Student Veterans of America and VFW Announce 2016 Class of Legislative Fellows
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 8, 2016) — Ten student veterans have been selected for the second annual class of VFW-SVA Legislative Fellows, a semester-long leadership and advocacy program co-hosted by Student Veterans of America (SVA) and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The announcement was made during SVA’s 8th Annual National Conference (NatCon) in Orlando, Florida.
From February 28 to March 3, 2016, the fellows will travel to Washington, D.C., to join more than 500 VFW members advocating on Capitol Hill. Throughout the week, they will meet directly with lawmakers to discuss key veterans’ issues and present their policy proposals for positive change in the areas of higher education, health care access, the impact of sequestration on military readiness, and military-to-civilian transition.
.
The VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship provides student veterans with hands-on experience in federal advocacy and public policy. Each fellow will be paired with a VFW mentor and participate in meetings with their state delegation in Congress. They will also receive policy briefings from federal officials and media training to enhance their advocacy efforts. Following their time in D.C., fellows are expected to implement a community action plan and share their policy work directly with their representatives.
The 10 student veterans selected for the 2016 VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship are:
- Michael Aavang, Marine Corps veteran – Hillsdale College
- Robert Davis, Navy veteran – North Lake College
- Stephen Hudson, Marine Corps veteran – Southeast Missouri State University
- Paulo Iparraguirre, Navy veteran – California State University, Northridge
- Robert Janice, Marine Corps veteran – Arizona State University
- Rebekah Lloyd, Army veteran – Regent University
- Deanna Parker, Marine Corps veteran – Marywood University
- Charles Pegg, Army veteran – University of North Dakota
- Daniel Snedden, Army veteran – North Carolina State University
- Benjamin Wocken, Air Force veteran – University of Missouri–Columbia
.
The VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship program is part of a long-standing collaboration between the two organizations, formalized in 2013 to support student veterans’ success through shared resources and leadership development.
For media inquiries, please contact SVA at [email protected].
.
About Student Veterans of America
With a focused mission on empowering student veterans, Student Veterans of America® (SVA) is committed to providing an educational experience that goes beyond the classroom. Through a dedicated network of over 1,600 on-campus chapters in all 50 states and 4 countries representing nearly 600,000 student veterans, SVA aims to inspire yesterday’s warriors by connecting student veterans with a community of like-minded chapter leaders. Every day these passionate leaders work to provide the necessary resources, network support, and advocacy to ensure student veterans can effectively connect, expand their skills, and ultimately achieve their greatest potential. For more information, visit us at www.studentveterans.org.
About the VFW
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the nation’s largest and oldest major war veterans organization. Founded in 1899, the congressionally chartered VFW is comprised entirely of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. With more than 1.5 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in over 6,000 Posts worldwide, the nonprofit veterans service organization is proud to proclaim “NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS” than the VFW, which is dedicated to veterans’ service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs. For more information, or to join, visit our website at vfw.org.
.