SAN DIEGO ( CNN ) -- `` When I got out of the Army , I did not want to talk about my war experience , '' said Angela Kozak , currently a speech pathology student at San Diego State University . The transition from war zone to classroom was not easy for the 30-something-year-old veteran . `` The first semester I came here , I was kind of stand-offish . I did n't get involved in anything . I was n't really clicking with the people in my classes . They were 19 , 20 , 21 years old , '' she said . Things changed when she discovered the SDSU Veterans Center , where she met men and women with similar life experiences . `` It 's made my college experience a hundred times better , '' she said . San Diego State University is one of the first in the country to provide a single location on campus where veterans can access their benefits , meet others with common military backgrounds , and even relax and play Xbox . The staff at the Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center does everything from helping coordinate psychological counseling for veterans who might need it , to managing the nation 's first on-campus housing reserved exclusively for veterans . `` Veterans have these shared life experiences , issues that they might be dealing with that only they can understand because they 've lived it , '' said Joan Putnam , the director of the SDSU Veterans center . The students have been stopping by this week to enjoy the `` bunker , '' a lounge at the center with one wall covered in camouflage netting and providing coffee , tea and snacks during finals . As the war winds down in Iraq and many men and women are retiring from the military , San Diego State recognizes a need to serve this type of student . Nationally , about 450,000 people used the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits for college this fall , according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs . `` We are anticipating that the people who are taking advantage of the Post 9/11 GI Bill over the course of the next several years will rise as we draw down and people get out of the services , '' said Curtis Coy , undersecretary for economic opportunity at the Department of Veterans Affairs . `` The numbers are absolutely going up , '' said Keith Wilson , the educational services director of the VA . Since 2009 -- the first year for the Post 9/11 GI Bill -- the number of participants has increased by 50 % . Share your Iraq war stories . The SDSU Veterans Center currently serves around a thousand students and is a selling point for the university to attract even more student veterans . `` I knew that leaving the military , I personally wanted a little bit of a safety net , '' said Holly Shaffner , who retired from the Coast Guard at the end of October after 24 years in the service . `` I knew that San Diego was a big veteran 's community so I chose to come to San Diego State . '' Like Kozak , Shaffner felt she was different from the younger students who do n't share her background . `` They do n't have the same maturity level , the same goals , the same vision for the class , '' she said . `` I sit at the head of the class . I 'm studious . I take notes . Their principles are n't the same right now . '' `` Veterans are not your typical kid right out of high school . They are disciplined . So there 's lots of those sort of nuanced reasons why school would want to have veterans on campus , '' said Coy . The American Council on Education surveyed 723 colleges and universities in 2009 and found that 65 % of the respondents who offered services to veterans and military personnel prior to September 11 , 2001 , had increased their emphasis on those services since that time . This included adding new programs for military and veterans , and marketing and outreach strategies aimed at those groups . Todd Kennedy retired from the Marine Corps after a 22-year military career . He served in Desert Storm in 1991 , and Restore Hope in Somalia in 1992 . He did two tours in Iraq in 2006 and 2009 . The history major decided to retire in November 2010 while serving in Afghanistan , and he started the college entrance paperwork process before returning to the United States . Kennedy says the SDSU Veterans Center has been a big help as he moves into the next chapter in his life . Whether they are 22 years old or 32 years old , the veterans all share a common bond , Kennedy said . `` If something is bugging you , you 've got someone who speaks the same language , so it 's been a really good transition tool , '' he said .
College : About 450,000 people received Post 9/11 Patriot Bill benefits for college this year . The transition from war zone to community has not been easy for many veterans . San Diego State University has a Veterans Center to help with that transition . ` ` Veterans have these shared life experiences , '' says the center 's director .