Student Veterans of America

MISSION

Provide military veterans with the resources, support, and advocacy needed to succeed in higher education and after graduation.
Create a national network of student veteran organizations on college and university campuses to provide critical peer-to-peer support at the local level.
Change the landscape of higher education to be more supportive of the thousands of student veterans utilizing the GI Bill and other VA educational benefits.

GOALS

Provide student veterans with the highest-quality programs and services to assist in their pursuit of a market-valued degree or certificate.
Continue to grow and support the largest network of student veteran organizations, known as SVA chapters, in the country.
Defend the GI Bill by empowering student veterans to graduate.
Collect data regarding student veteran outcomes in order to make informed decisions regarding programs and policies.
Partner with credible organizations to reduce the duplication of services and to also maximize our collective impact.

HISTORY Founded: January 2008Headquarters: Washington, DCFounded by student veterans for student veterans

LEADERSHIP Executive Director, former Chapter President at UNLV: Michael Dakduk

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Assistant Director of Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs: Rodrigo Garcia

INITIATIVES

National Leadership Institute and Local Leadership Summits: Train student veteran leaders to create business plans for their chapters (conducted in partnership with Purdue University’s Military Family Research Institute).
Chapter Grants: Fund campus initiatives led by student veterans.
Corporate Mentorships: Student veterans are paired with mentors via a partnership with American Corporate Partners.
Internship Support Program: Provides stipends to student veterans that work as unpaid interns.
The Presidential Volunteer Service Award: Recognizes the hard-work and dedication of chapter members that volunteer countless hours in support of their fellow veterans.
Completing the Mission: A research project conducted in partnership with the Pat Tillman Foundation and Operation College Promise to identify student veteran outcomes on a sample of colleges and universities across the country.
Got Your 6 Campaign: SVA and our partner organizations are collecting commitments from 500 schools that pledge to offer veteran-specific programs and policies by June 2014.

CONTACT

Student Veterans of America1625 K St NW Suite 320Washington, DC 20006202.223.4710Website: www.studentveterans.orgEmail: contact@studentveterans.orgTwitter: @studentvetsFacebook: Studentvets

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