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2021 SVA Honors Award Recipients

Events
02/22/2021

SVA announced its 2020 SVA Honors recipients at its 13th Annual National Conference during the SVA Honors Gala on Feb. 20th. 

Partners in Excellence

This award recognizes those who contribute tirelessly outside of their everyday workload and organizational focus, to lift up the mission and members of Student Veterans of America. The successes of SVA would not be possible without these visionary and dedicated teams who prioritize the wellbeing and opportunities of student veterans across the globe.

  • Barclays
  • The Boeing Company
  • Google
  • Microsoft
  • Team Rubicon
  • Wells Fargo

 

Daniel J. Edelman Corporate Champion of the Year: Comcast NBCUniversal

Comcast NBCUniversal has been a proud supporter of the mission of SVA for more than 8 years, they have provided over $150,000 dollars in scholarships which we distribute through our NBCUniversal-SVA scholarship program. Comcast’s commitment to hiring veterans has resulted over 21,000 veterans beginning their careers with Comcast and became a founding member of Hiring our Heroes’ program to hire 100,000 military spouses campaign.

 

Dwight D. Eisenhower Distinguished Public Service Award: Kayla Williams, Senior Advisor, Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, VA

Kayla has a long history of government service dedicated to fostering inclusive, equitable services and benefits at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Her tireless commitment to being a voice for all veterans is ensuring we are building a VA reflective of the diversity and strength of our modern military force. Kayla is also a former student veteran and served as a 2020 SVA Leadership Institute Mentor.

 

Sonny Montgomery Student Veteran Champion Award: Senator Jerry Moran & Senator Jon Tester

In the immediate wake of COVID-19 response nearly a year ago, hundreds of thousands of student veterans were left unsure of the security of their GI Bill tuition and housing payments as schools suddenly and unexpectedly converted to online learning. In the months that followed, new challenges unique to GI Bill students in the COVID-19 response emerged. Each time, Senators Tester and Moran, and their staff, did not hesitate to act swiftly to ensure as many concerns as possible were addressed. Congratulations to Senators Tester and Moran.

 

William Pearson Tolley Champion for Veterans in Higher Education: Dr. Philomena V. Mantella, President of Grand Valley State University

Dr. Mantella was awarded for her tireless work on behalf of student veterans and military-affiliated students, including a first-of-its-kind commitment to guarantee admission to Michigan high school graduates who choose to put their education on hold to first serve their country called the Grand Valley State University Veteran Promise.

 

Advisor of the Year: Ted Barco, University of Georgia

Charles “Ted” Barco exemplifies the theme of “Leading Forward Together” through his passion of grooming leaders. Multiple members of the leadership of the chapter at UGA reached out to Mr. Barco after gaining acceptance to UGA and were immediately brought into the program with open arms. Chapter leaders personally feel their development and growth of being a leader on campus can be attributed to his countless, indefatigable hours of coaching and mentorship. Mr. Barco has dedicated his time to pushing the next generation of veterans and the SVA leadership team, with his ultimate goal being for them to have successful academic and professional careers. He fosters leadership by providing the tools necessary for individual and organizational growth, to include facilitating financial stability by garnering a plethora of corporate, community, and university partnerships that have provided millions of dollars in scholarships and grants. These partnerships, borne by his efforts, have also led to a multitude of professional networking events. Even after Mr. Barco retires from his service as Chapter Advisor, his legacy of leading forward will be maintained within each of us that he personally shaped.

Finalists:

  • Alex Bustin, Princeton University
  • Dr. Abbie Frost, Simmons University
  • Dr. Jeff Lovelace, University of Virginia
  • Bonita Jenkins, Augusta Technical College

 

Chapter of the Year: Clemson Student Veterans Association at Clemson University

Clemson Student Veterans Association at Clemson University (Matthew Morris, President) was founded in 2008. Over the course of the COVID 19 pandemic, the chapter experienced a large leadership transition. The team took on the challenge without hesitation and hit the ground running. Even with the limited amount of programming the chapter has been able to safely carry out, they have held very valuable events. The leadership team works closely with the campus career services office to promote and organize virtual career fairs and professional development courses. Additionally, they partner with other veteran organizations in the community to conduct valuable functions. Because of the unbridled success of the chapter, the chapter president was awarded Clemson University’s Outstanding Student Veteran Award for Fall 2020. Since then, the chapter has been able to hold a successful Military Appreciation Day Football game, where 85 tickets were donated in order for student veterans to attend the game at no cost. At the same game, numerous veterans and ROTC cadets were honored for their prior and future service. The chapter also partnered with their rival school to host a virtual Veteran’s Day 5k and held a Q&A with the director of the film “Outpost”. In the next coming weeks, the chapter will do the same for their Military Appreciation Day Basketball and Baseball games as well. While the pandemic and lockdown has caused the chapter to change many of its plans as far as in person events are concerned, the Clemson Student Veterans Association has stayed strong as an SVA chapter and continued to engage the student veterans at Clemson University.

Finalists:

  • California State University, Northridge
  • Lakeland Community College
  • Syracuse University
  • University of Washington Tacoma

 

Student Veteran of the Year: Andrew Ho, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Andrew Ho (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) is a first-generation college student veteran. In 2010, he joined the United States Air Force, and proudly served as a cook for the majority of his military career, which helped him develop leadership qualities that he hopes to carry to the healthcare profession. Throughout his career, he gained experience and confidence that would shape his decision to pursue a degree in occupational therapy. After serving 7 years, Andrew separated from the armed forces, and made the decision to continue his education at UNLV. Initially, he developed imposter syndrome. He discovered that other student veterans also struggled with imposter syndrome, and so strives to engage with student veterans and families through the PAVE team and Rebel Vets chapter of SVA. Since 2018, he also served as a “Big” with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Andrew’s military experience, campus involvement, and community service helped him enjoy his academic environment. He aspires to become an occupational therapist with a special interest in helping veterans and hopes to inspire other veterans to pursue higher education.

Finalists:

  • Emma Cassidy, Fordham University
  • Erika Lee, University of Maryland Global Campus
  • Kenneth Mack, Augusta Technical College
  • Manuel Matias, University of Arizona
  • Hudson Miller, Harvard University
  • Jessica Payne, Southern New Hampshire University
  • Ann Stalcup, Our Lady of the Lake University
  • Savanna Turner, University of Florida
  • Cameron Zbikowski, Grand Valley State University

SVA Celebrates Major End-of-Year Policy Victories

Advocacy

VA Delays New Enrollment Manager System to Reduce Impact on Student Veterans

SVA Quarterly Newsletter (Fall 2022)

Federal Government Announces New Actions on Student Loan Debt

PACT Act Status Update

Advocacy

SVA presents testimony on pending legislation before the HVAC EO

Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Student Veterans of America announce 2022 Patriot Scholarship Recipients

Advocacy

ED to Accept DD-214s in Certifying Military Service for Public Student Loan Forgiveness

Student Veterans of America Receives $8 Million Grant from MacKenzie Scott

Student Veterans of America Names Three Board Members, Including Current Student and Recent Graduate

Events

Watch the 2022 State of SVA

Events

NatCon 2022 SVA Honors Award Recipients

Events

Student Veterans of America Awards Inaugural Senator Bob Dole Continued Service Award to Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation

Events

Media Advisory: Student Veterans of America (SVA) 2022 National Conference

Advocacy

COVID-19 Protections Extended and Rounding Out Restored

Events

SVA Honors: Meet our Finalists

COVID-19 Benefit Protections and Rounding Out: Updates for Student Veterans

NatCon 2022: Registration is Open!

What the New PSLF Changes Mean for Service Members and Veterans 

SVA Joins MTV Entertainment’s Mental Health Youth Action Forum

Rutgers CMSI and Student Veterans of America Partner to Support Student Veterans at MSIs

SVA Alumni Participates in Foreign Affairs Information Technology (FAIT) Fellowship

Student Veterans of America Joins Welcome.US

Comcast NBCUniversal and SVA Announce 2021 Scholarship Recipients

Applications Open for 2022 VFW, SVA Legislative Fellowship

Current Events in Afghanistan: What can Chapter Leaders do to Help?  

A Message to Our Community in Response to Current Events in Afghanistan

VHA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Listening Sessions for Veterans

Appropriations Brief: Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Education  

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

SVA Announces 2021 Google Scholarship Recipients

Meet the SVA Programs & Services Team

Court: Veterans with Multiple Periods of Service Entitled to Additional GI Bill Benefits

Events

Stay Engaged this Summer with Chapter Events

Refresh of Higher Education Regulations Announced

Student Veterans of America Names Two Board Members

What Revitalizing America’s Infrastructure Could Mean for Student Veterans 

Raytheon Missiles & Defense and SVA Announce 2021 SPY-6 Scholarship Recipients

House Approves Several SVA Policy Priorities

Partners

Veteran Wellness Alliance Offers Trusted Care Through Check-In

SVA Joins First National Mental Health Action Day

SVA Joins Vietnam War Commemorative Partners

Top Ten Takeaways: The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

Events

Watch the 2021 State of SVA

Events

2021 SVA Honors Award Recipients

Events

The 2021 SVA Honors Gala: Meet our Finalists

COVID-19 FAQs

What the CARES Act Means for Student Veterans, Service Members, and their Families

Events

Join SVA for the National Day of Service

Advocacy, COVID-19

Final Bills of the 116th Congress

Advocacy, COVID-19

Major Veteran Legislation Clears Congress

SVA Statement on VA Office of Inspector General Report

Events

NatCon Returns: February 19-20

Events

GVSU Announces Veteran Promise

Events

SVA Debuts Public Service Announcement

Events

Jared Lyon Delivers Veterans Day Remarks

Events

How to Stream Veterans Day Events

#VOTE Like a Veteran

Events

Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Student Veterans of America announce 2020 Patriot Scholarship Recipients

Events

Jared Lyon Named 2020 NYC Veterans Day Grand Marshal

Advocacy

Volunteer to Power The Polls

Advocacy, COVID-19

Pandemic Assistance for Student Veterans Act Introduced

Events

Veterans Day on Your Campus: Virtual Event Ideas

Events

Leadership Institute Applications Open

Advocacy

Moving Beyond Patchwork Systems: The Future of Education Services IT

Events

Regional Summit Starts on September 26th

Advocacy

Legislative Updates: Fall 2020

Research

Survey Finds 96% of Student Veterans Will Vote

Partners

Apply for the Raytheon Patriot Scholarship

Partners

Resources for Student Veterans During COVID-19

Events

Watch Home with the Brave: A Graduation Salute

SVA

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