An organization called VaST – Veterans and Supporters Together – offers veterans attending Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing opportunities for camaraderie, community service and more. The number of students attending Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing that receives veteran-affairs benefits increased to 26 students in the fall 2018 term, compared with 20 in 2017. Because the college values the experience these students bring to the classroom and appreciates their willingness to serve, it works to ensure they receive the support needed to achieve success. Goldfarb offers similar opportunities to students who are military spouses and to those with family members in active duty.
Lindsay Linck, a Navy Veteran who served in the Middle East, earned her associates before enlisting and her first bachelors while on active duty. After eight years, she left active duty with a desire to continue to protect her community and meet the needs of fellow citizens. She chose a nursing career because she believed it would take advantage of her experience and strengths, including the ability to manage high-stress situations.
While a student at Goldfarb, Linck decided to re-establish the Veterans and Supporters Together (VaST) student group, which had not been active for several years. As a veteran, she knew that such an organization could give fellow veterans – and their families — valuable opportunities for camaraderie, community service and advocacy. While serving as VaST’s president, Linck led the group to organize multiple fundraisers, including events for the St. Louis chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America, the St. Louis Fisher House, the Missouri Veterans Homes and the USO of Missouri at Lambert Airport.
Though Linck graduated in the summer of 2018, Goldfarb’s VaST program will continue to support student veterans like her and their supporters like Jennie Williams, a nursing student and wife to an Air Force serviceman, who is currently serving as president of VaST.
Goldfarb offers additional benefits to student veterans through its affiliation with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs’ Yellow Ribbon Program, a fund-matching partnership with degree-granting universities and colleges. This initiative provides necessary funds to veterans and their dependents to defray the cost of tuition and other fees not covered by the current GI Bill. By minimizing expenses, Goldfarb helps these patriots embark on new and fulfilling careers.
Goldfarb celebrates its veterans and their families in other ways, too, including recognition at graduation ceremonies, when each student veteran wears a red, white and blue stole. The stoles are funded by Goldfarb professor Holly Diesel, PhD, RN, who donates them in honor of her father, John P. Diesel a Navy veteran of World War II and a graduate of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis. Additionally, Goldfarb partners with BJC HealthCare to give each student veteran a pin commemorating military service.
To learn more about the benefits Goldfarb offers to veterans and their families, send an email to gson@bjc.org. For more information about VaST, call Goldfarb’s student support services at 314.454.8686 or join VaST’s Facebook group.
