Officials with numerous on-campus groups discuss possible resources for student veterans.
Student veterans and other service members had the opporunity to gather and learn more about on-campus resources at a welcoming reception hosted by the MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, or RCPD, in collaboration with the MSU Spartan Armed Forces Council.
John Pedraza, disability resource coordinator for employees and psychiatric disabilities specialist for the RCPD, said various campus departments came together as a way to thank veterans for their service to their country.
“We’re trying to connect student veterans with campus resources … (and) help student veterans (experience) a smooth and successful transition into school life,” he said.
According to the Office of the Registrar, 386 students currently are using veterans affair benefits, Pedraza said. Of the 386, 231 are veterans from all the different military branches, including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
Graduate student Britton Hildebrandt, a former Army 68K medical laboratory technician, spent eight years in the Army and said he appreciates the reception, as well as MSU’s willingness to assist veterans.
“It’s nice to know that the university really wants to help (the veterans) out … (and) improve our experience here at Michigan State,” Hildebrandt said.
Public policy junior Kent Dell, president of the MSU chapter of the Student Veterans of America, said many resources, from the Family Resource Center to the Counseling Center, attended the reception.
“(The reception) is one big stop shop for resources,” he said.
Dell said the reception isn’t just for the veterans, but also their families looking for resources as well.
During the reception, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon made an appearance, thanking the veterans for all of their collective work and took pictures with several attendees.
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