Center for Wounded Veterans

I was really glad we were able to get a tour of the in-progress Center for Wounded Veterans over on Nevada. Although the project has a few months before it will be finished, I could see how excited the construction manager and associate Dean from the College of Applied Health Sciences were about the project and how it is going to affect those who use the facilities and campus itself.
This may have been the first time I actually took an in-depth tour of a building yet to be completed. It seemed a bit naked, yet I could see how it was coming together and it actually made me really proud to be a part of this campus. We started in the basement, which to be honest, was the least interesting part of the tour. We could see the elevator shafts being put in and all the mechanical systems being installed. (It was nice that we actually got to see the mechanical systems this time!) After that, we headed back to the first floor and saw the main communal living spaces that the veterans will get to utilize. There was a rough space that I would call a living room, with a flanking space that has a kitchen area. What I really liked about the space was how open it was--there were windows on all sides so nearly everything could be seen. The Dean from AHS talked about how a lot of the veterans have a problem retiring home and sitting somewhere where they cannot see all their surrounds, and they like to sit up against walls. I can see how hard it would be to change this behavior coming home. I hope that this aspect of the building helps the veterans adjust accordingly.
The upstairs was fairly barren as well, but showed some staff rooms for physical therapy and housing for some fourteen veterans themselves. Although the rooms were small, I feel as though the veterans will be very grateful for the opportunity to live on campus in a great learning environment.
The greatest thing that I got out of the tour was the choice of location of the veterans center. The Dean told us that the Nevada location was chosen over ten other locations that the university offered to AHS. They thought it was the best location in terms of closeness to the center of campus. They wanted the veterans to feel at home being on campus, and did not want to isolate them. That is why I think this is such a noble project.