By Paulina Mendez
To the returning Pensacola State College (PSC) military veteran students and their families, welcome back to another exciting and rewarding 2018-2019 school year. Once again, we look forward, as we walk toward achieving our educational goals.
Starting in this issue and in future Corsair publications, we are introducing a military veterans column entitled, “Veterans’ Voice.” It will be the focus of this column to share pertinent issues and information concerning our PSC military veterans and their families.
As we look across our PSC campus community, we see a beautifully woven tapestry of diversity.
The story, however, doesn’t end there. As we look deeper into our PSC community we see a military veteran family.
It will be in this platform that we will have the chance and the opportunity to be a voice for positive change as we embark on this journey of discovery and learning together. Whether you’re an active duty, retired, or separated service member; dependent or the spouse, our story is one that sets us apart from the rest.
It is our story that speaks to the sacrifice for a cause that is greater than oneself. On the battlefield, as well as in life, it is about fighting for the brother and sister-at-arms to the left, right, front, and back of you and leaving the world a better place than what we initially found it in.
This story will not only tell the sacrifice of the military service member but that of their families as well as this is what made it all possible. For this is a family that is not just only bound by blood but by a choice and a commitment to never leave each other’s side. To the military veteran here at PSC, the journey continues with knowing the truth that you are not alone.
For some of us, our paths have taken us into the farthest reaches of the world—into lands that have become battlefields and for others, our paths may have only been for an enlistment. Regardless of what it may be, now we find ourselves students at PSC, having the chance to begin again and to look forward to a future with hope and unlimited possibilities.
For we are the sum of life lived with battle wounds and scars but a work in progress not yet finished. Battle tested and hardened by experience, we have lived and survived with this warrior’s fire to carry on the legacy that many have given their last breath for. It is this legacy that we as PSC veteran students honor with our actions and our words.
As we look forward to this fall semester, there will be challenges and successes together we will face it all and see it through to the other side. We are the warrior scholars of today and the warrior leaders of tomorrow.
It is with heartfelt gratitude that we welcome you and look forward to hearing from you in the Corsair issues to come. Please email corsair@pensacolastate. edu for article ideas, thoughts, and questions.