Buffalo State College freshmen Stephanie Hopkins and John “J. J.” Wright are 10 years apart in age and living very different lives. Wright, 31, is married with a young daughter and attending school full time, while Hopkins, 21, is just back in town and diving into her studies and her work.

But Hopkins and Wright have far more in common with each other than they have with many of their fellow students. The slender blue-eyed blond and the wiry young man with the close-cropped hair are military veterans, among a growing number of veterans, active-duty service members and veterans’ dependents or survivors hitting the area’s college campuses.

At Buffalo State College, a campus that has always had its share of nontraditional students, some 220 students of the estimated 11,000 on campus are benefiting from the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which expands the assistance to veterans who were on active duty after Sept. 11, 2001. The number of veterans on campus has risen 30 percent from the spring semester, officials said.

These veterans, members of the military and family members “bring a level of excellence and world view that is valuable to all,” said Margaret Shaw-Burnett, assistant vice president of continuing professional studies, who runs an office dedicated to assisting these students. “They bring different perspectives and insights to class discussions. They are students that are driven to success and unknowingly help to guide their peers. They are strong and committed to whatever they do.

“We are honored to have the vets on campus,” she added.

Nathan Rey, 24, a Marine veteran, benefited from the college’s expertise in helping students who must also work around the military bureaucracy. He didn’t get his benefits approval until mid-August, weeks before the start of classes. Keisha

Dobney, a member of the Air Force Reserves and coordinator of Veteran Services at the college, streamlined the enrollment process so Rey could start school on time.

Now Rey is president of the new Buffalo State College Armed Forces Organization, which he says aims “to give the veterans community on campus a home, and a voice,” he says. “That’s our main goal.”

The camaraderie is important to Wright, who served 12z years in the Army, including a deployment to Bosnia and two tours in Iraq. He joined the Army after graduating from Lafayette High School.

A fellow veteran, he says, “will understand the way we talk or the way we act, and we don’t always find that with civilians.” And the student group also provides expertise. “If you’re confused on what steps you need to take to obtain your benefits, or even paperwork here on campus, someone in that group will know, because they have done it,” says Wright.

Hopkins, a senior airman who has been in the Air National Guard since she graduated from Grand Island High School in 2006 at age 17, came to Buff State days after leaving Baghdad. She knew she would miss the first sessions of her classes, so she sent each of her professors an e-mail from Baghdad explaining her situation.

Now, she finds the sudden freedom of scheduling her biggest challenge. “I was so used to having a set work schedule,” Hopkins says. “Literally the whole time I was there [in Baghdad], I worked, slept, ate, gym all on a set schedule.”

Wright, an active member of the student veterans group, splits his days between schoolwork and family. Wright’s wife of seven years, Taneka, 28, is also an Army veteran — they met at Fort Bragg. She served a for six years, until their daughter, Kaelee, now 2, was born.

Wright attends school during the day and his wife works nights for the Internal Revenue Service. He fits homework and class assignment in around “Daddy-daughter time,” he says, and after he graduates with his degree in criminal justice, his wife intends to return to college for her master’s degree.

“I could not have picked a better person — I lucked out,” says Wright, who held the rank of sergeant first class when he was discharged. “She understands and she stood by me all through my deployments.”

Hopkins, the daughter of Bobbi and Mike Hopkins of Grand Island, fills her schedule with classes and work at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. “I don’t really know too many people on campus,” she says. “I don’t boast and brag. I know other people in my situation feel the same way — they want to blend in as part of the student population. I don’t talk about it unless I’m asked, and that’s fine.”

When people do find out about her military background, Hopkins says, “The biggest question they ask is why I joined the military. Every single time I get that question. To this day, it’s hard to answer, because there were many reasons.”

Part of it may be her background. Both of Hopkins’ grandfathers were military pilots — her mother’s father in the U. S. Air National Guard, her father’s father in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Her military service provided unforgettable experiences, she says. “It’s an experience that not everybody gets to have, or not everybody chooses to have,” she says. “It’s something I’ll remember forever. I made wonderful friends and met people from all over the world, and I couldn’t have gotten that being a traditional college student.”

Wright’s reason for joining was simple, he says: “Just because I wanted to serve.” And he retains that goal as he pursues his degree. “I took an oath to protect the Constitution, and just because I’m no longer wearing the uniform, I still feel like I am bound by that oath, so I want to do something to protect this country.”

He admits to the occasional irritation with students in his classes who talk on cell phones, text, come in late, chat with each other and otherwise “waste everybody’s time,” but admits that may be a function of his greater maturity. “I feel a lot older than the other students,” he says ruefully. But overall he is enjoying his college experiences.

“I love going to class,” he says. “I am looking forward to the overall college experience. I feel like I missed out on that. I want something that will help me grow as a person and help my career so I can help my family.”

Wright is taking core classes, many of which are large, so he hasn’t met too many fellow students. “I don’t socialize too much, not yet,” he says. “But who knows, I may get into it.”

Rey, who lives on campus and is majoring in philosophy and criminal justice with the ultimate goal of getting a law degree, has big plans for the student organization, which was revived this year after being dormant since the mid-1980s.

After getting the word out to eligible students, the group plans to do community service work, including collecting comfort items for deployed military members and participating in the Marine Corps Toys for Tots holiday drive.

“Veterans are not the products of war, and shouldn’t be looked at that way,” says Rey. “We’re strong, we’re smart, and we’re the future of this country.”