September 15, 2026
Two months ago, I flew across the country from Massachusetts to Missoula to start volunteering with the Military and Veteran Services Office at the University of Montana. No, I do not have a personal connection to the military or to the state of Montana, but that makes my year of service all the more of an adventure and an opportunity to explore new communities and places.
I don’t think that I ever even talked to anyone who had served in the US military before I started my position here. Now, I work in an office where I am one of the only workers who isn’t a veteran. Some of the military references go over my head, but I am slowly learning more about the military and life after it. I enjoy hearing tidbits of my coworkers’ and other students’ experiences and opinions, and I am also becoming an expert in the different types of educational benefits that military-affiliated students can receive. As a Student Success Data Analyst, it is a part of my job to learn more about how these benefits and their limits shape students’ experiences.
My current project is to dig deep into how our students pay for college. I initially had assumed veterans simply had college paid for. Not every military-affiliated student gets their full tuition covered though. Even those with the highest paying benefits need to look to other sources of funds to cover many aspects of cost of living. My analysis aims to investigate whether students are finding the scholarships and aid that is available to them, and also to inform our office about how to better support the military-affiliated students who are struggling the most financially. Later this year, I’m looking forward to examining degree completion and retention rates. Only about 50% of students at the University of Montana who start their degrees finish them here within 6 years, and I want to learn why and what my office can do to better support our students to achieve their academic goals.
And as for living in Missoula, Montana, I like it so far! I used to think I would only want to live in a bigger city, but Missoula, with a population of 79,000, is delightful. The mountains were a big draw for coming out here, and they do not disappoint. I am amazed by how close I live to the most beautiful scenery I have ever witnessed, in the Bitterroot mountains just south of here. In town, I like to see mountains out my window and in every direction around the city, and at sunset, I admire the golden glow of the sun illuminating Mt. Sentinel and Mt. Jumbo.
I’ve enjoyed many other aspects of living in Missoula too. On my first day in Missoula, I went to a bike shop called Free Cycles where I volunteered for 90 minutes, picked out an old and broken bike, and then participated in fixing it. I’ve been riding that bike around town ever since. If only there were such an organization in every city. I’ve enjoyed farmers’ markets too, which have gorgeous produce and supersized zucchinis and onions. I like to try a new stall each time. Observing the cultural differences between Missoula and other places I’ve lived has also been fun. Missoula is friendlier and more laidback than elsewhere I’ve lived. I’ve never lived somewhere where the average person was so outdoorsy or where hunting was so popular. After listening to a work-study in my office talk passionately about hunting and learning more than I ever thought I’d learn about the activity, she took me along into the woods on a hunting outing that was unsuccessful but still exciting and novel to me.
I have 10 more months of enjoying all that Missoula has to offer, and also of analyzing and understanding the barriers that military-affiliated students face when earning their degrees. Looking to the next 10 months, I hope to not only continue to learn new things and have new experiences, but to discover insights that lead to changes that better support students.
