JMU VALOR Newsletter: Feb. 2024

Welcome back to campus and we hope all of you had a restful winter break and feel recharged to take on the spring semester. This newsletter will serve as a general update of what has been accomplished last semester, what is being planned for the spring semester, and an opportunity for you to provide us with your ideas and feedback.

As many of you have seen, JMU VALOR hosted a variety of events in honor of Veterans Day last semester. The first thing we did was paint the JMU Spirit Rock – thanks to Kiana Rudacille for painting the Spirit Rock this year.

We placed over 5,000 flags on the Quad and special thanks to JMU ROTC for leading that effort in honor of the lives lost during the Global War on Terror. JMU VALOR also took over the JMU Instagram account for the day and told the story of military-connected students at JMU. 

Finally, at the JMU Football Game, six of our veterans and military-connected students carried the six military branch flags onto the football field during the opening ceremony.

We were able to send three students to the Student Veterans’ Association National Conference (NATCON) in Nashville, TN this January. Each of them will share a few insights about their experience at the conference and what they learned and gained. 

John Jornlin – “I attended along with Luci and Lynnea, who are both JMU students and serve in the Army National Guard. Over 2,000 people attended the conference, including Veterans, Military Affiliated individuals, veteran related organizations and many potential employers. It was a great experience learning about other military related programs at higher education institutions around the nation.

"The conference had a lot of exciting surprises as well. Many well-known military affiliated individuals, such as the U.S Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough; the first and only African American woman to fly the U-2 Air Force high altitude reconnaissance aircraft, Merryl Tengedal; as well as leaders of veterans organizations including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and many more attended and spoke at the event. I enjoyed engaging and speaking with representatives of military programs at different levels of higher education institutions, while visiting Nashville and eating Hattie B’s Hot Chicken was a highlight of this year.”

Luci Gallegos - “During my time at NATCON, I was able to meet new people who had very similar experiences like me. I also learned about opportunities such as jobs, enhancing my resume and lifestyle connections. I would recommend any student veteran to go to NATCON to connect with future careers and create new friendships and networks.”

Lynnea Gedney – “This convention would be very beneficial for students who are seeking jobs and trying to make connections to further their careers because there were many opportunities to meet and talk to employers. I attended various breakout sessions, but my favorite was the Veterans Affairs healthcare innovation talk. I learned about the healthcare opportunities Veteran Affairs offers. The speakers presented technology advancements in healthcare and had a 3D printed life size aneurysm in a hand to pass around and show us. Another breakout session I attended was about women in the military. Three women shared their stories and gave advice to women serving. This was helpful for me because I am a woman in the military and it can be difficult sometimes because it is a predominately male field. I enjoyed hearing their stories and being around female role models in the military. The actress, Jamie Hyder, spoke at one of the sessions and I had the opportunity to give her a JMU VALOR coin and meet her. I met student veterans from all around the country and talked with them and formed new connections. At the end of the convention there was a military ball that I enjoyed and we danced and hung out with people we met throughout the convention.”

If you are a veteran, or know someone who is, and are interested in joining the Student Veterans Association (SVA) club within JMU VALOR, please reach out to the SVA President, Gabe Chapman.

On behalf of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, we would like to express how excited we are to have joined the JMU VALOR Resource Center Team in assisting and advocating for those veterans and their family members that are seeking resources, education and assistance with obtaining VA Benefits and veteran resources. In addition to our Benefits Team, we also have our Virginia Veterans and Family Services Support Group Team on site who provide outreach, connection and support to veterans and their families as they address the challenges of military service, transition, deployments, Post Traumatic Stress and other behavioral health concerns as well as Traumatic Brain Injuries and other physical injuries. Having now settled into our new location, our goal is to increase the awareness of the services we offer to the JMU veterans, their family members, and the Harrisonburg veteran community. The synergy thus far has been amazing.

Help us plan events in the Resource Center

This spring we will host events such as movie nights with dinner as well as game nights in the Resource Center. We also have heard that other schools have hosted Dungeons and Dragons game nights so we will see if anyone is interested in that as well. If you have any ideas of events you would like to see please complete this form and tell us what you would like to do. The Resource Center is here for you and we want to make sure we are hosting events that will help you build community and have some fun.  

We have also heard from some students that they would love to see some competitions or events at the UPARK Leadership Course and potentially some activities like kickball.  

Once the weather warms up, we will look to host some trips with UREC to provide group experiences with the JMU VALOR population. These trips may include activities such as hiking, biking and more. If you are interested in participating in these events, please click on this link and provide the requested information.

JMU Lacrosse Military Appreciation Game

Feb. 14: Come watch the JMU Lacrosse Military Appreciation game versus Virginia Tech, which JMU VALOR has been invited to attend. 

JMU Opening Doors for Veterans

March 29: JMU VALOR, The Office of Equal Opportunity and Human Resources will be inviting veterans and their partners to the Inaugural JMU Opening Doors for Veterans program. Please join us in the JMU VALOR Resource Center, Taylor Hall 1st floor, to hear about the benefits of working at JMU and current employment opportunities including guest speakers.

Lunch will be provided and spaces will be limited so please RSVP by March 15. For more information, please email us at wengercg@jmu.edu or call 540.568.6991.

The Disabled American Veterans Organization

April 5: The Disabled American Veterans Organization will be hosting a claims clinic within the Resource Center.

Fallen Soldiers 5K, JMU VALOR and JMU ROTC

April 20: Join JMU VALOR and JMU ROTC to run a 5K in remembrance of fallen soldiers. 

We will also be hosting another movie night in Bridgeforth stadium with the University Program Board so look for more information soon.

Best of luck with the new semester, and as always please swing by and say hello.