About Janice Semmel

Janice Semmel obtained her journalism certificate from Paradise Valley Community College in May 2008. She continued to take classes at PVCC and during a Writing for Online Media class started a Twitter account and began to write blogs.

After following @milblogging, Semmel began to follow and converse with active military personnel and veterans. These men and women became very important to her. She got to talk to these warriors as they deployed to Afghanistan, and they documented their time in blogs like @AfghanTim’s blog and @majbc1′s blog. Other veterans and supporters also became friends, and she followed other veterans like @ernhrtfan an avid NASCAR fan and graphic designer.

She looked forward to Mondays when the hashtag #MilitaryMonday sent out a tribute to troops and military supporters. At PVCC,  Semmel began to write the Veteran’s Corner each month in the PVCC Puma Press newspaper. She attended meetings and listened to the veterans and their concerns as they entered the college system and trained for new careers. She learned that veterans centers provided a secure environment for the veterans and participated in a campaign to bring a center to campus. She researched and wrote about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and found PVCC counselors ready to help veterans.

Semmel read and cried through many well written books on warriors’ journeys through their deployments and the problems they faced on their return home. She also attended and photographed dedications of memorials. By writing this blog, Semmel hopes to share some of the people, places and things she learned about as she supports all veterans.