My whole family consists of veterans — my mother was a veteran, as well as my grandfathers and uncles. I grew up loving the troops.

That being said, I was excited to learn last week that MSU joined the Yellow Ribbon Program. The program is a part of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and offers in-state tuition for all veterans at public colleges and universities.

With Veteran’s Day this week, I want to commend MSU on its commitment to helping our veterans.

The best way to help a veteran transition back to a citizen’s life is to help them find a job. However, with the job market we have today, this can be a difficult task.

I couldn’t imagine being in a veteran’s shoes. Having no job, no income and forced to compete in a fiercely competitive job market seems nearly impossible.

In the past, veterans returned from war and could land a job easily.

All the veterans in my family have lived very successful lives.

When my grandfathers returned from war, they got right to work at General Motors, taking advantage of the many automotive jobs in the area.

Now, it’s difficult to get any job, let alone one with a livable wage. Job applications are lined with prerequisites such as “experience required” or “college degree necessary.”

The days of walking into a factory unemployed and walking out a with a job are gone.

I’m not saying that military experience is worthless. The military teaches you many important skills and habits for the workplace, but in today’s society the chances of landing a job are much higher with a college degree. The experience and knowledge you gain from college can be more desirable to employers than military experience.

Today, 10 percent of post 9/11 vets are unemployed, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Hopefully, in-state tuition will allow young vets get the education they need to succeed.

Schools that give veterans this aide are giving them a chance to compete for jobs and setting them on a path to a stable future. Once they have a degree and are hired, the values learned in the military will shine.

Another glaring issue is the psychological difficulties veterans face after wars. Soldiers who see active battle or witness the gruesome effects of those battles often are affected psychologically. War can lead to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, which can interfere with veterans’ lives considerably and make it difficult for them to function in society. These veterans require counseling to help deal with this disorder.

MSU also has noticed this issue and are making steps to address it, such as opening the Veterans’ Resource Center today.

Opening the resource center and providing in-state tuition are steps in the right direction to help make studentveterans feel more welcome and supported in our community.

After all, our veterans haven’t had the warmest of welcomes in the past. After the Vietnam War, the welcome parties and parades usually expected for veterans were replaced by ridicule and neglect.

These are the people fighting for us. They are the ones who risked their lives every day to make sure we can live like we do. Without our veterans, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this column. These people do so much for us; it’s our duty to give something back.