Eve of Veterans Day begins week-long celebration
There are approximately 300 student veterans enrolled on campus and 700 in global campus for the fall semester this year.
One of these students is Shane Taylor.
The senior and sport management major is the president of the Student Veterans of America chapter at CMU.
The primary objective of the SVA chapter is to allow student veterans to informally connect with one another and to provide support to each other.
"We help each other. We feed off of each other. We crack jokes all the time." Taylor said. He served the Marine Corps.
SVA holds many fundraisers, with all of the proceeds going to the group's Student Veterans Emergency Relief Fund, which aids veterans who are experiencing financial hardship.
Steve Rellinger has been the director of the Veterans Resource Center, established in 2010, since fall 2011. It is the main point of contact for all current military personnel, veterans and their respected family members.
"Essentially, we help them set up and manage their GI Bill or their educational benefits," Rellinger said.
Like all of his staff, Rellinger is a veteran of the Armed Forces. He served in the Navy from 1976 to 1982.
Rellinger said there is also a disabled American veterans service officer who is available a few times each week to assist with health care, psychological support, disability claims or anything else clients need.
"We have a great group of stakeholders across the campus and within the community that we can find just about any resource they might need to help them through whether it's on campus or externally," he said. "We let them know that we might not have the answer readily handy, but we'll find it."
Veteran's day will be celebrated nationally Tuesday, but CMU will be having events all week. A ceremony on Tuesday in Plachta Auditorium will kick off the week. From 6-7p.m. Master of Ceremonies Marq Hicks will lead the celebration with Keynote Speaker Barton Buechner, a retired Navy Captain.
Wednesday and Thursday there will be documentary presentations in Park Library with panel discussions afterward.
Taylor said that could be anything from a student not having enough gas to get to and from class if they commute, difficulty paying housing utilities or apartment fees for a emotional support animal.
Grand Rapids senior Nate Stegehuis, who served with the U.S. Army, is majoring in exercise science with a concentration in kinesiology.
"Steve always sends me really helpful emails and has always been available at the drop of a hat if I ever have any questions which has been really helpful to me since I've been here," he said. "They made it a lot easier especially when it comes to getting my GI bill set up."
Stegehuis said he has attended a couple of SVA meetings when his schedule permits him.
He has also participated in a number of local volunteer and community service functions.
He met his current roommate, also a veteran, at one of these events.
"Through the SGA we actually did a volunteer service event where we met and did landscaping for the hospice down there off M-20," Stegehuis said.
