During his military service, United States Marine Corps veteran Anthony Pilota dedicated his life to serving his country. Now, as the veteran services coordinator at Purdue University Northwest, Pilota has committed himself to ensuring that veteran students at PNW are receiving the resources they need in order to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.
“At PNW, I’ve gotten to see these veterans transition from military life to student life, and then to civilian life where they are employed,” Pilota said. “It's awesome to see the change and watch them be successful. To be honest, one of the hardest parts of the job is watching these people graduate after I’ve developed a close relationship with them over the previous four years. However, I love the fact that the veterans I help in the Veteran Center stay in contact with me even after they graduate and become my lifelong friends.”
Pilota always knew that he wanted to join the military, but he did not know which branch he wanted to join until he was in his senior year of high school. When his best friend – and rival – enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, Pilota wanted to prove that he also had what it took. Pilota joined the Marines in 2010 and went on to serve as a main battle tank technician in the Marine Corps Second Tank Battalion for four years.
Pilota’s battalion, which was disbanded in 2019, was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013, making it the last Marine tank division to see combat in the war.
After leaving the Marines in 2014, Pilota pursued a degree in business administration and management at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU). During his time at SIU, he served as the president of the school’s Student Veterans Association for three years and worked at the university vet center. Pilota was also the chapter president of the Society for Advancement of Management and was the chapter vice president of operations for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. During his junior year, Pilota was given an assignment to make a cover letter and résumé for a job he would be interested in. He chose to make a practice application for the veteran services coordinator position at Purdue University Northwest. Upon completing the assignment, however, Pilota decided that he ought to actually apply for the position. He was hired as the veteran services coordinator in 2018 and started working at PNW while he completed his studies at SIU. Pilota has now been assisting veteran students at PNW for the past five years. In 2021, Pilota began studying to get his master’s degree in management and leadership from Purdue Global. He graduated from the program this past December.
While one aspect of Pilota’s job is to ensure that the veterans he works with receive the educational resources that they need, his job also involves helping the veteran students he works with adjust to the social climate of their post-military lives.
“When a lot of veterans get out, they feel lonely,” Pilota said. “As much as they might have disliked their military careers, they tend to think only about the good times and forget about the bad after they get out. So, once they leave, they lose the connection that they had with their brothers and sisters in the military. They also feel like they can't talk to family members about their experiences because most of the time others can’t understand or relate to what they're talking about. I really like that my job enables me to create a community of veterans. We're all going through transitions. It’s important to create a safe space where veterans can talk like they did in the military and help each other understand the civilian world.”
Pilota sees that the community of veteran students he has helped foster at the PNW Vet Center not only helps the veterans adapt to civilian life but also enables them to form life-changing connections with each other.
“Magical things happen at the Vet Center,” Pilota said. “These veterans get together and they get along. I’ve seen two marriages form out of my office. It's been great watching these relationships develop from their beginnings into marriage. I feel like I’ve somewhat been involved in them.”
The success stories that Pilota has seen during his time as the veteran services coordinator continue to reaffirm just how beneficial the vet center’s services are to veterans at PNW.
“We had a veteran student who graduated last year who's working as an electrical engineer,” Pilota said. “I watched him work through his anger issues while he was at PNW. It was great seeing him get those under control and improve his mental health. Now he's thriving in the civilian world. When they enter higher education, many vets have pent-up anger about things they experienced in the military. We help them deal with that transition by getting them to the point where they can take a deep breath and just relax. It helps me to know that I'm helping them create a better life for themselves.”
In his free time, Pilota unwinds by playing video games, building guns, and going to shooting ranges with his friends from the PNW Vet Center. He loves working with cars and is currently working on a 2014 BMW 328d.