Making MOVES for Military-Friendly Education with Courtney Swoboda

Making MOVES for Military-Friendly Education with Courtney Swoboda

This episode of Central Speaks shines a spotlight on Courtney Swoboda, director of UCM's Military and Veterans Services Office and 2024 Higher Ed Military Spotlight Award recipient. Courtney’s decade of service in the Air Force and five years at UCM have shaped her into a transformative leader, redefining military-friendly education through her dedication and innovation.

Under her leadership, UCM's Military and Veterans Success Center is a welcoming, resource-rich space for military-affiliated students and their families. Her influence extends beyond campus with the creation of MOVES (Missouri Organization of Veteran Education Specialists), a statewide initiative connecting institutions to better serve veterans.

Join us as we explore what drives Courtney, the impactful programs she has championed, and the story behind a nickname that’s stuck with her over the years.

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Transcript

Alex Greenwood

Welcome to Central Speaks, where we highlight the University of Central Missouri's change makers who are busy redefining what's possible every day. Today we're honored to spotlight Courtney Swoboda, Director of UCM's Military and Veterans Services Office and the recent recipient of the prestigious 2024 Higher Ed Military Spotlight Award. This national award recognizes individuals in higher education who demonstrate exceptional innovation and commitment to supporting military affiliated students. And Courtney truly exemplifies these qualities.

 

One member of the Higher Ed Military Advisory Council described her as embodying, quote, passion, dedication, and innovation, noting her work in creating MOVES, the Missouri Organization of Veteran Education Specialists. This initiative connects institutions statewide to better address the unique needs of veteran students. Another council member praised Courtney's journey from a certifying official to director, saying she represents what's possible in this profession through her hard work and expanding expertise.

 

With over a decade in the Air Force, and five years at UCM, Courtney has built UCM's Military and Veterans Success Center into a welcoming, resource-rich environment for military-affiliated students and their families. From helping veterans transition to college life to launching impactful programs across Missouri, Courtney's leadership is invaluable not only in the center, but here at the university. So why don't you join us as we dive into Courtney's inspiring work, her vision for military education, and the difference she's making every day for those who serve our country. Welcome to the show.

Courtney Swoboda

Thank you, Alex, so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here.

Alex

You know, you are everywhere anyway. It's like I can't even open my podcast app and there you are on somebody else's show. I'm a little miffed you didn't start here, but that's OK. That's OK. That's OK. But seriously, before we get into the office itself and everything, I'm just curious about you and your life journey. How did you get into the military? How did all that work for you?

Courtney

Yeah, so I actually kind of thought about the military because of my middle brother. So I have two younger siblings and my middle brother thought, hey, I think I'm going to enlist in the Air Force Reserves. I was going to college, paying for college, realized how expensive it was, saw all the benefits he was getting and thought, hey, I could probably do that.

So I enlisted a year after he did and then kind of was like, man, I really like the military. I'm kind of lost in a sense. I didn't know what I wanted to do. So I moved back home, was finishing up my associate's degree, met my now husband and we moved to UCM and now I'm a two-time grad from here and I'm in the center.

It's been great to me. Then it's nice because we're right next to Whiteman Air Force Base and that's where I'm stationed at. So just kind of fell into it. I got really lucky. I worked at the Missouri Veterans Home for a couple of years, deployed while I was there. I went to Kandahar with the A-10s out with the 442nd. And then kind of fell into the certifying role at UCM. I wanted to expand and finish my bachelor's degree. And then I just absolutely fell in love with what we do in the center. So it just kind of fit.

Alex

You know, I've got several military veterans in my family one of my very closest friends was 82nd Airborne. And I always ask him this question: like, you know, back when we were in college, did you see yourself jumping out of perfectly good airplanes? He's like, heck no. I just wonder if you were ever on the flight line or nearby in Kandahar going, how did I get here? It must have been very surreal.

Courtney

I think we all kind of have that experience. And for me, my first career full in the Air Force, I was armament. So I loaded munitions on the A-10. I worked in the back shop, we worked on the loading equipment.

So kind of as a female for one, being in a male predominant career field, it was kind of surreal. was like, man, this is not something I do in the civilian world. So, kind of having that experience was really awesome. I get to talk about it and I've done it. So I'm very proud of myself for the things that I've done. I did that for six years. And then I was like, let's do something that I kind of do here at UCM. Let's kind of balance my military and civilian careers. And that's how I got into education and training. I did that for the past five years and now I just got a new position and I'm the talent management consultant. It's a long phrase. They call them TMCs. Acronyms are known in the military, so get ready. I'll probably throw a couple out, but I help with reenlistments with our unit in the maintenance squadron.

Alex

You know, and you were so kind and so were the folks at Whiteman to invite many of us from UCM. I was brand new in the position, and one of the first things I did officially was go as communications director and tour the facility. And I'll never forget going into the A10 area. Now, I've told you offline that the A10 is like, I think it's the coolest.

Courtney

Because it is. it is. It's absolutely the warthog. It's so cool.

Alex

But I remember you ran into another mechanic, female mechanic who was your friend. And I must confess, I thought the same thing. thought, you know, these women are doing the same jobs as everybody else here. And it's not by any means a safe job. You don't have to be in the plane to risk your life, so to speak. Loading armament cannot be just, you know, it’s not something you can sleepwalk through. It's got to be a lot of heavy work and the mechanics side of it. It just strikes me as the, I know our military trains people extremely well but was it ever daunting though that first day when you're like, okay, let's go?

Courtney

100%. Yes. And I'm so thankful for the supervision that I have. I mean, I'm still really close to one of my supervisors, Sonny. I always have to throw a shout out to him. He's one of my great mentors. His children actually come to UCM. So one of them worked here in our center with us.

They've become great mentors and family to my family. And I just think that the military is what you make of it. I'm a big believer in that. I've always kind of had a positive attitude and I've kind of gravitated towards positive people, which is great. And then I think in my role, it's nice now that I'm a senior leader in the military and here at UCM, my roles are pretty unique. And I like to try and tell people to give it a different perspective. You may not have the best experience with everything that you do in the military or with education but be open-minded to it and really listen and find those people to help you through it. I really try and be that person now in the military and here at UCM.

Alex

Yeah, well, we recently had a story on the TV about one of our students who's an airman and just extraordinary: JD Culp. And I'll try to remember, put a link in the show notes if you haven't seen that, read the story about this extraordinary young man. And what I was impressed by was I just got a hold of you as a courtesy to say, hey, by the way, I'm pretty sure you know James and we're going to be doing a story. And you're like, I'll be there. I'm like, OK. But that's the thing. You were there the whole time offering background available as a source, whatever you needed to do. And I kept saying to you, this is so kind of you. And you're like, no, this is what I do. This is for our people. I support them. And I think that's something that people in your entire department, kind of, it's infectious. That's way you do things. And I want to get to that in a moment, but first I have to ask you about MOVES. Can you kind of explain, especially to us civilians, what is MOVES all about and how did it come about?

Courtney

When I became the director, I kind of felt like, man, there's a lot to this position. There's a lot of things that on campus, people don't know what we do in the center, along with being a director. But I wanted to kind of gravitate. I like to collaborate. That's kind of in my nature. I just started making phone calls to other schools. So my parents live down in Springfield. So MSU thought of like a good connection. They have a great program down there. So I reached out to Raelene Ziegler. She's the director down there. And we kind of picked up a friendship. And we just started calling around other schools. She'd been in that position in the director role for a while too. And we were like, why are more people in our roles in the state of Missouri not talking? There's organizations across the nation, other states have things like this. we really wanted it to make it like, not to where like you have to pay dues, because there's all these different organizations we have to pay into. And it's kind of stressful because one, funding's tight and two, it's just a little overwhelming. So we wanted to make it a friendly environment and to where they would feel comfortable coming to us and asking questions.

There is turnover just like any other positions in these roles. So those new people coming in, we thought it was vital for them to get the knowledge outside of the training we received from the VA and the DOD, things that they wouldn't get trained on to try and help them. So we've really kind of built friendships and it's very open communication. We have a list serve so people can type in questions and no question's a dumb question in my book. I've been there, I've experienced it. So it's just nice to be able to help other people throughout the state.

Alex

It's a fantastic model and it's something I know my department here on campus, we're trying very hard to make sure that everybody understands. There are open lines of communication, and that's how we're trying to make sure we serve our partners well. And I can take a page from your book, and definitely an inspiration from you and how you're doing this and reaching out to people, because we're doing similar things. I won't bore the audience with what we're doing, but I just say it to say that I think it's your example is noticed, and it's really appreciated as much. Again, we're talking a lot to folks who don't normally, maybe if they're not in the military, have a family member in the military, but mean, the military aspect of our students brings quite a lot to UCM, does it not?

Courtney

Yes it does. Could you give us a little bit of that? know, kind of our background on campus, because a lot of people, one, don't know a lot about our center. I think over the last few years we've done a really good job of expanding our, you know, saying what we do here on campus, who we serve, and how can other departments work with us. So for us, last year we served about 1,600 military-affiliated students on our campus. So they could be on our campus, they could be online.

And to me, always like to point out too, my service doesn't just stop here at UCM. I love service altogether, but the military does not do a good job of explaining benefits. Last year we serviced about 1600 military affiliated students, whether they're on campus or fully online, or they could be living in the state and doing kind of a hybrid. We have a lot of students who commute from Lee's Summit and they stay here in our center all day long. But our center, kind of the three main things that we do is we process VA educational benefits, we process military tuition assistance, so federal and state and something that sets us aside from other kind of standalone centers is we process military transcripts. So we're reviewing those transcripts and trying to articulate as much of that credit as possible to try and basically give them credit for what they've done in the military towards their higher education degree. I think that is so valuable for us as a campus and for those service members because it just shows that we truly, we see what they've done in the military and we're giving them credit for it.

Alex

Well, and I can also imagine It's probably a little Byzantine--government processes and procedures. I think you alluded to that maybe the DOD doesn't always do a great job or the Veterans Affairs Center doesn't always do a great job explaining the benefits to veterans and to active duty, right? And so you guys seem like you're the translator.

Courtney

Yes. little bit there. It's very confusing. I remember when I was using my benefits. It's just kind of it gives you so much anxiety. You just don't know where to start. Right. And then if you have someone who's like, OK, here, figure it out, go to this website and apply here in the center, we don't do that. We're very hands-on. We tell students, let's sit at a computer together. Let's apply for these benefits together. You get to make the decision. Let's look at both benefits that you might be eligible for. Maybe take it home and think about it. Come back in and we'll sit down and apply with them for you. We'll sit down and go through the application for tuition assistance with you. We'll print out your schedule and sit with you while you apply for your funding.

We'll call your education service officer and ask them questions that they might need. So we really go through the entire process. We educate them. We do intakes. They take about an hour.

And we, you know, one of the first questions that I train my staff is get to know the student, ask them, and I say, okay, tell me what's your story? Are you in the military? Because we have a lot of dependents on campus. are you using transfer of entitlement? Are you not using benefits? And then it starts getting the wheels rolling for my staff and I because then we're like, okay, you're eligible for this benefit, you're not eligible for this benefit. have you thought of this scholarship? So we do a lot more than just benefits. We really try and full spectrum help them on campus overall.

Alex

Is there some parity though for our students who are military, for their dependents on what they pay in fees here at UCM or something of that nature?

Courtney

Yeah, so we have the military tuition package. So if they're using VA or military tuition assistance, that's whether you're a military dependent or not. If you're using a benefit like that, you're going to get that package. And then we have so many resources and discounts. It's unreal. I mean, the amount of things that we bring for our students and you know, we can't do that without the leadership listening. So that's one thing again that puts me aside that I am so positioned on at UCM, where I'm at the table listening, I'm also heard. So I think that is so important and I am so lucky and blessed to have that here at UCM.

Alex

Yeah, you're not the only department leader I've heard that from since I've been here too. It's really, I love that what you just said is not only are they listening, but you are heard. They get that and I think that's fantastic. Let's shift a little bit here. One of the reasons we do this show is we want to share with other folks who work here, whether they be faculty or staff, about some of the change makers and some of the people who are truly redefining what's possible here at UCM. And it's evident, I mean we've already just talked about all these wonderful things you're bringing to the table that perhaps other schools don't. And I think by the way, it's not a secret to most listeners who work here and gone here that UCM is pretty special about student success. I'd like to see how we translate that from your leadership to your team. First of all, can you tell us how many folks do you have in your office and how do you empower them to redefine what's possible?

Courtney

Absolutely. So we are small but mighty. So there are three of us that are associated with the Military and Veterans Success Center. So we've got myself, we've got our coordinator in the center physically, and then we also have our Whiteman Air Force Base coordinator. So she's out at Whiteman, so she's not with us in the center, but we work all three of us really well together to make sure we serve as such a big student population. So I think leadership is just open communication. I listen to my staff and I think, you we listen to students too. And I keep talking about that communication is kind of my thing, but I don't think you can have a successful program unless you continue to listen to your students, continue to listen to your staff, because things are always changing. So what would have been last year may not be true this year. You always have to be innovative and really think and listen. And I think we do a great job of that. know, our center was here before I became here, Jeff Huffman, you know, he was the director when I started. Great mentor of mine. He did a lot of great things. And when I took over, I really wanted to think about what programming did we not have? What things are we not offering to students? And we full force went for him. And now, you know, we pretty much offer everything for our students. So I think just kind of listening to students and listening to what they're wanting has made our program so successful.

Alex

Is there a lot of feedback entertained from your clients, from the students? Do you solicit actively, solicit what they think and does your staff hear from them?

Courtney

Absolutely. So, we do surveys, we do graduation surveys, we do an annual survey as well to kind of hear what the students are wanting. So, you know, one great example, we had furniture in the center and it was just not the comfiest they really said that they wanted something that they would like to take a nap on. So we have a couch, you know, I'm almost six foot. We have a couch that I can fully lay on and they can take a nap and students do that. They take the, turn the lights off and they take a nap. We've got, we've upgraded our golf cart. Our old golf cart would backfire, it was a gas golf cart. And some of our veterans who have PTSD are hearing that could trigger them. So we got an electric golf cart and now we offer veteran-led tours because we partner with admissions. So I just think that, you know,

For me, I'm always thinking, which can get me in trouble, because then I sign myself up for way too much. But we have so many partnerships on this campus that I don't think people realize either, because again, we reach out for those partnerships to better our students. At the end of the day, that's the end goal for us.

Alex

Yeah, and I hitched a ride recently on that wonderful golf cart. And I tell you, it's every bit fitting for our military. I like to hear that. I think entertaining feedback is an important deal, in which you hit on there. That's why you're a great guest, Courtney. You always anticipate what I'm going to ask you anyway. You already gave me the whole answer. But I think the point you made about how we need to be constantly, continuously improving our processes. And I understand this, getting into this, is that when you work in a higher education situation where you know this is going to happen at this time of year. This is going to happen at this time of year. And you kind of start, I can see where the urge to kind of like build up to those big things can sometimes take away from looking at some of the other things. And it sounds to me like you're really on a constant head on a swivel. Let's make sure everything's going smoothly here. Is that a fair way to characterize it?

Courtney

In a sense, we kind of have to be. So for VA and DOD, we have to remain compliant with those benefits. So I always have to make sure we're compliant in all aspects on campus, know, all the way down to, you know, with your area with IMC, I have to make sure our photos are compliant with DOD regulations. I have to make sure, you know, our students are following what they're supposed to be doing for their VA educational benefits because we do get a lot of money from that, but we have to make sure that they're using that funding correctly. And then on top of it with our MOU with the base, so we have to make sure that we're compliant with all of that. So there's just a ton of moving parts throughout the year that people don't realize that we have to make sure that we're remaining compliant with.

Alex

What do you think about your, are three of you, you know, I just assumed you had more, by the way, with all the things you do. It's incredible, the three of you. Wow, so this is why this is important too. I think other department leaders and managers and just everybody would like to know though, how do you recognize and celebrate the unique contributions of your team? mean, are there things you do or is it just we're so busy, we just like good job, let's drive on or are there any examples of what you do to kind of keep things fresh just for your staff on an employment level? I talk to them every single day. I think you could talk to both of them.

Courtney

Vanessa, she recently just left us, got a position on campus with our Human Resources Department. I'm so happy for her, but very sad for the center. And we just hired someone great as well, so we can't wait to bring her on the team. But I just think for me as a staff, since we're so small, we have to have that relationship. So, whether we go to lunch or we have team meetings, so we'll go out to Whiteman and see Courtney's area out there. Courtney comes to our location on campus a lot too. And then like I said, we hang out with our students in the center.

I tell my staff all the time, go have lunch with them, go sit with the students, get to know them. We're a family in there. And I think when you walk into the center, you're going to get that feel. And we all know each other, and we're there to help. I can't tell you that my student workers wouldn't help any of the students that come in. I mean, they are just phenomenal. I mean, if they hear a question or a student's in need.

They've already done it and they haven't even come and talked to me about it and I hear it after the fact. it's just nice to have built such a team that is willing to help so many on campus. Yeah, and they're empowered to do these things. And so like you just said, it's just great to hear, OK, thanks. That is such a wonderful thing to have on your team, right? And I know I'm blessed with that on my team.

Alex

Do you do any goal setting?

Courtney

My staff are going to so laugh at this but yes, I have a lot of goals. No kidding. do. have long term, short term and usually I like to sign personally myself up for way too much, but I think it's because I care for my students so much that I want to make sure we offer as much as possible. Right. That we're doing what we're supposed to be doing for our students but for my staff that's something that we ask we talk about all the time or what are your goals for your specific program? Are there things that you could fix?

I am not a micromanager at all. I mean, I hire people because I think they're going to do a great job and they are doing a great job. And so I kind of let them do their thing and then innovate and change where they need to do it. They'll reach out to me with questions or concerns and then I give my advice. But I really kind of give them whatever they need to do to do their job. And I think that's why our program has been so successful too.

Alex

What do you think folks, let's just say in a university setting in general, what do you think they don't understand about the student who also happens to be either active duty or a veteran?

Courtney

Our students--we already have a diverse student population on our campus, but then we're servicing those students too, and they're diverse inside that diverse population. so there's so many different benefits that they could be using, or they might be in a different time in their life. Like we have veterans who have did a full career in the military, completely retired, and now they're kind of falling back on school and they're like, okay, what am I going to do now? And they can't find a job or they're trying to navigate a family, they have a full family at home or working a full-time job. So we're really trying to help them navigate those benefits.

And then we also help like first-time freshmen, military dependent children, and help them understand their benefits. We really, as staff in our office, have to really get to know that student and figure out what their needs are and what their background is because then that can better help us.

We do have some students that have some PTSD issues or anxiety issues. We have had some students that come in the center and they have panic attacks. So we have water in the back. We know where to put them. Our staff have been trained to try and like be like, okay, let's put you in the back. No questions asked. Go sit down, calm down, and then let us know if you need something. So we really have to be able to kind of just understand the student and get to know them and know what their needs are.

Alex

It sounds to me Courtney like it's probably also implicit that it's an open invitation to faculty who may have such students in there and maybe if they have a concern maybe they're observing something that maybe they're worried that maybe there's a triggering effect of some sort. I just wonder if faculty and staff know they can consult you all about that.

Courtney

Yes, so we actually have training on campus it's called Green Zone Training, this is where we can talk about our office and what we do. We held one here recently and we had 65 faculty and staff show up, which was amazing. It's a training that was done a long, long time ago and we've kind of adopted it on our campus and made it our own. It's about a three hour training and we go over VA benefits, what things our students go through, what are all the acronyms that are thrown out. The difference is between active duty National Guard and Reserves, the commitments that these students have.

And JD Culp, he's such a great example of this. mean, he has a family. He is in the Air National Guard. He's a full-time student. He's in UCM Athletics. I mean, that is a schedule in itself. So I just think that that training is so important for our campus and I'm so glad that it's gaining momentum because now it's giving them that open door to come talk to us if they need to. And faculty have been very responsive to it. I've gotten tons of emails and questions about, hey, I didn't even realize this when you talked about it.

One thing that was a great example is a lot of students, they have a trigger when you lock the doors in the classroom and a lot of people don't think about that because now they're trapped in that room and they can't get out or their backs are facing doors. That's another big thing that we've heard. So, a lot of our students kind of position themselves in classrooms so they can see the doors. These are just things that you know not everybody would think about but it is something to make the students more successful to bring into your classroom.

Alex

There are myriad things that you have to take into account and I think it's fantastic that that many people showed up to hear more and forgive me for not being there, but I will be at the next one. I will. I need to know these things. And know, but to your point too, you made a great little aside earlier about how you work with IMC because, you know, there's certain uniform photos we shouldn't use for a variety of reasons. That's not because you're being picky. It's because this is like, okay, we don't use that particular uniform anymore, or that's not something we should be showing or that kind of thing. I think that's really important and that goes back to again, you're not shy about speaking up for your people, you know? And ultimately UCM because you help us do our job better when we talk about your folks, right? So I just love that.

I think I was just gushing when we did the interview with JD because you were there and I was talking to you and I like, I just can't believe, this is so great, you know? That you're here and hanging around for so long and then giving some background to the reporter. And you know, what a lot of people I try to tell partners on campus is the way you are when a reporter actually comes here to do a positive story especially is really important because they start going, wow, UCM, man, they roll out the red carpet for us, right? And I got that feeling from you, so I don't mean to embarrass you, but thank you. There's probably a million things we could have talked about today, and I know I've already eaten up a lot of your day, and you're busy person, but is there anything I haven't mentioned that you want to get in here to let folks know about here on campus?

Courtney

I'm super proud of our campus. We've ranked nationally recently. So last year we ranked number three on the Military Friendly Survey as a military friendly schools and for military friendly spouses in the nation. So as Little Warrensburg UCM, I think that is phenomenal. And then we recently got news that ranked number 15 on the Best for Vets Military Times survey. I'm very proud of our campus, very proud of my program. And I think I had to put a plug in for that just because it's a lot of work.

Alex

And as a campus we collectively came together and knocked it out of the park. Courtney. And if people need to get a hold of you, there's a place on the website. What's the best way? see me in my office. Can I walk in? Come walk on in. Don't need an appointment?

Courtney

No, no appointment. Just come see me.

Alex

OK, now this is the most treacherous part of this interview. This is where I ask you for what we call the final fun fact. Courtney Swoboda, what is a final fun fact you could tell us all about you personally? This is not about your work; this is about you.

Courtney

So, my husband is totally going to laugh at me. He works on campus too. But my nickname is corn dog. And a lot of people on campus know that. My students call me corn dog. You'll see on our, we have a debate board in the center and I'll sign my name is corn dog. So it's really fun. I actually respond to corn dog too. I love corndogs. It was a name given to me a long time ago in a previous job and it just kind of stuck. Our Wi-Fi is named corndog. I mean like anything you can think of.

Alex

So fun fact for Courtney Swoboda. Corndog. I'm sorry, Courtney. Besides the fact that I so enjoy working with you, you're a delight as a guest and I appreciate your enthusiasm and it's just infectious, your energy. Thank you for telling us a little bit about your inspiring journey.

Thank you and thank you very much sincerely for your service to our nation, but more so to our students here. I'll tell you what, your passion and your dedication, I hope everybody can feel that and they can bring that to their own work helping our students here.

Thanks to our listeners for joining us today. Now be sure to check out more episodes of Central Speaks at ucmo.edu, slash news slash central speaks. Check the show notes for a link and you'll hear more stories of the remarkable individuals making redefining what's possible every day at UCM a reality.

And I want to give a special thanks to Josh Tomlinson of KMOS PBS who engineered this show and kindly loaned us his studio. Again, this is Central Speaks, a production of the Integrated Marketing and Communications Office, and we'll see you next time, right here on Central Speaks.

 

© 2024 University of Central Missouri. All rights reserved. Central Speaks is a production of the ⁠UCM Office of Integrated Marketing and Communications.⁠

Recorded at ⁠KMOS PBS⁠; engineered by Josh Tomlinson.

Music by https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html