Sociology major and student veteran Rachel Frohnapfel grew up in a military family, so she understood from an early age what military life could be like.
“My dad was in the Air Force for 26 years, so I grew up all around doing the independent life of sending him off on deployments,” she said.
This inspired her to later join the Marine Corps. She served from 2018-2021 first as an administrative specialist and later as an admin chief.
“I went into the Marine Corps because of the community that goes along with that, especially with female Marines, because the Marine Corps overall is known as ‘The Few, The Proud’ and the female Marines are known as ‘The Fewer, The Prouder,’” Frohnapfel said.
She was stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii on the island of Oahu and had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam and Korea during her time in the military.
“I personally liked Vietnam more because it was more of a professional education trip. We spent almost a year studying our units’ interaction in the Vietnam War in those areas,” Frohnapfel said. “We had to interview in order to decide who went on the trip, and based on how that ended up, it was an all-female Marines trip.”
Frohnapfel appreciated having the opportunity to hear from Vietnamese people whose lives were impacted positively by the military.
“There was one woman we met at the DMZ [demilitarized zone] that personally remembered the impact that Marines had on her family and she remembered a lot of the things that Marines did to help them out, which was really refreshing,” she said.
Frohnapfel decided to leave the military in order to pursue her dream of becoming a sign language interpreter. She hopes to get into UNC’s ASL interpreting program.
“I started college when I was in the service and I knew I wanted to be a sign language interpreter, that has always been the goal,” Frohnapfel said.
When she was a child, her father was stationed in Cheyenne, Wyoming, close to a deaf community. That community became her second family and the reason why she is so passionate about becoming an interpreter.
“I first learned sign language when I was a few months old from what I’ve been told, so technically, it was my first language,” Frohnapfel said. “The deaf community has always been my family and, from the start, they have integrated me into the deaf community. I felt the need to give that back to them.”
While Frohnapfel was confident in her decision to leave the military and pursue her higher education goals, the transition was challenging.
“That transition from military into civilian life is such a struggle, even to people who are totally ready to get out of the service,” Frohnapfel said. “You’re losing all of your social ties and your friend groups and are completely starting over in life.”
One thing that helped ease her into the next chapter of her life was UNC’s Veterans Services at Roudebush Cottage. Directed by Tim Nellett the mission of Veterans Services is to support and empower military-affiliated students by assisting in the transition to civilian life, providing practical resources and providing a strong, inclusive community.
“I was not expecting to be welcomed immediately like I was and Tim intentionally fosters that environment,” Frohnapfel said. “Being able to have that foundation and support from the start has been amazing.”
Frohnapfel found that UNC’s Veterans Services was a place full of people with similar experiences as her own, allowing her to find community and connection amongst people she felt understood her.
“I really didn’t talk to anyone in my classes because I didn’t relate or connect with a lot of people,” she said. “Then, going into the Roudebush Cottage and starting to make friends, I was like, ‘Oh, this is where my people are.’ To be able to go from not having a friend to a house full of friends that I can go to has been a great journey.”
Frohnapfel is one of about 500 military affiliated people on UNC’s campus. About half are student veterans, the other half are children or spouses of veterans. Frohnapfel explains that there is often a stigma surrounding veterans, leading them to be hesitant to share their military status.
“A lot of veterans really don’t like to make it known that they are veterans and that has to do with the strong stigma against veterans and PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] and TBI [traumatic brain injury],” she said. “There’s a lot of negative stereotypes that go along with that, so a lot of people don’t openly disclose that information.”
She also explains that having experiences that are so different from those of traditional students, veterans are often misunderstood.
“We have already been to multiple physical locations and have had different job titles; it makes us feel like we are ancient,” Frohnapfel said. “So, coming into an environment of still very young people who haven’t had those opportunities yet, most of the time we’re not understood.”
In this way, Frohnapfel emphasizes how valuable places of community such as the Roudebush Cottage are to veterans. And for those who aren’t involved in those communities, she encourages people to practice understanding and to recognize that the outward appearances and experiences of veterans are not just skin deep.
“Most veterans have a lot of invisible disabilities that people aren’t able to see,” Frohnapfel said. “I think it’s important to be mindful anywhere you go that just because people look like they are able-bodied, they may not be.”
Frohnapfel believes UNC encourages student veterans to reach out and find the resources they need, just like she has done herself.
