May 9, 2016- Earlier this year, three SVA representatives from Western Carolina University attended the 8th Annual Student Veterans National Conference in Orlando, FL. The three in attendance were our Vice President Kristian Hooker, our past President/Founder Jeremy Mulloy, and current President Chris Ramseur. We were able to gain valuable knowledge while listening to leaders from the SVA, military, entrepreneurs, and CEOs. Below are a few of the meetings/sessions that were offered: The Power of Social Entrepreneurship, Townh0all with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Navigating your Veterans Health Administration, Outreach Innovation in the Age of Digital Media, Success in the Workforce, Transitioning to the Workforce, Veteran Reintegration through Community Service. Among many more…
Along with the multiple opportunities to learn from other Veterans and leaders in the workplace we had the chance to mingle with corporations looking to hire Veterans. Among these were Raytheon, General Dynamics, Chevron, Northrop Grumman, Walgreens, BP, Merck, Aramark, Bank of America, Citi, and many others.
The most valuable part of the conference was the fellowship and discussions with other Veterans. Over food, drinks, and in between sessions we were able to meet Veteran SVA leaders from other local schools such as Appalachian State, UNC-Asheville, and UNC-Charlotte. We are working to build a stronger relationship currently with each of these fellow Veteran organizations in order to strengthen our community and Veteran outreach in Western North Carolina. We learned much from each school across the nation, as there were hundreds of schools in attendance, as well as over 2500 Veterans. We were able to discuss attendance issues, fundraiser options, recruiting tools, and community/charitable outreach.
This was our first SVA NATCON and we hope to continue to attend each year to further our goals as an organization on WCU. Thanks for the opportunity and your continued commitment to the SVA here at WCU.
-Chris Ramseur, President