ALTOONA, Pa. — When Michael Balmforth left the military in 2014 and returned home to Altoona, he figured the next natural step was to go to college, he said.

He enrolled at Penn State Altoona the following year, but lacking a clear goal or direction, he dropped out after one semester and began working a series of odd jobs. He eventually found steady employment at the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home as an assistant to one of the administrators. Among his responsibilities was helping veterans take care of things like vehicle and voter registration and other tasks they were running into problems with.

Balmforth said he found that because of his own veteran status, many of those he was working with felt comfortable opening up to him about things such as family problems, mental health issues, and PTSD. Although he could listen, he said, there wasn’t much more he was qualified to do in his role — but for the first time, he could see a professional career path taking shape. He spoke with his boss about the possibilities, and she said she thought he would make a wonderful patient advocate, but told him that he would need a college degree for such a position.

With his wife’s encouragement and support, Balmforth in 2022 enrolled again at Penn State Altoona in the Human Development and Family Studies program. Even though he had purpose this time around, that didn’t make things any easier for him, he said. He had given up a full-time job with health benefits, he now had an infant son, and he had just been diagnosed with PTSD.

“I was incredibly nervous," Balmforth said. "I was also doubtful because of my first experience with college. I’m a decade older than my peers, too, so I was worried that we wouldn’t have anything in common. It was my wife's steady hand on my back that kept me going at first.”

Balmforth says it took nearly a full semester to start feeling comfortable and confident, to see that his professors cared about him, and that he could fit in with his classmates. Even so, an important piece was missing for him — he needed connection with other veterans at the college.

He said he remembered that there was a Veteran’s Lounge on campus when he was first a student in 2015, a place where he could sit and talk with other veterans, to feel fellowship and camaraderie from others who just “got” him.

“I immediately felt welcomed by them. Just having our own space to let our guard down a little bit and be with others who had similar experiences was so comforting," he said.

So he was disappointed to learn that the lounge had faded away during the pandemic, and seemingly, so had the veteran community in general. He wasn’t willing to accept that, he said, and began looking at ways to rebuild it.

He arranged meetings with leaders on campus including the chancellor, the director of Student Affairs, and Sue Patterson, director of Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). The discussions included how to improve existing veteran programs and assistance at Penn State Altoona as well as how to implement new ones. Conversations also led to the idea of a campus point person.

Balmforth eagerly agreed to accept the position of student veteran liaison based out of the college’s Office of DEIB. “It's a position we need, and I believe in the value of it being a veteran who connects with other veterans," he said.

In this role Balmforth meets with existing and incoming veteran students, active service members, and those considering enrollment. He explains the resources Penn State Altoona offers student veterans, things they might not be aware of or fully understand — things Balmforth said would have made his first attempt at college easier had he known about them from the get-go.

“Michael is a natural leader, and combined with the knowledge he is gaining as an HDFS major, he is creating true growth and change,” said Patterson. “Penn State Altoona is certainly a better place having him as a student leader.”

From his own experiences, Balmforth said, he knows how important mental health is for veterans transitioning to college life. He makes sure to speak openly and unabashedly about the counseling and psychological services Penn State Altoona offers. He said he hopes to build trust and be someone his peers are comfortable reaching out to for conversation or support if they decide to seek mental health care.

To help veteran students be aware of every resource that can aid them on their road to success, Balmforth explained, he has cast his net outside of the campus. He is also working with Blair County organizations that provide counseling, programming, advocacy and support specifically for veterans and active military members.

“I'm not looking on a global scale, I'm just looking at my community,” said Balmforth. “I feel a deep connection and love for this area. I grew up here, and now I’m raising my son here. I want to do more for this community, and I think this community wants to do more for itself.”

Another part of Balmforth’s plan is to build up veteran student visibility and appreciation, he said. This includes bringing back the lounge, adding programming and networking opportunities, and creating mentorship options. Balmforth also began working on a schedule of events and activities for Veteran Appreciation Week, to be celebrated by Penn State Altoona on Nov. 4-1. He arranged for Smokin’ J’s BBQ food truck to provide a free lunch for veterans one day and Stallion’s Barbershop to provide free custom t-shirts to every student veteran on campus. There also will be tabling events and giveaways, as well as a community movie night.

“I want to bring people together to get behind these men and women, to honor them and say, ‘hey, we see you, we appreciate you, we thank you,'" Balmorth said.

The more he can do on campus and in the community, Balmorth explained, the more buy-in he can get, which means more support for the veteran community. He pointed out that visibility of and participation from these types of events can ripple outward; as people learn about programs and resources, they can pass information on to military family members or friends.

“I don't want to beat my chest and say look at all the great things I’m doing. I just want to be the person to connect the dots and reach out all these tendrils into this community," he said. "I want to help make positive changes and create a chain of all the people and organizations doing good things for veterans.”

“Michael’s passion for this work and this area is truly allowing him to do transformational things for our campus and beyond,” said Patterson.

Balmforth said he believes the work he’s doing now is building a solid foundation for the next student and veteran liaison.

“Whoever takes up the mantle next will have these inroads laid," he added. "Everything they do will be like the finishing touches to a house. It will only get better.”

Balmforth will graduate from Penn State Altoona in 2026, and he plans to attend graduate school. But he said he has no plans to leave behind the college and the position he helped create. The mission is too important, he said.

“I'm not walking away from Penn State Altoona, and I’m not walking away from the veteran community here. I'll come back not as a student, but as someone who supports what is being done and who volunteers for events and programs," he said. "I’m excited to see where this can go.”