Friday, May. 15, 2009

Iraq war veteran to put degree to work

By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer

Nick Zaharevich was just a few weeks shy of finishing his first semester in college at Washington State University when he was called for duty in Iraq.

That day -- Nov. 15, 2003 -- sticks in his mind as a turning point that set him on a path toward graduating from WSU Tri-Cities with a psychology degree and a goal to help combat veterans cope with the struggle of readjusting to life back home.

Zaharevich is one of 197 undergraduates who will receive bachelor's degrees from the regional campus at 4 p.m. today at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. Another 47 people will receive master's degrees, and one person will receive a doctorate.

When Zaharevich, 25, started college at WSU Pullman in 2003 his only thoughts were of finding a good job when he graduated. The Waitsburg native, then 18, chose a nursing major because he knew there was a demand for people.

But Iraq changed everything.

Zaharevich spent a year in the war-torn country doing odd administrative tasks for the Washington Army National Guard 81st Brigade as a legal aide.

He was stationed in Baghdad but toward the end of his tour of duty traveled the country working on courts-martial.

He then returned to Fort Lewis before being allowed to go home in April 2005.

It was his own difficulty readjusting to life at home, and the difficulties he saw among his friends, that prompted Zaharevich to change his career path and study psychology.

He returned to Pullman for a semester, but college life just didn't feel the same. It took time before Zaharevich recognized signs of post-traumatic stress in himself.

"Like anybody else who has been in combat, I had experienced high amounts of anxiety," he said. "I had trouble adjusting to normal life. My grades suffered."

He decided to leave the stresses of WSU for Walla Walla Community College, where he could be closer to friends and family and focus on earning an associate's degree.

It took about a year before he felt "normal" again, he said.

"The anxiety has since faded with time," he said. "I have since been able to realize the cause. I experienced anxiety probably caused by post-traumatic stress, but on a level where it took me a year of being home (to recover). Some people never readjust."

Zaharevich learned that being under prolonged stress produces high levels of adrenaline and can actually change the physical structure of the brain.

It takes time for adrenaline levels to return to normal and the brain to repair the damage, a process like withdrawing from a drug addiction, he said.

"The thing with combat stress is it lasts so long, the recovery period is more stretched out," he said.

But because soldiers are taught to be tough and unemotional, many fail to recognize the signs -- nightmares, flashbacks, depression or feeling out of control -- or admit they might need help, he said.

"If they seek treatment, they may see themselves as weak," he said.

But that stigma is breaking down and more soldiers are seeking treatment and being diagnosed.

Zaharevich never got treatment, but he did become educated about the disorder. He got an associate's degree from Walla Walla Community College and transferred to WSU Tri-Cities, where he did research on the intersection between post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder, which present many of the same symptoms.

He plans to study the topic further at Walla Walla University this fall when he starts a master's program. The end goal is to try to identify people whose personality types might make them more prone to experiencing post-traumatic stress and either avoid sending them into combat, or take preventive measures first.

Zaharevich has found other ways to help veterans during his time at WSU Tri-Cities. He took on a work study assignment, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, in which he helped vets on campus find financial aid and other kinds of resources to help them through college.

He has spoken at Veterans Day ceremonies and campus orientations to get the word out about tuition waivers and other programs for vets.

Johan Curtiss, assistant director of student affairs and Zaharevich's boss, said the young man tackled the job with gusto, partly because he had personal experience finding information and applying for himself.

She said his research into veterans' psychology added another dimension to his ability to communicate with students who had served in the military.

"Nick is an outstanding individual," Curtiss said. "He is just a true leader. He's served our campus community and students ... you run out of words because he was such a leader. He could do it all."