A group of Texas State student veterans recently gathered to celebrate the launch of the Journal of Interactive Veteran Experiences (JIVE)! This innovative digital journal shares the stories and experiences of the student veterans through an interactive immersive storytelling platform. The event highlighted student veteran and military-connected authors in the newly opened ALIAS Virtual Production Studio.
On Thursday, Sept. 5th, the JIVE Editorial Team launched and celebrated the publication which was created to be a space to bridge the barriers for undergraduate and graduate student publications in an academic landscape, a space where student veterans explore their narrative identity without consequence, and a space for veterans to engage in discourse with the public on their own terms.
From its inception, JIVE’s goals have been:
- Fostering inclusivity in publishing practices for students and Veterans
- Bridging the gap between veterans’ experiences and the community’s understanding of these experiences to foster greater empathy and connection
- Facilitating freedom of expression for students to explore various styles of storytelling
- Attempting to capture the full spectrum of the military experience
The JIVE team comprises:
- Dr. Heriberto Arambula, Editor in Chief, a PhD graduate of Texas State, a Pat Tillman scholar, and a combat veteran
- Kristin Van Diest, Journal Manager and Head of Special Collections and Archives at Texas State University
- Dr. Khoi Nguyen, Lead Technologist for our project and the Head of Emerging Technologies at Texas State University Libraries
The Advisory Board is made-up of Dr. Katherine Selber, professor in the School of Social Work; Dr. Kelly Clary, assistant professor at the School of Social Work; Jessica Dunn, a PhD student, director of the Texas State University business ambassador program, and a veteran; as well as Alfredo Pinto, assistant director of collection strategies at Texas State University Libraries, and a veteran.
Some 50 attendees including student veterans, allies, and current and former staff, community members, and representatives from various campus entities such as, the Veterans Academic Success Center (VASC), the Veterans Alliance of Texas State (VATS) Executive Leadership Team, and Dr. Jesse Silva, Assoc. Director of Operations and Assessment. All were treated to a reception and event that included a highlight reel of stories from this year’s publication. Attendees got a sneak preview of the Alkek Laboratory for Immersive Arts and Sciences (ALIAS) gallery, Alkek One’s immersive storytelling technology lab also which showcased interactive sculptures. This new gallery is set to open in 2025. During the reception, devices were made available to view and listen to the inaugural edition of JIVE.
The event introduction was made by Vice Provost & University Librarian, Dr. Kelly Visnak who acknowledged the JIVE Team and student author/contributors to JIVE, adding that this is an important project for our veterans and for our wider community — underscoring the importance of collaboration and connectivity.
Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Heriberto Arambula provided the journal overview and touched on the importance of creating the spaces for vets to share express themselves, fighting against veteran suicide and the importance of community in the sharing of stories. Dr. Arambula’s dissertation studied the impact of storytelling on the veteran healing experience, and asked how we can create space for students to express themselves, using higher learning as a resource for the veteran community. JIVE may be considered a response to these questions.
The VATS President, Jessica Dunn also spoke of the student Veteran experience, giving recognition to departing VATS president, Rob Younce, and speaking to the year ahead.
Closing remarks were made by Dr. Khoi Nguyen. Dr. Nguyen’s formulas are highly mathematical and were used to create the code required for the immersive stories using spherical coordinates and three-dimensional gradients, to only name a couple of techniques. Graduate student assistant, Praveen Sana then entered the code to produce some of the interactive digital content. Nguyen could not help, but to get emotional as he expressed his passion for engaging with these impactful stories through interviews and conversations with the student contributors. Nguyen added that the mathematical formulas and the intellectual side will never bring him to tears, but the stories remind him of the humanity of this project.
The Journal of Interactive Veteran Experiences is made possible through grants provided by the Alkek Foundation and the Unity Technologies Social Impact Grant.
JIVE website: https://jive-ojs-txstate.tdl.org/jive/index
Sign up to receive email notifications from the website here: https://jive-ojs-txstate.tdl.org/jive/user/register?source=
This article was contributed by UL’s Assistant Director of Collection Strategies Alfredo Pinto.