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Did you know that Longwood University is one of the only schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia that has a Student Veterans group? In the next couple of years, the number of student veterans on college campuses is going to increase immensely and every university should have a group like this on campus to better help these student veterans transition to their civilian life. Longwood University has had this organization for a year now and it is all thanks to one brave gentlemen, Greg Serwo. As a student veteran himself, Greg Serwo attends Longwood University and plans to graduate in May 2010. As a former active duty Marine and current Air Reserves man, Greg wanted to get involved with student veteran issues.
While transitioning to campus, Greg realized that there was no veteran-specific support available at Longwood University. It all started in the Summer of 2008 because of an assignment for Ms. Mary Caroll-Hackett's English 400 class, Greg wrote a proposal to start a program on campus for student veterans. After having experienced the struggle of transitioning back into student and civilian life himself, he wanted to help student vets make a smoother transition back to their studies. He then took it one step farther and worked to pitch the idea to Longwood University's President, Dr. Cormier. Dr. Cormier then assisted in introducing Greg to Mr. Tom DeWitt, who sits on the Board of Directors for The Aurora Foundation, which was created in October 2008 to help student veterans receive the support they need on campus.
Greg knew what it was going to take to get a Student Veteran Association created on campus. His initial goal is to hit close to home and then slowly broaden and expand as he reached out to more veterans. He intends to start small on campus and eventually expand the efforts to Walter Reed and the D.C. Metro hospitals where he will continue to support veterans. He wants to help other vets realize what opportunities lie ahead for them--starting with the G.I. Bill and going to college.
At Longwood, there are currently 12 people in the Longwood Student Veterans group (LSV). Because most students are unaware of the existence of the LSV on campus, they held their first Veterans Day Event in 2008 to help get the word out. This event was held in hope of establishing campus-wide support for the student veterans at Longwood University.
During this summer's Orientation, Susan Stinson, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran herself, hosted a table advertising the group, which made both students and their parents more aware of what support is now available for student veterans. Since the beginning, Greg Serwo has received a lot of support in creating the Longwood Student Veterans group. In the future, Greg hopes that the Longwood Student Veterans will continue to expand on Longwood's campus. These are the goals for the future:
• Veteran Housing: located within the university's off-campus housing community.
• Student Veteran Center: a place for all student-vets to hang out, a meeting place for the LSV, a computer lab, and the main office would be located here.
• Main Office/Point of Contact: a Main Point of Contact needs to be identified so that all student veterans are being directed to the same location time after time. This person will be located on campus at all times and their position would deal primarily with student veterans and their needs.
• A VA Representative: Student Veterans need someone from the VA on campus at least once a semester. They want a trained person coming in to answer questions and lend support, etc.
• Crisis Counseling: A much needed resource for all veterans and their family members on campus. This will put someone on campus/in town for students to turn to when necessary and eventually, the LSV students would like to have group counseling available.
• Boots to Books: Longwood University requires that all students take a Seminar Class (LSEM) as a first year student. Susan Stinson has been certified to teach a Boots to Books LSEM Course. It is going to be veteran-related but anyone can take the course. It will discuss transitioning to campus and making other students more aware of veterans. She hopes to offer the course in the Fall of 2010.
As you can see, the Longwood Student Veterans have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time and they are hoping to continue to excel in years to come. I would like to give a well-deserved pat on the back to Greg Serwo for all of his hard work with the Student Veteran Association. Be sure to read the next article to learn about how you can create an SVA on campus just like Greg Serwo did at Longwood University.
In 2008, SNVC created The Aurora Foundation to help address the needs of veterans as they take advantage of the new GI Bill and return to college. SNVC's Founder and current President/CEO is a veteran himself, and he attributes his own success to his academic and military career. Today, The Aurora Foundation is led by an experienced Board of Directors which is focused on the mission to "enable veterans to successfully graduate from college and enter the workforce."
We are focused on serving those who serve others...
Be sure to follow Aurora on Twitter @VetNetUSA.
Become a Fan of The Aurora Foundation on Facebook here http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Aurora-Foundation/116474360109
http://www.aurora4vets.org is currently under construction.
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