U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis Richard McDonough visited the University of Hawaiʻi at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ campus on October 5, to talk with veterans taking classes and hear about their experiences transitioning from service members to students.

More than 700 undergraduate students and more than 100 graduate students are U.S. veterans at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹.

McDonough is in Hawaiʻi to participate in meetings with local officials. He met with U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono on campus before participating in a roundtable discussion with about a dozen ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ students.

“I’m thrilled to be here at the University of Hawaiʻi to hear directly from student veterans and military-connected students about their experience here,” McDonough said. “Some of them will be here relying on programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, so I want to hear directly from them, our customers, about how those programs are working. I see this as an opportunity to get concrete intelligence from our customers about how we can serve them better.”

Matthew Rinaldi is a ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ student studying . Rinaldi served four years in the U.S. Army working as an aviation logistics specialist.

“It’s pretty unprecedented that the secretary of the VA is willing to come here and talk to students,” Rinaldi said. “It really makes our voices heard or listened to, just to get those issues out there, and to actually bring changes to the VA system is important for a lot of veterans.”

ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ provides assistance through the . The team helps veterans transition from military service to student life. There are academic assistance resources as well as a lounge for studying and additional support that can be found at the Queen Liliʻuokalani Center for Student Services.

The Office of Veteran Student Services and ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Foundation manages the Student Veterans Scholarship Fund, which aims to support veteran and military connected students at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. Funds are used for costs associated with attendance (e.g. tuition, books, fees, etc.). For more information, .

The at the and members of the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ System Veteran Task Force hosted the spring 2019 Annual Veteran Conference at the East West Center on April 26 and 27. The conference theme was Supporting Today’s Veterans and Understanding their Diversity.

Keynote speakers included state Sen. Kaialiʻi “Kai” Kahele and ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa alum, and Jr. Vice Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Hawaiʻi, Ronald Lockwood. This year’s conference featured a plenary session speaker, Keanu Sai, a panel discussion focusing on student veteran diversity and six breakout sessions.

The conference was well attended and included faculty, staff and students within the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ system campuses and several private universities. Kenith Scott, the director of Veteran Student Services and the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ System Veteran Task Force says they intend to host the conference again in spring 2020.

“We believe veterans have a vital role to play in society and we know ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ can be a place to facilitate that transition,” Scott said. “We look forward to expanding how veterans can enhance their experiences with new skills and education while also providing the support they deserve.”

In addition, the conference recognized three individuals for their commitment to supporting student veterans in the University of Hawaiʻi System.

Student Veteran of the Year

Mary Campbell served 24 years in the United States Army retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Campbell served as the Student Veteran Organization secretary at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and led the student group to become the most active student veteran organization in the state of Hawaiʻi through her leadership and commitment to excellence.

Outstanding Student Veteran Community Partner of the Year

Ronald Lockwood serves as the Jr. Vice Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Hawaiʻi and provided multiple grants supporting student veterans at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa. The grants helped purchase computers for the student veteran lounge at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa and supported sending seven student veterans to the Student Veterans of America National Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Outstanding Veteran Faculty and Staff of the Year

Kristine Qureshi is the associate dean of research and director of global health at the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa. Qureshi serves as the principal investigator of the Veterans to Nurses program and has awarded over a hundred thousand dollars in extramural funding to student veterans in the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ nursing consortium. She supported the creation of the student veteran lounge at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa with federal grant money.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to add photos from the event. For more photos go to the .

The (OVSS) at the will host the 2018 Veterans Day Celebration on Thursday, November 8, on the Hawaiʻi Hall lawn. The event, to honor all veterans, will recognize 16 student veterans with scholarships.

Major General Suzanne P. Vares-Lum, mobilization assistant to the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at Camp Smith, will be keynote speaker. She is the first female major general of Native Hawaiian ancestry in the U.S. Army.

Remarks will also be shared by Kenith Scott, OVSS director; , ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa associate dean for research and global health; and Michael Bruno, ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and vice chancellor for research. The celebration will be followed by a free cake reception honoring the U.S. Marine Corps’ upcoming 243rd birthday on November 10.

OVSS supports active duty military, veterans, reservists, National Guard and military-connected students. The office is committed to providing support for veterans transitioning to college and during their studies at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½.

This is the fifth and final year that the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa Nursing will assist with coordination of the event.

The celebration is supported by OVSS, Nursing’s Achieving a BS in Nursing — A Veterans’ Initiative Program, Student Veteran Organization and .

For the full story, go to the .

—By Desiree Uyeda

Veterans interested in careers and education involving science, technology, engineering and mathematics got a big boost at the . Associate Professor Richard Jones has received a $638,100 grant to create the Veterans Empowered Through STEM (VETS) program.

The three-year grant was awarded by the Office of Naval Research through a competitive process and will run through October 2021. Under the grant, Jones will be able to support student veterans who are interested in a career in a STEM-related field. He will add more 3D printers to the STEM lab, enhance and provide outreach to veterans, recruit for internships and externships and possibly fund a lounge.

“It’s leveraging what we already have,” said Jones. He sees the VETS program as having the potential to directly support and promote the transition of veterans into STEM-related career fields.

The VETS program addresses an effort by the Department of Navy to improve STEM education to ensure that a science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce can help meet Navy and Marine Corps challenges. It also fits ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ West Oʻahu’s mission of offering education addressing state, regional and international needs in an effort to increase enrollment, including attracting more veteran students.

The VETS program will be comparable to the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ (VTEC) program that guides veterans into careers in the sustainable energy industry. The VETS program will be more general than the VTEC program and may help build a pipeline to VTEC for veterans who want to focus on the sustainable energy industry.

For more on the VETS program, read the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ West Oʻahu .

—By Greg Wiles

The University of Hawaiʻi at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹’s hosted the 2017 Veterans Day Celebration on November 8 on the Hawaiʻi Hall lawn. The event honored all veterans and recognized 13 veterans who received scholarships to pursue careers in nursing.

The office supports active duty military, veterans, reservists, National Guard and military-connected students, and is committed to providing support for veterans transitioning to college and during the journey through college. It is led by Kenith Scott, who served with the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. He received his master’s degree in and bachelor’s degree in from ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. Previously, Scott worked for the Department of Veteran Affairs in the Health Administration Services.

“The government provides a great education benefit to veterans and military-connected students. As a recipient of the GI Bill myself, I know firsthand the huge impact that furthering your education can have on your life. So it’s important to me to help other veterans achieve their goals,” said Scott.

Creating a pathway to nursing for service members

The ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ in the also provides support to veterans interested in pursuing an undergraduate degree in nursing. The program provides college credit for veterans’ past medical experience, creating a pathway to professional nursing and employment for service members with skills and experience in healthcare. The initiative is the first program of its kind in the state and is part of the national effort to address the growing demand for health-care services throughout our nation.

This is the third year that the Veterans to Nurses Program received funding from the May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust to provide 13 scholarships to student veterans pursuing careers in nursing. Student veterans received between $2,500 to $4,400 to further their nursing education at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ and . Scholarship recipients are all veterans and have served in the U.S. Air Force, Army, Army Reserves, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy.

“ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ nursing is proud to be one of 20 schools of nursing and the only program in Hawaiʻi to participate in this national initiative,” said Dean Mary G. Boland. “Veterans are a vital community asset and we are fully committed to providing them with excellent nursing education.”

Go the the for more photos from the event.

—By Desiree Uyeda

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa , through the school’s federal grant—Achieving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing: A Veterans’ Initiative Program—provided ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa veterans with a symbolic red, white and blue honor cord worn at the 104th Annual Commencement Exercises held on Saturday, May 16, 2015. The veterans honor cords represent the sacrifice, service and commitment to excellence that all student veterans share.

This is the first semester that the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa nursing department has provided patriotic honor cords to graduating veterans to recognize and support all veterans throughout the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa campus.

“The nation will continue to have demand for highly skilled workers in healthcare, and we are fortunate to have the most highly trained military in the world,” said School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene Dean Mary G. Boland. “The school is committed to serving our veterans by helping them successfully transition to the civilian workforce while leveraging their extensive skill set to build a stronger, more diverse, nursing workforce.”

Veterans’ Initiative Program

The Achieving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing: A Veterans’ Initiative Program is a three-year, $342,472 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant. Launched in spring 2015, the grant assists U.S. veterans with military medical experience to receive credit for their training, decreasing the time to graduation and a nursing degree. The program also provides academic and social support services to veterans and dependents and facilitates new enrollment and academic progression.

Said Debra Mark, program director and a U.S. veteran, “One of the exciting outcomes of this grant is the synergy created across campus and the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ system with and for student veterans. Collaborating with nursing faculty, ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa’s , the ROTC Command and the schools of nursing at , and has increased our collective capacity to support student veterans and facilitate their enrollment, retention and academic progression.”

Added Boland, “In alignment with the Obama Administration, this grant is one of nine federal grants funded this year specifically for Hawaiʻi veterans who wish to build upon their military training and experience. Our program seeks to enroll veterans, give them credit for their military experience and provide them with the support they need to complete their bachelor’s degrees in nursing.”

—

The Honorable U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono visited Kauaʻi Community College’s Veterans Support Center on Thursday April 2, 2015. The purpose of the visit was to support efforts made by Kauaʻi CC to support military veterans who are enrolled as students at the college.

Senator Hirono stressed the importance of the passing of the national bill, Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, “Choice Act,” which serves to honor all American veterans. She champions community action to support veterans, encourages college campuses to have a physical space for veterans attending college and issues a monthly newsletter which provides current updates on progress being made to fulfill the VA’s goal of honoring veterans.

She also addressed issues such as homelessness, healthcare and college while speaking to Foster Lee Brown, III, Steven Westerman and Michael Estes, veterans and Kauaʻi CC students. She applauded the college for the welcoming atmosphere of its Veterans Support Center.

Used by a variety of veterans from the Korean era, Post 911 era, Vietnam era and Middle East fighting, the center serves as a physical place where students can be welcomed and directed to the appropriate information and services about college enrollment, healthcare, benefits and resources to help them transition from military life.

“We are honored to have our military veterans as Kauaʻi CC students,” said Helen Cox, Kauaʻi CC chancellor. “They are a vital addition to our diverse student community.”

Additional information

Supporting services for veteran students at Kauaʻi CC is made possible by funding from the Department of Labor through the Rural Kauaʻi 1 Project, in the amount of $26,000. Funding does not pay for any student’s cost to participate in the program.

—By Camilla Matsumoto

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will hold their 4th Annual Veterans Conference entitled .

The two-day conference will take place March 19 and 20 in the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Mānoa Campus Center Ballroom.

• March 19, 7:15 a.m.–3 p.m.

  The conference will focus on training for staff, faculty, and community leaders on student veteran related issues. ()

• March 20, 7:15 a.m.–3 p.m.

  The focus will be on training for students who are veterans, active duty and reserve personnel and their family members. ()

The conference is free for all interested attendees. Please by March 12.