Veteran trades weapon for pen

While stationed in Kuwait and Iraq as a U.S. Marine Corps police officer, Alejandro Mujica used a rifle to protect and serve. Now, the UCF graduate student has armed himself with something different — a pen.

Mujica, who spent four years in the military police, felt displaced upon returning home from duty. During this period of transition, one where he returned to the civilian world, he discovered the power of reading, the serenity of meditation and the art of journaling.

Now, Mujica, a graduate student at UCF majoring in creative writing, has been approved by the Veterans Academic Resource Center to begin a writing group for veterans.

The goal of the writing group is to allow veterans to discover new skills and possibly aid with post-traumatic stress disorder.

After returning home from duty, Mujica decided to take advantage of the resources that were available at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

According to the VA's website, the veteran population in Florida is 1,650,900. Nationwide, one in eight military personnel returning from the battlefield suffers from some form of PTSD.

Although he was not diagnosed with PTSD, Mujica said he's seen little empathy for returning heroes, and most veterans are reluctant to seek help for fear of being stigmatized.

"I'm not claiming to be a doctor, but I know that this mode of writing helped me deal with certain issues in the past," Mujica said.

In San Francisco, the VA Medical Center has started the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center, a program that tackles similar social-rebuilding skills. Veterans are medically screened and given a choice of activities to encourage self-expression. Artwork, creative writing and journaling are just three of the most common formats that are proving successful.

Mujica has researched extensively the power of journaling as a form of self-healing and self-expression. He has just now begun to reach out to fellow veterans and students who share the same philosophy.

UCF alumna Heidi Hosmer was more than willing to donate her time to the new team. Although not a veteran herself, Hosmer believes she has much to contribute to the program.

"I am here to support veterans academically, and with any character development needed," said Hosmer, who earned her degree in psychology.

Jim Middlekauff, the assistant registrar for UCF Veteran Services, encourages all his veterans to be persistent.

"Any assistance we can give our student veterans is what the VARC is about…[VARC] is their home to polish skills they will need to achieve future goals."

Mujica and Hosmer are hopeful that more people will participate in the program.

"I just don't think people know that these resources are here for them," Mujica said. "My purpose is to bring a better sense of community among veterans, and maybe eventually their families. Sometimes when words are on paper they resolve themselves. Journal-keeping allows veterans to move on, and finally deal with recurring issues."