The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Military honored at annual Veterans Appreciation Day

    students thank veterans

    Students were given the opportunity to Thank a Veteran at the
    Veterans Appreciation Day event, which was hosted by
    Veterans Upward Bound and the Office of Veteran Services. 

    Photo Courtesy of Veterans Upward Bound
     

    Veterans Upward Bound is a federally funded TRIO program working to provide a wide range of services to honorably discharged veterans including academic instruction, enrollment assistance and financial aid assistance. Last week the program teamed up with the Office of Veteran Services to host a Veterans Appreciation Day.

    The Office of Veteran Services held an open house on Veterans Day at 9 a.m., followed by free activities and a resource fair at the Pennington Student Activity Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

    “We had a big tent set up because at 1 o’clock we had the official national roll-call,” said Chevonne Neal, director of Veterans Upward Bound. “We had 25 names of fallen heroes from the Southeast area. We had a gentleman dressed in uniform come out to read the names. Then we had a moment of silence for active military soldiers.”

    Veterans who are current students, faculty and local community members attended the event and enjoyed the variety of entertainment and services. 

    “I was really pleased with that because it looked very nice inside the Pennington Center,” said Neal. “Everybody was engaged and supportive and willing to help out. It attracted a different population of people. It attracted students who had questions as well as the community.”

    Other organizations that were part of the fair included Veteran Affairs, Educational Opportunity Center, University Counseling Center, Disability Services, Disabled American Veterans, Center for Student Excellence, University Health Services and Louisiana Workforce Commission. 

    “We had some of our own [Veterans Upward Bound] participants who came out and were asking questions about admissions,” said Neal. 

    In addition to the people available to answer questions, fun activities had been coordinated both inside and outside of the Pennington. The Louisiana National Guard set up a pugil pit outside in which students and veterans could joust and tug-o-war. Veterans Upward Bound also offered a bean bag toss and other activities. 

    Students were given the opportunity to express their gratitude for the military by signing the “Thank a Veteran” bulletin board fashioned after an American flag. 

    “I wanted students to have an opportunity to share and express thanks because I don’t believe there’s been an avenue for students to express thanks, and there’s a lot of students who have people in their family who have served,” said Neal. “They appreciated having that, and as a thank you they got a bag of candy.” 

    Local organizations and businesses made donations for the Veterans Appreciation Day. Donations were made in support of Veterans Day by Albertson’s, Berrytown Produce, Chili’s, Cracker Barrel, Jimmy John’s, Paul’s Café, Piggly Wiggly, Raising Cane’s, Ryan’s, Target, WalMart, Winn Dixie and Creations by Chantal Imes. 

    “We had a lot of different refreshments as a result of different local businesses that supported Veterans Day,” said Neal. “These are the names of the businesses that did support Veterans Day by way of gift cards and sandwich trays, that sort of thing. The total was about $650.” 

    The donation of scrapbooking materials was made by Twisted Cable Designs. Neal worked with veterans who attended Appreciation Day in a Memory Making Workshop to create scrapbooks honoring their time in the service and help them tell their stories. 

    “Our goal was to raise the consciousness for the university, in regards to our student population, about our veteran population,” said Neal. “Being that we are a pre-college program for veterans, Southeastern has also been listed for the third year in a row as a veteran-friendly campus.”

    Veterans Upward Bound has been serving veterans in the area for over 25 years, helping prepare them for higher education and walking them through the enrollment process at a variety of institutions. 

    Those who are interested in learning more about the free federal program may view their page on the Southeastern website in the Academic Programs section.

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