Focus on Veterans: Adelphi’s SVA Wants You!

by Jordan Chapman

Loyalty. Sacrifice. Duty. Friendship. To never leave a fallen warrior behind.

These words and phrases all lead in the same direction. They describe soldiers, who are among the 7,859 students currently attending Adelphi, but the average coffee drinker in the Underground Café wouldn’t guess the man or woman across from them has been deployed multiple times or seen combat far too up close and personal.

Sometimes anonymity is a choice, but in other instances veterans choose introversion because of pride. According to Greg Clarke, president of the Adelphi chapter of Student Veterans of America (SVA), it’s important that pride doesn’t get in the way of accessing benefits they may not be aware of and are in the right to obtain.

“When coupled with the visible and invisible wounds of war, a college degree can be an elusive goal for men and women returning from military service…Challenges range from a missing sense of camaraderie, or feeling like an outsider among 18-year-old traditional students to a lack of understanding by university faculty,” the SVA website states.

The SVA chapter, a new club offered through Adelphi’s University College, is here to help with such issues, but it needs active members to be considered an official group and move forward with its goals.

“SVA needs to thrive [at Adelphi] because veterans need support not only from the University itself, but from fellow veterans who can uniquely understand the transition from warrior to student,” Greg said.

With about 100 veterans enrolled at the Garden City campus, the group’s small base of active members hopes to see activity increase.

“By getting involved with SVA, veterans have an opportunity to provide—at the very least—an understanding ear to fellow soldiers who may be struggling, not only academically, but socially. I am an Iraq veteran myself and I can attest to the pride we feel and how that makes us, at times, unwilling to ask for help. But I am hopeful that in an organization where most of us have been through combat, veterans will be more willing to seek help,” Greg said.

As the group continues to grow, they plan to assist veterans by educating the faculty and staff they’re surrounded by about issues unique to veteran families and single soldiers. Through this education, University workers will be able to directly help or refer veterans and soldiers to the correct venues so they can be better integrated into the college community.

Veterans and soldiers are not the only ones who can join the Adelphi chapter of SVA. Traditional students and anyone who wishes to help veterans find the resources and benefits they have access to are welcome to join. More information can be found at studentveterans.org. Use the SVA finder to locate contact information for the Adelphi chapter.

For more information on benefits and services for military students visit university-college.adelphi.edu/admissions/military/ or contact:

Christina Wease
Academic Advisor
Hagedorn Hall, Room 201
1 South Avenue
P.O. Box 701
Garden City, NY 11530-0701

p – 516.877.3411
e – cwease@adelphi.edu