Students Returning From War Zones Inspire MCCC Professor

Seeing military return to school after returning from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan inspired a Montgomery County Community College professor to learn more.

And, in the process, assistant psychology professor Ann Marie Donohue's students have taught her some lessons along the way. Donohue is dedicated to the reintegration of military veterans into civilian society. She organized the regional conference “Pathways Home” for veterans and their supporters, and she co-facilitates efforts to honor the military service of the college’s students, faculty and staff throughout the year.

“My work with veterans was sparked by students who were veterans returning to school after service in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Donohue said. “My first effort was to find out from them how it was to be here, back in school, after serving in a war zone. They inspired me to learn everything I could about the challenges of that transition and the role that we in the civilian community have (and should have) in that process.”

Donohue helped to establish the Student Veterans Organization and serves as the group’s advisor. Her outreach to student veterans and military personnel has helped MCCC earn a national ranking in the top 15 percent of military-friendly schools over the past two years. 

“What matters most to me, personally, are the small breakthroughs that happen along the way,” Donohue said. “A study group I started for some of my adult students returning to school is one example.”

The students met weekly, generating their own questions and topics.

“I saw learning and grades improve,” she said. “At the last meeting, they gathered and I sat expectantly waiting for questions as the students talked in pairs or small groups. I was puzzled when no questions came. Then I realized that they were asking and answering the questions among themselves. They were teaching one another. They had learned how to learn without me. I have never had greater satisfaction as a teacher.”      

Each year, a faculty member is selected by his or her peers, students and alumni to receive the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, funded by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation of Philadelphia, which provides grants to institutions of higher education for the promotion of teaching excellence.

Donohue received the 2011 Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award during Montgomery County Community College’s recent commencement ceremony.

 “What means most to me is the confirmation that my work — as an educator and on behalf of our students who are veterans — is valued as a contribution to the college,” Donohue said in an email. “Of special importance to me is acknowledgement of my efforts on behalf of military veterans, because it affirms that they are valued and respected for their service to our country and as members of the college community.”  

In presenting the award, MCCC’s Victoria Bastecki-Perez cited a letter of nomination one of Donohue’s students wrote.

"The best thing about Dr. Donohue is her ability to help everyone understand the material. She is a very friendly, helpful, patient teacher who genuinely cares about the subject and knows how to effectively communicate it to students.”

Donohue, who earned a B.A. in psychology at La Salle University and an M.S. Ed and Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, joined the faculty at Montgomery County Community College in 2001.

She called working with veterans a "privilege."

“Our respect, our welcome, our efforts at understanding are important not only for the sake of the veterans but for ourselves and the society that we represent to them, Donohue said. “Working with veterans has taught me much and deepened my appreciation for what it means to be a citizen of this country.”