History of the Student Veteran Association at PSU The Student Veteran Association (SVA) at Portland State University was founded in Spring Term of 2006 by a small group of veterans with the purpose of bringing those with military experience together to form an organization that would provide social networks, advocacy and a sense of community based on their military service. In the time that followed the SVA has been engaged in numerous projects designed to bring about those goals. As an organization, we continue to grow every year both in numbers and accomplishments. Some of our achievements include: - Student Leader of the Year (SVA President Jake Meeks, 2006-2007)
- Student Group of the Year (2007-2008)
- Student Event of the Year (“The Telling,” 2009-2010)
- Certificate of Appreciation from the Sexuality and Gender Equality (SAGE) Taskforce for our work in the 2009-2010 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Forums
The SVA was established during a time where the necessity for support is ever important due to the high number of veterans returning from combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are specific issues that the SVA tries to address on behalf of service members who are transitioning from the military into an educational setting. However, the SVA serves all former military personnel (including foreign military,) families and anyone interested in wishing to learn more about military service. The SVA is not a recruiting office, and we do not intend to influence anyone to join any of the military branches. The SVA serves the largest student veteran population in the Oregon University System. On average per term there are around 500 veterans and family members receiving educational benefits. That number does not include the number of veterans who aren’t receiving Veterans Affairs benefits or have expired benefits. The SVA has been involved in a number of projects since its inception. The first, and maybe most important, is connecting veterans to each other and the community at PSU. We have built up a mailing list of over 300 veterans to announce events and other information that is useful to this community. In addition we have held bi-weekly meetings every term and after these meetings we generally go out for social gatherings. Some of the projects we have engaged in include raising money for the Oregon National Guard Family Support Program, holding Veterans’ Forums to better educate the school on issues facing veterans, pushing for a Veterans Resource Center and improved services for vets at PSU, connecting vets to outside resources and trying to connect to various other student groups on campus, such as the Muslim Student Association, in order to build more dialogue between our groups and hosting open forms with U.S. Senators and state government officials looking at improving services for vets. In 2008, we established a Scholarship fund with the sole purpose of helping veterans attend college in circumstances where their G.I. Bill does not cover all expenses. In 2009, the SVA scholarship was renamed the Jules Turner Memorial Scholarship after Viking veteran and graduate Jules Turner, an Army veteran who passed away the same year due to health issues. The SVA intends to disperse two $1,000 scholarships every year starting in 2011. The Jules Turner Memorial Scholarship is completely supported by donations, so all donations are appreciated and directly contribute to helping service members. PAST SVA PRESIDENTS: - Jake Meeks, 2005-2007
- Dan McKinley et al., 2008
- Jonathan Sanford, 2008-2009
- Kevin Hershey, 2009-2010
- Jesse O’Brien, 2010
- Cody Noren, 2011
- Dave Christensen, (currently serving)
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