There is power in veterans telling the stories of their lives. Research shows that the act of sharing military experiences can help veterans improve mental health, transition into civilian life and honor the memory of fallen friends.
To aid in the preservation of these stories, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded $344,000 to Katherine Selber, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Social Work at Texas State University, for her project, “Texas Veterans Legacy for Tomorrow Project (TexVet Legacy).” Selber’s initiative will strengthen the biographical information found in the Veterans Legacy Memorial, an online memorial that honors nearly 10 million veterans interred in VA National Cemeteries, through storytelling, social work methodologies and educational pedagogy.
Selber will be assisted on the project by co-principal investigator Kelly Clary, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, along with Khoi Nguyen, Ph.D., emerging technology supervisor with University Libraries, Andrew Rechnitz, Ph.D., director of technology engagement for University Libraries, and Kristin Van Diest, digital publishing librarian for University Libraries, experts in veteran outreach, social work, digital storytelling and education.
The TexVet Legacy Project will create a public resource for university professors, high school teachers and community members that includes stories of service and loss from historically underrepresented veterans. The project focuses on veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan eras interred in state and national VA-funded cemeteries in Texas. It will train TXST student veterans to interview fellow student, alumni and community veterans, particularly those who have lost comrades during military service.
The team will conduct in-depth interviews with veterans to gather their personal narratives, which will be translated into biographical entries enhancing the VLM, helping bridge the civilian- military divide and creating a living history of Texas veterans.
In turn, stories gathered will be added to an educational platform for public use and translated into classroom and community educational materials with insights into the contributions and experiences of HUR veterans in shaping American history. Interview transcripts, audio and visual recordings, and narrative essays from the project will be housed in an open educational resource for use by educators, historians and the general public.
TexVet Legacy will also focus on community engagement. TXST student veterans, faculty and staff will work together with veterans’ service organizations, Texas cemeteries and other community stakeholders to ensure the project’s success and sustainability. The project will offer community engagement events, workshops and training programs to teach participants how to sensitively collect and disseminate veteran stories. The project team is partnering with various state and national organizations, including the Texas Veterans Cemeteries, to help sustain the project beyond the grant period.
TexVet Legacy will provide professional development opportunities for high school educators and university professors. The project will culminate in a summer institute in 2025, where participants will learn best practices for engaging veterans, using cemeteries as educational resources and integrating veteran stories into curricula.
