Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ed.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Language, Literacy, ED.D., Exceptional Education, and Physical Education

Major Professor

William Black, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Zorka Karanxha, Ph.D.

Committee Member

John Mann, Ed.D.

Committee Member

James Whitworth, Ph.D.

Keywords

Identity Reconstruction (Veteran Reintegration), Post-Military Adjustment and Learning, Narrative Inquiry in Veteran Education, Trauma-Informed Andragogy and Healing, Cross-Cultural Transition and Adaptation, Veteran Well-Being and Social Connectedness

Abstract

Military veterans often face profound challenges transitioning to civilian life, yet prevailing narratives focus narrowly on PTSD and combat trauma. This dissertation uses autoethnography to broaden that view, blending personal narrative with theory to explore seven interrelated transition stressors: grief and bereavement, loss of military identity, autobiographical memory, service-connected nostalgia, moral injury, stereotype threat, and socialized masculinity and stoicism. These layered stories illuminate the cultural, emotional, and relational dimensions of transition, showing how isolation, disconnection, and loss of belonging shape veteran experiences as deeply as trauma. The analysis demonstrates that healing emerges not from prescriptive programs but from relational practices of listening, storytelling, and community reconnection. Building on this insight, the study introduces Belong in Echo, a design framework that promotes veteran-to-veteran reconnection, institutional listening, and civil-military repair. In re-centering transition around connectedness and belonging, this work argues for a shift from treating veterans as data points or problems to honoring them as storytellers, educators, and contributors to collective growth.

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