TRAVIS NOONAN – The Corsair
A club aimed at benefiting Pensacola State veterans has recently been established on campus, but the organization is still in its infancy.
“Pensacola is a veteran–rich location,” Charlotte Windom, advisor of the Pensacola State College Student Veterans Association (PSCSVA), said. “We have almost twice as many vets in this county than the national average.”
Despite Pensacola’s rich naval background, the group has fewer than 20 members.
“We currently have approximately 12 active members,” Chad T. Mitchell, president of the PSCSVA, said. “I am told we have over 1,000 student veterans on our campus.”
The organization was officially established in the fall of 2010, but according to Mitchell, the idea came about in the spring of 2009.
“After working with veterans for the past two years in the Veterans Upward Bound program here at Pensacola State, our office began noticing that many of our veterans needed additional support once they entered college,” Windom said. “Because of the relationships many of our veterans in the program share, creating a formal chapter of Student Veterans seemed like a logical step.”
The PSCSVA is now trying to join a national organization, the Student Veterans of America.
Windom said that the group’s primary focus is to “promote veteran awareness on campus for students, faculty, and staff.” Mitchell added that PSCSVA would also like to “increase faculty knowledge on veteran issues regarding how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other service oriented characteristics affect student veterans in the learning environment, as well as address issues and concerns that student veterans have with the campus and faculty with the administration and other departments.”
“Members have access to many tools and resources designed to enhance and sustain learning, promote collegiality among fellow veterans, and engage in personal growth and development opportunities,” Rob Gregg, a PSCSVA advisor, said.
On Nov. 10, 2010, the PSCSVA will be sponsoring what Windom calls “Thank a Vet Lunch” on all three Pensacola State campuses.
Mitchell said that this event’s purpose is to “thank veterans for their service and to also build some camaraderie between student veterans and some of the faculty and staff.”
To join the PSCSVA, a student must be a veteran or service member of the Armed Forces and maintain a 2.0 GPA or higher.
Non-veteran students may join the organization, but they will not gain the same benefits as veterans; however, Gregg said that they can still “assist with planning activities, identify resources, and provide overall support in pursuing the goals and objectives of the organization.”
For more information, contact Windom at cwindom@pjc.edu.