It was a busy year for Michael Verlezza, ’14, who recently returned from Canada where he conducted research on veterans health issues courtesy of a Fulbright Student Award.
He’s the first Bridgewater student to have earned this honor since 1995. The award allowed him to focus on his research and not worry about having to support his growing family, Mr. Verlezza said.
“When you get a grant like this and all you have to do is research, all of a sudden you have 12 extra hours a day,” he said.
The Attleboro resident put that time to good use. Working at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, from September 2014 through this past August, Mr. Verlezza undertook a comparative analysis of the veteran healthcare systems in Canada and the United States. The project included statistical tests to show that spending alone did not control veteran suicide rates in the U.S., which led him to look at other factors, such as the ratio of Veterans Administration employees to veterans served, access to care, and the effect that mission parameters (such as length and location of deployment) have on soldiers’ mental health.
He came away believing that the U.S. needs to do more to support its veterans.
“These are the continuing costs of war,” he said.
The largest areas of opportunity for improvement he found was in the number of V.A. staff, where an increase would likely have a profound effect on the care and mental health of veterans. Closer proximity to V.A. services, and the development of a more comprehensive exit plan for U.S. soldiers might prove to be key factors in helping veterans once they return to the home front.
“For the Canadian veteran, the last few months in the service is spent learning how to be a civilian again. That’s not the case in the U.S.,” Mr. Verlezza said. “Some U.S. vets have less than 36 hours of decompression time before they're back in street clothes.”
The research project was inspired by Mr. Verlezza’s own experience with the V.A. A vet himself, having served with the U.S. Army in Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, who at one point needed medical care, he saw close up the shortcomings in the current U.S. system.
The Fulbright Student Award is administered through the Department of State, with a goal of forging cross-border understanding. While at BSU,Mr. Verlezza double majored in economics and finance and was a Commonwealth Honors student. Dr. Teresa King, director of the Honors Program and the Fulbright Program administrator for BSU, called the Fulbright, “the flagship international educational exchange program of the United States.”
While in Canada, Mr. Verlezza earned his master’s degree in game theory. His wife, Alice Verlezza, now expecting the couple’s first child, accompanied him to Canada. She received a full scholarship at Queens University and obtained her master’s degree in sociology while there. Also a researcher, Ms. Verlezza focused her work on examining attitudes in the U.S. toward maternity leave policies.
All in all, it was an eventful year, Mr. Verlezza said. His research led to a journal article currently in the submission process, and he’s working on his dissertation. Ideally he would like to find a job in a field related to the work he did in Canada. He’s hopeful his research and the work of others in the field may help change U.S. policy on veterans care.
“Anybody in academia is optimistic that it will help bring change,” he said. “But I’m not sure if it’s too big a problem or there’s a lack of political will. People say all the right things about veterans, but little changes.”
Lastly, he encouraged BSU students to apply for the more prestigious awards available.
“The idea that Bridgewater students can’t get these high-level grants and really do a lot of good with their time abroad is just a fallacy,” he said. “There are some real stars here at Bridgewater. It’s a remarkable community that produces a lot of remarkable students. There’s a lot of work to do out there, and it’s going to take people with tenacity, like Bridgewater students, to get it done. (Story and photo by John Winters G ’11, University News & Media)