LMU Alumna Counsels Norwalk Veterans

Jennifer Gracian, M.A. ’26, spent her senior year at Southeast Academy Military & Law Enforcement High School in Norwalk and once considered joining the armed forces, Loyola Marymount University said in a July 8 profile. Instead, Gracian entered counseling and now works with veterans navigating trauma, mental health challenges and the shift to civilian life, according to the university. During a year-long internship with U.S. VETS, she connected student veterans at Cerritos College and Long Beach City College with mental health resources and rebuilt a women’s peer-support group that had gone inactive. ### How did a Norwalk student end up working in veteran mental health? Southeast Academy in Norwalk is a public military and law-enforcement high school in the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, and LMU said Gracian attended the school during her senior year. The university said that experience helped shape a lasting interest in military service members and veterans even though she did not enlist. (newsroom.lmu.edu) Gracian told LMU she has “deep admiration and respect” for active military members and veterans. She said many do not seek mental health care because they fear being seen as weak or incapable, and she said that belief is wrong. ### What did she do during her internship with U.S. VETS? U.S. VETS was Gracian’s internship site while she was enrolled in LMU’s counseling program on the LPCC track, the university said. (newsroom.lmu.edu) LMU described U.S. VETS as the nation’s largest nonprofit serving veterans through housing, mental health care, suicide prevention and workforce development. Her first assignment was outreach to student veterans at Cerritos College and Long Beach City College, according to LMU. Gracian said trust did not come quickly because of stigma around mental health care, and she told the university that it took about a month before veterans began coming in to talk. LMU said Gracian ultimately connected 35 student veterans with support during that internship. (newsroom.lmu.edu) The university said she used grassroots outreach strategies and her own background at a military-style high school to build relationships with students. ### What changed for women veterans in the program? Women Vets on Point, a virtual support group for women who served, had gone inactive before Gracian revived it, LMU said. (newsroom.lmu.edu) The university said she built a six-week counseling curriculum, recruited participants from around the country and coordinated guest speakers for the group. William Parham, a professor of counseling and director of LMU’s Center for Trauma Informed Education, was among the guest speakers Gracian brought into the sessions, according to LMU. That detail ties her work to LMU’s broader trauma-informed training efforts, though the university profile focused on her direct counseling and outreach work rather than announcing a new program. (newsroom.lmu.edu) ### Why does the story focus so much on access to care? California was home to more than 1.8 million veterans in the 2020 census, LMU said in the profile. The university also said nearly one in three veterans nationwide experience depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, while many do not pursue care because of stigma, limited access to providers, or both. (newsroom.lmu.edu) Those barriers shaped the way Gracian approached the work, according to her comments to LMU. She said veterans’ reluctance to seek care often comes from fear of judgment, and her internship work centered on meeting veterans where they were and building enough trust for them to accept referrals and counseling support. (newsroom.lmu.edu) ### What comes next for Gracian? Gracian is now a finalist for a full-time counseling position with U.S. VETS, LMU said on July 8. She told the university that although her career did not lead to direct military service, supporting veterans as a mental health counselor “just feels right.” July 8 is also the date of LMU’s published profile, which is the current public account of her work and next step. (newsroom.lmu.edu) The university said Gracian hopes to continue the counseling and support-group work she began as a graduate student if she joins U.S. VETS full time.