Oregon Tech Visits Washington, D.C.

Washington Week, an annual program facilitated by Student Veterans of America (SVA), gives student veterans the opportunity to visit the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., and advocate on behalf of themselves directly to congressional representatives. Through this annual program, many student veterans make the trip to D.C. to advocate for policy change.

Keegan Dentinger, an Oregon Institute of Technology student and Oregon Air National Guard member, traveled to D.C. with members of his Oregon Tech SVA chapter for the week to participate in Washington Week. Prior to this event, Dentinger had never been afforded the opportunity to meet with or engage any of his congressional representation, both in his home state of Oregon and in D.C. This valuable experience helped dispel some of his preconceived notions about the accessibility and availability of members of Congress, and the congressional processes.

Many veterans believe that Congressional representatives are too busy, have schedules that often have them traveling or in meetings, and that it’s difficult to engage with them for these reasons. However, after meeting with his representatives, that opinion began to change.

Dentinger thought it was mind-boggling and fascinating how open and accessible his representatives were, stating that “the immediate availability was something that he was not expecting.”

During the week, Dentinger, along with several student veterans from Oregon, had the opportunity to meet with Congresswoman Val Hoyle and speak on issues that affect veterans and servicemembers both on and off campus. Meeting with Congresswoman Hoyle had a profound effect on Dentinger and the group, which caused them to feel more comfortable advocating for themselves at the national level.

Additionally, utilizing SVA’s research and legislative policies gave him a supply of information to effectively speak with his representatives on current veteran issues. Knowing that SVA has done much of the legwork for student veterans, Dentinger was able to articulate and speak knowledgeably about policy issues.

“SVA does a lot of really hard legwork that none of us ever see,” said Dentinger. “Including gathering massive datasets and working extremely hard to ensure that all of the information that SVA has about veterans is fruitful and productive to be an asset, not only to student veterans but to the government as well.”

Washington Week was immensely impactful for Dentinger. “At its core, it’s inspiring, and you lose the sense that you’re not supposed to be here,” said Dentinger. With this newfound passion for veteran advocacy, Dentinger has changed many of his plans for the summer. Previously, he planned to spend the summer as a firefighter with a unit based in his hometown; now he plans to apply for a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) work-study program with a congressional representative.