George served three tours in Iraq, spending 12 years in the Army before leaving in 2014. He considers his time in the military sometimes great, sometimes difficult, but always rich in connections to his fellow soldiers. “Those bonds will never be broken,” he said.

And it was the sense of connection that drew him to enroll in the Clemente Course in Seattle in 2017. He met Jeb Wyman, the program’s academic director, through another veteran and realized Clemente offered an environment where he’d feel comfortable as a nontraditional student.

“I wanted to be around other veterans because the transition out of the military is not easy,” he said. “When I got out I felt kind of lost, but reconnecting with other veterans and working on things that they were teaching us in Clemente helped us put our head together like when we were in the military.”

The class was a community, and the material, whether or not it connected directly to the military, always gave students an opportunity to think deeply about their lives. George says that in particular, the art history classes surprised them for how they opened up opportunities for self reflection. While learning how to interpret works of art like paintings by Rembrandt and Velazquez, the students were also learning how to think visually. In one exercise, they made masks.

Veterans made masks in the art history class

It was an an assignment with particular resonance to the veterans. George explained, “Sometimes we all have to put on a different face when we are confronted with traumatic or fearful things in life. But you learned it’s okay to wear a different face. You still remain who you are.”

Clemente helped him see beyond his own masks, and it’s also helped him share his story with other people. He speaks publically now, talking openly about his experiences with fellow psychology students at Seattle Central College and larger groups in the community. In many ways, it’s all part of his work helping people who have faced difficult times.