks again but in a really good way,” Allen-Few
says. “The conversations were conversations that I hadn't had in over a decade. It
was a really interesting a place that was smack dab in the middle of campus that I
could get back and forth to my classes easily.

“But then also there was a sense of camaraderie within the MVC, and that dragged me
in as a student.”

Once she became a regular, she wanted to help her fellow veterans. While studying
for a degree in business administration, Allen-Few joined the MVC staff as a program
management specialist after the staff member who was handling student veteran education
benefits retired.

It was a pivotal time for the MVC. Members of the leadership team wanted to make the
office a one-stop shop for its student veterans: Instead of walking paperwork to different
parts of campus, they could handle it all in the MVC office.

Thanks in large part to the MVC and the institution-wide priority around inclusion,
TU ranks among the top 1 percent nationally among universities for veterans. 

As a program management specialist, Allen-Few helps TU’s military and veteran student
population transition from the military lifestyle to civilian life. She says that
means helping students through personal and educational issues and serving as a de
facto counselor and academic adviser.

“When I started my undergrad here at TU, there was absolutely no way I thought that
I’d be helping veterans with their education benefits,” Allen-Few says. “It was kismet
how things managed to come together, but I love it. Working at the MVC is so incredibly
rewarding for me.”

She is also working on a graduate degree in public policy at the University of Baltimore.

Through her work at the MVC, she is also part of the Maryland College Collaboration for Student Veterans Commission where she has served as interim chair since June. The commission has representatives
from 23 Maryland universities who were nominated by their university presidents. Created
in 2016, the commission holds quarterly meetings where they discuss changes in the
Veterans Affairs department and how they will affect the state’s veteran college students.

On Aug. 5, Towson University will host the commission’s third-quarter meeting, the
first held on campus. The event, which will feature special remarks from TU’s Vice
President of Student Affairs Vernon Hurte, lets Allen-Few show off not only TU’s gorgeous
campus but also a firsthand look at the work TU does for its veterans.

“We were one of the first higher education institutions that offered a dedicated veterans
center on campus,” Allen-Few says. “It’s going to be fantastic to show off that space
and show we’re a very military-friendly community with a gorgeous campus.”

As Towson University prepares for students to return in the fall, Allen-Few is excited
for the office to be filled with those veteran-led conversations that initially attracted
her to the MVC.

She’s hoping veteran students who haven’t experienced a full MVC will visit and, like
her, find a community within the larger TU community.

“You have to turn your paperwork in to me anyways, so stop by and give us one try,”
Allen-Few laughs. “It always happens. They come in to return their paperwork to me,
and they hear those military conversations they aren’t used to hearing on campus,
and they are hooked.

“This could be a really great resource for our veterans, but they have to walk through
that threshold. Just walk in, and we’ll take care of you.”

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.