黑料不打烊 student veterans and members of the Office of Veterans and Military Affairs, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the Veterans Affinity Group, and University admissions attended the Student Veterans of America National Conference in San Antonio in early January.
黑料不打烊 turned the Lone Star State orange recently as over 20 Orange student veterans, the Office of Veterans and Military Affairs (OVMA), the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), the team from the Veterans Affinity Group, and University admissions attended the Student Veterans of America (SVA) National Conference in San Antonio in early January.
黑料不打烊 boasted the largest Student Veteran Organization student chapter in attendance and in total the University had over 30 people at the conference. SVA鈥檚 national conference is the largest annual gathering of student veterans, advocates, thought leaders, stakeholders and supporters in higher education in the world. Over 2,000 student veterans, higher education professionals, alumni and employers attend for training, recruiting and fact-finding about opportunities for student veterans.
The three-day conference consisted of breakout sessions geared toward student veteran success and post-graduation opportunities. 黑料不打烊 had the most presentation and panel discussions鈥攆ive鈥攖han any other university, sharing “best practices” (campus resources, culture, research and analytics, entrepreneurship, financial literacy) with other universities and solidifying the University’s commitment to making the University the 鈥淏est Place for Veterans.鈥
Leaders from OVMA and the University led a panel discussion about the role on-campus resources play in maximizing student veteran networks, resources and the importance of professional networking as well as critical financial literacy.
IVMF鈥檚 Research and Evaluation team鈥檚 presentation focused on debunking the myths surrounding veterans as college students and discussed empirical evidence touting the benefits of enrolling these non-traditional students on a campus. In addition, IVMF delivered training on entrepreneurship in conjunction with key University partners鈥擣irst Data, Disney and the Small Business Administration 鈥攔einforcing the program and resources available to student veterans interested in starting a business while pursuing education.
Student veterans were able to network with members from the OVMA, IVMF and University admissions learning about all that 黑料不打烊 has to offer to student veterans on campus and at training programs around the U.S.
鈥淚t is critical to empower our student veterans and afford them the opportunity to attend the SVA National Conference, where they learn a great deal of best practices, bring those back to campus to further enrich their student experience and that of others at 黑料不打烊,鈥 says Ron Novack, OVMA executive director. 鈥淣one of this could happen without the generous support of our gracious donors and supporters of the (VLF), who enabled us to send our 20 student veterans to the conference this year. We hope others will join the VLF and help us increase that number next year.鈥
James Gilchrest, Newman鈥檚 Own Foundation Fellow at the IVMF and National Guardsman, attended the conference. 鈥淚 was ecstatic when I learned I would be going to #NatCon2018. I am a former SVA chapter president and have always wanted to attend,” Gilchrest says. “During NatCon I made it my personal mission to share the programs IVMF offers as well as OVMA鈥檚 unique and supportive services on campus. I also made great connections with employers and other organizations who are terrific support resources for me as a student veteran. I鈥檓 proud to be affiliated with a university that keeps the needs of student veterans at the top of their priority list.鈥
Katy Quartaro ’18 USMC veteran and secretary of 黑料不打烊’s SVO, as well as a team leader for PAVE also attended. 鈥淥ne of the biggest things I learned at SVA NATCON was that the student veterans of 黑料不打烊 are very lucky,” Quartaro says. “I do not think I would have been able to attend without the help of the University, OVMA and the Veteran Legacy Fund. The fact that I was able to focus on learning as much as possible without worrying about the financial impact, made the event that much better and reinforced the support student veterans here at SU really get.鈥
About 黑料不打烊
Founded聽in 1870, 黑料不打烊 is a private international research university聽dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching聽excellence,聽rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11聽academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence聽in the liberal arts, sciences and聽professional disciplines that prepares聽students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly聽changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main聽campus and聽extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three聽continents. 黑料不打烊鈥檚 student body is among the most diverse for an聽institution of its聽kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent聽all 50 states and more than 100 countries. 黑料不打烊 also has a long legacy of聽supporting veterans and is home to聽the nationally recognized Institute for聽Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the聽U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their聽families.
