A Deep Dive with Desiree Drindak, Director of Veteran and Military Resource Center

Desiree Drindak, military spouse and director of the Veteran and Military Resource Center, has worked at Empire State University for 18 years. Her background in military education and personal experiences in military family life make her a compassionate support figure for the military and veteran families that form part of the SUNY Empire community. Through educational programming, community events, and individualized support, Drindak uplifts this student population and fosters an inclusive environment.

Drindak’s image on the screen is glazed by bright, natural light. Her long hair is in a low ponytail draped over her left shoulder. She wears drop earrings with a lozenge-cut lilac stone held in place by an intricate silver frame, and a blue SUNY Empire lanyard around her neck.

Irigoyen: Do you like working here?

Drindak: I do. I tell people all the time that I have the best job. I’ve worked in military education basically my entire career, I believe in the mission of Empire State University, and that we are a great fit for military and veteran students and their families.

Irigoyen: Can you tell me a bit about how you grew up?

Drindak: I am a first-generation college student. I grew up here in the Capital District, and I went to Burnt Hills High School. My husband is also from Burnt Hills; we grew up together and will celebrate our 26^th wedding anniversary in December. Not only did my husband and I grow up together—I’ve known him since the third grade, though we did not date until after college—but I also met my best friend in the second grade. I have two staples that have known me almost my entire life.

I have a lot of family that is not actually blood-related to me that I spend the most time with. Family can be defined in a variety of ways, but I think having a best friend and a husband that have known me my entire life, make me have a comfort that a lot of people don’t necessarily have throughout their lifetime. I appreciate and value the fact that I have had them through the ups and downs of life.

Her eyebrows raise to convey emphasis. She continues:

Drindak: I finished my master’s degree before I got married, but as a military spouse, I had a really hard time finding a job. Although I had fantastic mentors and a support system in the space I was in before I graduated and got married, it did not help me in learning to be a military spouse or understanding the commitment I had just made beyond committing to my husband.

I did a lot of temping and side jobs—anything I could do to pay my student loans—because I could not get hired until someone gave me a chance. That was, for me, the Navy College Office at Norfolk, Virginia, which would have been probably three years after I got married and my husband had moved to his first official duty station.

At that time, I’d had an opportunity to go into more traditional higher education, and I made the decision to move into military education to work as a Navy college counselor. So, I took a route intentionally to work on the Navy base and ended up getting laid off through government contracts about eight weeks after. But, in those eight weeks, I connected with another university who was looking to hire a part-time representative for the area … and I worked for them.

 From a career stance, they gave me my start. It was a brand-new program, brand new role at the university in the Norfolk area, and it was basically mine to build. By the time I left, there were two other full-time people who worked in the area, so it was a great opportunity. I think it helped with my ability to be adaptable and flexible, and I also found a passion in assisting military members working on active-duty bases.

I worked there for about four years, and then my husband got deployed and my mother got sick.

The emotional weight of the memory feels tangible. 

Drindak: That’s a moment in time that is very hard to swallow … I made the decision to move home with my daughter. My husband was deployed for two years straight, and my mother had cancer, so I came home, and I was able to support her.

There are sometimes blessings in your life that you don’t see as blessings when you get them. But, if my husband hadn’t been deployed, I would not have been able to come home and be with my mom—my mother is fine, she is cancer-free now. There were two very hard things happening, and something which one would never want to have to experience allowed me to do something that I would not have been able to do for my mother.

That’s how we ended up back here in New York—when my husband finished his deployment, we made the decision that he would go reserve instead of active duty. I was here and had community when he was deployed … I really appreciate and value the people that I work with because they were what I needed at that time.

All the care she received from her community, and all it meant to her, comes through in her voice.

Drindak: Because of my background in military education, I came to Empire State University as a pre-enrollment advisor—the first pre-enrollment advisor to be hired alongside Diana Centanni in the Center for Distance Learning. Then, I became a military advisor and also reviewed prior learning assessments (PLAs).

When the university created the Office of Veteran and Military Education, once the GI Bill was instated, I got pulled into this new office under the leadership of Linda Frank … it became a college-wide initiative. We were an office within the Center for Distance Learning, and then became a college-wide office. I was an academic program coordinator and had oversight of our outreach and recruitment. When Linda retired, I became interim, and then eventually, director of the Office of Veteran and Military Education.

We launched the VMRC two years ago, and have broadened our scope to support not only the educational pursuits of our military and veteran families, but to support community engagement and veteran’s organizations within our community.

Irigoyen: Thank you for sharing. What is one valuable lesson you’ve learned through being on this path?

She takes a moment to absorb the question, which catches her off guard.

Drindak: The first thing is that every day is a blessing, because life changes instantly. The reality is there are a lot of emotions that go into being a military family. There’s so much that you give of yourself—I think you have to take advantage of being with your friends, family, and blessings.

For me, it’s also about enjoying the work that I do … and being as positive as you can, making the best of difficult situations, which also means being adaptable, and flexible, and trying to do the best you can regardless of the situation. There’s a lot we can be grateful for, even when there are a lot of challenges.

Irigoyen: That is why the work you are doing is so important—because you are holding so much for so many people, and for this community. It sounds like it’s all about found family, and the strength of that community.

Drindak: We have our Navy family, which we met during our first duty station and our husbands all ended up being at school together, but even now, 25 years later, we still all get together—we are a Navy family.

You find the family where you can be supported—especially within a military community—that becomes your own. That becomes your life … that you choose, but you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting yourself into when you start this roller coaster of a life.

Irigoyen: Could you tell me what your proudest achievement is at Empire State University?

Drindak: The VMRC for sure.  We have a great team and the opportunity to be able to build this space for our students, but also for our community, is making an impact in a way that I never thought possible previously … I have an amazing team, so I think that combination makes a big difference in being excited about coming to work—the energy we have and how excited people get when they come here … they’re always so appreciative of this beautiful space we have. So, to me, I think it’s the VMRC and being able to launch that and broaden our umbrella, the scope of services that we provide to military and veteran families.

Irigoyen: What needs do you see in the military and veteran community and how does your work at the university aim to help?

Drindak: The UNITE Professional Development Series, which is supported by a foundation grant. Four years ago, we brought in a speaker, and it was a professional development series … part of the Unite series is about engaging our virtual campus community to be embedded into the work that we are doing at the VMRC—hearing student stories, honoring our students, learning about the resources that are there.

It’s about encouraging people to learn and engage at their own pace, but also hit those five pillars within the UNITE series, which are: understand, nurture, inspire, transition, and empower.

She explains some more of her office’s programming, and mentions a video resource for spreading awareness about military and veteran life: 15 Things Veterans Want You to Know. The video’s aim is to educate those outside the military and veteran community on how to engage with those who form part of it while keeping care and respect at the forefront. 

Drindak: It’s a great baseline training.

Irigoyen: What is the most important advice you give to military and veteran students?

Drindak: You can do it. It’s more about breaking down that barrier in your mind. That’s what I tell people: you can do this, and we are here for you. We’re going to support you … most of our students are coming with some college experience, they are extraordinarily capable and they are excellent students. Sometimes they just need that little extra push to say, you can do this, this is worth it—you have the ability and capability.

Irigoyen: Encouragement and support take people very far.

Drindak: And, it could be that you’re closer than you think.

Irigoyen: Especially with the emphasis on credit for prior learning (CPL) here, and programs sometimes accepting work experience for college credit. We really work with what students have going on, and more often than not, they have more than they think.

What do you hope those who interact with your office leave with?

Drindak: Our goal is to build community. Something has that has definitely been working is spending a lot of time over the last year and a half is building out our chapter of Student Veterans of America (SVA). Building that community is something that is extraordinarily challenging in a virtual environment for people who are typically working full-time and have families

Community, to a military person, is extremely important, and from a retention perspective, it’s also important to feel connected. We want them to feel connected not just to the university, but to their fellow students. Developing that community within the student club, and knowing that we, the VMRC, are here, shows they have a lot of people they can lean on as they pursue their degree. We also get a lot of engagement from our alumni, who are typically included in our programming because of that community aspect.

Irigoyen: If you could do it all over again, what would you tell yourself?

The question stirs emotion in Drindak, whose journey has been difficult but rewarding.

Drindak: As challenging as it’s been, I would do it all again, because I have a beautiful family and my daughter is the light of my life. So, I guess probably the same thing I tell students: You can do it. You’re going to make it. It’s going to be okay. That would be the advice, because no military spouse ever goes into this knowing what they’re actually going to experience. But you’re going to make it, and it’s worth it, so keep on moving forward and it’ll all come together in the end.

Irigoyen: It sounds like that community will also be there to support that.

Drindak: 100 percent. That family—whether blood or not—is going to be there to support you through it. Having those friends, that family, a good community around you… it makes all the difference.

Irigoyen: Are you ready for the final question?

We both laugh. Throughout the interview, we’ve learned that sometimes, a well-intentioned question can make unexpected emotion surface.

Drindak: I hope so.

I reassure her that this will be a fun one.

Irigoyen: Tell me something about yourself that most people do not expect—something people would find surprising about you.

Drindak: See, this is the fun question, and also the hardest question … I love photography. It’s probably why I comment to Joe O’Dea how fantastic he is. I love taking pictures, being outside in nature, hiking. I live in the woods, so to me, that’s not necessarily surprising, but that creative side isn’t something people usually see … I love hummingbirds. Maybe that’s my thing—I have five different hummingbird feeders. I love having lots of flowers on my porch and hummingbirds through the summer.

Irigoyen: Do you have a favorite photo?

Drindak: My best pictures are when I’ve taken a picture of my daughter and she is actually smiling … when you can get a genuine emotion, you can really capture the moment.