Amid the changes necessary to adapt to a new normal of all-virtual or hybrid instruction given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, higher ed institutions are stepping up to meet the unique needs of student veterans.
Christopher Rhone, coordinator of veteran affairs at Howard University, says Howard is providing increased online assistance for veterans via platforms like Zoom and Facetime.
The Veterans Resource Center (VRC) at the University of Southern California (USC) hosts virtual meet-ups for its veteran students twice a week, giving them the time and space to convene with one another amid remote learning, said Josue Rodriguez, a VRC student staff member.
“Normally, we’d be a center that in-person veterans can attend. We act like a study lounge and a place that has a list of resources and stuff like that,” Rodriguez said. “This semester, we’ve gone completely virtual. And to supplement that, we’re hosting two virtual lounges every week. We’re going to have them on Wednesdays and Thursdays.”
According to Rodriguez, due to a shorter semester, most of the programming will stop on Nov. 14.
USC’s VRC is also planning events, such as one to help veteran students with financial literacy, Rodriguez said.
USC’s annual Veterans and Military Families Recruiting Night is also still set to happen, yet much like other events this year, it will be virtual. The Oct. 29 event, which is free and also open to non-USC veterans, typically draws in about 50 employers and 300 attendees, said Shahla Fatemi, manager of military and veterans initiatives at USC. It will be co-hosted with the student-run USC Veterans Association.
