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Smoothing the road from soldier to student By Stephanie Slepian
November 09, 2009, 6:47AM
JAN SOMMA-HAMMELAdam Gramegna, who served as an infantryman in Iraq, is one of many veterans attending classes at the College of Staten Island. STATEN ISLAND -- Not that long ago, Adam Gramegna was a U.S. infantryman trying to stay alive in Baghdad. But the transition from soldier to civilian was even harder. Nobody back home on Staten Island understood where he'd been, the things he saw. In August, he found people who did in the most unlikeliest of places: A classroom at the College of Staten Island, its peaceful campus far removed from the battles of war. "They really take care of us here," said Gramegna, 29, a Charleston resident, psychology major, philosophy minor and one of 179 student veterans on the Willowbrook campus. This semester, there are 47 more veterans studying at CSI than last, many fresh out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and most taking advantage of the fattened GI Bill -- officially the Post-9/11 GI Bill -- that took effect Aug. 1. Nationwide, more than 400,000 veterans either started school or continued their studies this fall under the bill, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dramatically overhauled by Congress last year, the new measure covers tuition and fees for any in-state public school, a monthly housing allowance and an annual book and supply stipend of up to $1,000 for veterans -- and also for the children of fallen soldiers who died while on active duty.
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