{"id":19846,"date":"2021-11-29T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T08:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=19846"},"modified":"2021-11-29T08:00:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T08:00:50","slug":"im-giving-back-to-other-disabled-veterans-thanks-to-an-ou-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/student-stories\/im-giving-back-to-other-disabled-veterans-thanks-to-an-ou-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m giving back to other disabled veterans thanks to an OU scholarship\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran Roger Lees spent his military career literally putting his life on the line to protect others. So when the constant strain of combat missions left him unable to serve, he was left feeling lost and unsure what his future would hold.<\/p>\n

With the support of an Open University scholarship, Roger originally from Birmingham, now living in Blackwood in Wales, is rebuilding his life outside of the military and using his qualification to help other disabled veterans create positive futures. He shares his story so far:<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined the Territorial Army as soon as a I could,\u201d explains Roger. \u201cI had a very difficult childhood and left home aged just 14. So I very quickly had to learn how to cope on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OU

Roger pictured during his military service<\/p><\/div>\n

Roger went onto serve in the Royal Pioneer Corps, working in volatile combat zones around the world. He rose to the rank of Colour Sergeant and was selected for hostile protection services for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.<\/p>\n

It was a role that would see him face life-threatening danger on a daily basis. After decades of demonstrating courage and resilience in the most dangerous conditions, Roger\u2019s health began to suffer.<\/p>\n

Putting his life on the line<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cDuring my time in combat zones, I was involved in 123 small arms contacts and was \u2018blown up\u2019 by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on 11 separate occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pretty much spent my entire military service in the firing line, so to speak. It was probably little wonder that I therefore developed what we in the military call \u2018combat trauma\u2019 \u2013 or PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as it\u2019s known in the civilian world.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 34 years of service, Roger was discharged from the military and was faced with the shock of leaving behind the only world he knew.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt pretty lost. It had been my entire life and I had thoroughly enjoyed it and the comradeship that came with it. So it\u2019s fair to say that I found it very hard to adapt back into civilian life and I didn\u2019t really know what to do with myself. I went through various therapy for PTSD, but the trauma never really leaves you. How can it?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Continuing to give back to others<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI wanted to give back in some way and help other veterans, so I got involved with the Change Step charity here in Wales. It\u2019s a great organisation and is all about offering support to veterans and their families and carers. Much of this involves helping them access support services, especially for those experiencing trauma and stress-related issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to do veteran to veteran mentoring, seeing people in person on a one-to-one basis and I quickly found veterans could relate easily to me as we had shared experiences and they can respect that. I also speak to them on the same level in military terms, which they respond to, rather than a \u2018touchy feely\u2019 approach which just doesn\u2019t work after what many of them have been through.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not often spoken about, but many disabled veterans who find it really hard to adapt to civilian life end up with broken marriages or turn to drugs and alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting a new chapter with the OU\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Open

Roger studying for his OU degree at home<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2020, Roger was deservedly awarded a prestigious silver Welsh Veterans Awards Certificate for his selfless work in helping other veterans. With a new-found purpose, his friends suggested the OU could help Roger boost his skills even further.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be considered as I\u2019ve never been academic, but I needed that second chance to build something worthwhile for the rest of my life, so I applied to the OU\u2019s Disabled Veterans\u2019 Scholarships Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Scholarships Fund was specially created by the OU to fully support disabled veterans injured in or due to service as they transition to civilian life. It enables brave veterans like Roger to benefit from free education and wraparound disability and careers support so they can find a new path in life and rewrite their futures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was absolutely elated when I got accepted and can\u2019t tell you how immensely grateful I am to the OU. I won\u2019t lie, the studying can be hard. I\u2019m studying for a BSc in Psychology and have just started my second year where I\u2019m focusing on therapy. The OU give you great support and I\u2019m really enjoying it. It\u2019s already helping me a lot with my ongoing work with Change Step.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy message to the OU\u2019s donors is that my gratitude is immense and please keep donating so that others can benefit too.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can help more disabled veterans to rewrite their futures<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Scholarships are only possible due to the incredible generosity of the OU family. As part of this week\u2019s Big Give fundraising challenge, until midday on Tuesday 7th<\/sup> December, all donations to the OU\u2019s Disabled Veterans\u2019 Scholarships Fund will be doubled \u2013 so every gift goes twice as far.<\/p>\n

To learn more about OU scholarships and why brave servicemen and women deserve a second chance to change their lives, visit the OU\u2019s Big Give page<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veteran Roger Lees spent his military career literally putting his life on the line to protect others. So when the constant strain of combat missions left him unable to serve, he was left feeling lost and unsure what his future would hold. With the support of an Open University scholarship, Roger originally from Birmingham, now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19852,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1525,1640,1643],"class_list":["post-19846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home","tag-ou-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}