Fall 2008 - Issue 1

The Silversword: Home > Chaminade Life > Students Missing Loved Ones Overseas

Students Missing Loved Ones Overseas

Arielle Salvador, Staff Writer

For many students, attending a college in Hawaii means moving away from their family, friends, and the life they were accustomed to at home. They have to adjust to a new atmosphere and being away from the people they love. Students with loved ones in the armed forces share in these feelings and have anxiety because they are separated from them.

Numerous students attending Chaminade have relatives, spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and friends serving overseas. They go through the same struggles as other college students, plus the added stress of worrying about their loves ones. These students have dual roles because they have to provide for themselves, worry about everyday expenses, and worry about the safety of their loves ones overseas.

"You never get used to them having to leave," says senior Simrin Herrington. "As time has gone on, it sunk in that he's really gone."

Herrington's husband, Cpl. Scott Herrington, is serving his second deployment in Iraq as a Marine. She says it's tough being away from him while trying to concentrate on her schoolwork.

"It's very distracting," she said. "Sometimes you get in those depressed moods where all you can do it think about them, or you just miss them so much that you have no motivation to do anything."

One of the main obstacles that these students face is lack of communication. Communicating with the soldiers overseas is sometimes impossible because phone and Internet access is limited. Most of the time letters are the best way to keep in touch.

"He calls as much as he can but it can be weeks at a time without hearing from him, " says Herrington. "[During] his last deployment, letters were our life line."

Katherine Carlisle, a senior at Chaminade, says, "It's hard because everyone has emotional needs and we all need someone to talk to at times. The worst part about it is knowing that he is that person for me, but because of the communication barriers that come with the long distance, I can't even have him there to fulfill that need."

Carlisle's boyfriend, Cpl. Tyler Goff, was deployed to Iraq in August and will not return until March 2009. He is also a Marine. The deployment for the Marine Corp is usually a seven-month period.

Although time away from loved ones can be hard, there are always other people around to show support.

"I have great friends and family who support us," says Herrington. "They are there for me and I also have school and work to try and keep me busy."