Building Veteran Readiness at Penn State
Developing the Veterans College Boot Camp
During the spring semester of 2024, Renee Thornton-Roop and her colleagues at Penn State University’s Office of Veterans Programs invited CVTI’s Director of Education, R.J. Jenkins, to join their team in teaching and facilitating sessions as part of the Veterans College Boot Camp — a new bridge program designed to help veterans, service members, and their families transition successfully into university life. The Boot Camp exposes participants to academic, social, financial, and wellness resources before their first semester even begins, setting the stage for both immediate and long-term success. In August of 2024, Jenkins traveled to State College, Pennsylvania to work with the first cohort of students in person, and he was blown away by what he experienced.
“The students in this program were so smart, so kind and welcoming, so honest about their fears — and best of all, each and every one of them showed up ready to learn, grow, and connect,” said Jenkins. “There's nothing like getting to work with a group of students who are hungry to achieve their goals and realize their fullest potential.”
In August of 2025, Jenkins returned to State College to help teach the program's second cohort. Importantly, the second cohort was twice the size of the first, indicating the growing popularity of the initiative. As with the first cohort, Jenkins delivered a range of workshops focused on building essential study skills and reframing impostor feelings as an organic byproduct of aspiration rather than a sign of unbelonging. Again, Jenkins was deeply impacted by the students he met. "I tell students all the time, when your first action in college is to seek help and connect with resources, that's a strong indicator that you will succeed!"
Collaboration and Impact
The collaboration between CVTI and Penn State began in 2024 after the Senior Director of the University Office of Veterans Programs and the Senior Director of Veterans Affairs attended a national conference and saw CVTI’s work in action. They reached out soon after, seeking support in building institutional capacity and designing a scalable, research-informed transition program for student veterans.
Together, CVTI and Penn State developed the Veterans College Boot Camp curriculum — an intensive, evidence-based experience rooted in belonging, growth mindset, and the social-emotional competencies that underpin academic success. The program helps participants build confidence, connect with peers, and translate their military strengths into meaningful pathways for success in higher education.
Penn State is currently tracking the following metrics for the Boot Camp cohort, with plans to expand longitudinally to academic persistence and completion outcomes:
- Academic readiness in the first term
- Academic achievement in the first term
- Campus and community engagement
- Identification and utilization of resources and institutional/community support
Voices from Penn State
“Working with the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration, and with R.J. Jenkins specifically, has had a profound impact on our staff, students, and the services and programming we provide to this population.
The tools that R.J. has provided us — powerfully shared through his vulnerability and authentic connection to our staff and students — have not only informed our practice, but more importantly, have provided our students with the confidence and joy of true possibility, and of excitement for themselves and their futures.
As for our staff, R.J.’s care and enthusiasm for the student veteran population have reinvigorated our sense of purpose and passion in serving our students, providing us, too, with a renewed hope of possibility. His knowledge and advocacy have been a tremendous gift that we will continue to share enthusiastically with our students through our daily practice.”
— Penn State University Office of Veterans Programs
A Shared Commitment
Through this partnership, Penn State and CVTI have created more than a single program — they’ve built a model for how universities can translate veteran-centered research into daily practice, helping veterans not just enter college, but thrive in it.
The Veterans College Boot Camp stands as a living example of what’s possible when institutions invest in evidence-based transition programming rooted in empathy, community, and purpose — and when they invite veterans to start their academic journeys not alone, but surrounded by a network that believes in their potential.