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Kari Elizabeth Hurd

I am upset for my best friend/roommate and combat veteran, Jaimee Dziesinski, and for any other Veteran experiencing the same thing. She is recently separated honorably from the Army and working on her VA claim. She just moved here to Columbia because, like many Veterans, she chose to live somewhere other than her home of record. She is attempting to begin school at Midlands Tech in the summer and just received news that she will not be considered a resident student. The Post 9/11 GI Bill does not cover all of the tuition. She cannot afford to pay out of pocket for the difference because she has yet to be able to find a job here. She would be considered a resident student if she had a full-time job. Midlands Tech is not a Yellow-Ribbon school. Why should a Veteran have to go to their home of record to receive benefits when we've called so many places "home"? It is disheartening and I feel like something needs to be addressed. I am just venting here. Maybe someone knows something I don't. But the system seems broken to me. She earned her benefits by fighting for her country and can't receive all of them because she has no desire to live back home. I am angry. She is angry. And that just adds to the anxiety we already experience. Should it be this difficult? My heart goes out to anyone experiencing the same issue. ...