| Guardsman mentors student veterans on campus By Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum National Guard Bureau ARLINGTON, Va., (7/28/09) – With the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill recently enacted, many college campuses are anticipating the fall semester to be flooded with students who are also war veterans. And, in typical military fashion, current students who are servicemembers are also preparing for the influx. The Student Veterans of America, a national student volunteer organization, provides an opportunity for veterans to come together to ask questions about benefits, advocate for veterans issues on campus, tell the story of the modern Soldier to other college students as members of the group, and relive that intangible bond of being in military service. “Until you get out of the military, you don’t realize the brotherhood that you have with (military) folks,” said Chief Warrant Officer Travis Wright, a graduate student at George Washington University, who works at the National Guard Bureau. “A lot of guys miss that when they get out. When I got off active duty, I missed that.” Wright enlisted at age 18 and shipped off to flight school soon afterwards. Flying OH-58 Kiowas and other helicopters in active duty, Wright found little time for school. “I went into night classes off and on,” said Wright. After finally receiving his bachelor’s degree using the G.I. Bill, he decided to continue his education at GWU, where he found a new organization in the Student Veterans. Wright became a graduate student advisor to the group, using his expertise in the G.I. Bill to mentor young veterans. This, he said, was one of the most rewarding things about the group. “It’s nice to be around young Soldiers and feed off their enthusiasm. They’ve been through the same things you’ve been through.” ———- MilitaryConnection.com, a portal of all things military, has become the “go to” site for resources, news and information that is of importance to the military audience. We have thousands of pages and hundreds of databases to keep you current on the information you need to have. With something for everyone, we take pride in providing all of our resources free to users. Additionally, we feature all types of veteran articles like this one to keep you informed. We will post your press releases, special events, newsletters, professional conferences and seminars, reunions, job fairs, and videos to help organizations get out the word. One of the areas of our focus is connecting candidates from the military community with outstanding government and civilian employers. We are well aware that candidates from the military community across the board have a work ethic second to none. They make highly valued employees. MilitaryConnection.com has a multitude of employment resources including a Directory of over 30,000 employers, Job Tips, Columns, Virtual Job Fair and our new and improved Job Board, featuring our Virtual Marketplace where you can post free ads for items you want to buy, sell or rent , and much more. We understand the importance of education. Please check out our new Scholarship Directory featuring thousands of scholarships. When the next tour is back home, it’s on MilitaryConnection.com. |