Saint Xavier University’s Student Veteran Alliance recently completed renovations of SXU’s Student Veteran Resource Center (SVRC). The renovations were made possible by a $10,000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation’s Vet Center and Student Veterans of America (SVA) which was awarded to the Student Veteran Alliance in August 2015.
The Student Veteran Alliance is a registered student organization that advocates for and assists student veterans and their families. The SVRC, which is located in the Warde Academic Center, Room L209, is used by an average of 23 students every year. Stephanie Stavrenos, Student Veteran Alliance president, explained the importance of the SVCR for student veterans at SXU.
“Simply put, the SVRC serves as a place for veterans to find each other. We share a bond and it makes school more comfortable and enjoyable when you can surround yourself with likeminded fellows,” Stavrenos said. “It is also a place to find resources when you have questions about the military and your GI Bill benefits.”
Jennifer Kohany, who was the Student Veteran Alliance president from 2013-2015, elaborated on the importance of giving SXU student veterans a common space to form relationships with other veterans.
“As non-traditional students, it can be hard to fit in, so this gives us a common ground to have a more traditional college experience with a group of our own peers,” Kohany said. “We can collaborate on service projects and different events on campus in a designated spot which is important because sometimes coordinating big meetings is difficult with balancing families and other additional responsibilities that more traditional students don’t have to be concerned with yet.”
Due to the importance of having a common space for student veterans on campus, the Student Veterans of America established the Vet Center Initiative in 2014. Since then, the initiative has built and improved veteran centers on 60 campuses and The Home Depot Foundation has offered a total of $400,000 to SVA chapters.
In order to apply for a grant from the SVA and the Home Depot Vet Center, the Student Veteran Alliance had to submit a chapter business plan and budget, project outline, letter of support from President Wiseman, and a pitch in the form of a video.
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“Last spring, a handful of veterans put together a proposal for the Home Depot Vet Center Initiative grant from Home Depot,” Stavrenos said. “Working with feedback from our application the year before, we were able to put together an impressive business plan and pitch to secure the grant. It was very exciting to find out our hard work had paid off and we had $10,000 to spend with Home Depot.”
The grant was written completely by SXU student veterans and they also made the decisions about what to purchase with the funds. Stavrenos explained that the entire process was very collaborative.
“Writing the grant took a lot of hands on deck. It boiled down to 4 or 5 veterans with the help of our advisor to get it submitted just before finals last year. The renovation itself required a lot of coordination with the university and they were fantastic about it,” Stavrenos said. “The Home Depot in Alsip guided us through our purchases and gave us wonderful support. With student veterans helping with demolition, volunteers from the painters’ union, and the school’s facilities department combining efforts, we put a lot into making this renovation happen and it shows.”
The funds were used to make the room more personal and accommodating with new furniture, paint, light fixtures, carpet and more. “Personalizing the space is the fun part. Now it looks like veterans occupy the space, but most importantly, we have enough seating to accommodate more vets as they come in and welcome other members of the university to join us. It makes veterans, as nontraditional students, feel at home at SXU, which greatly enhances the college experience for us,” Stavrenos said.
The renovations now make it possible for the SVRC to accommodate 17 students at one time. Before, only nine students could fit comfortably in the room. Kohany agreed that the most important part of the renovation is that the SVRC can accommodate more people.
“My favorite part would have to be the way we maximized our space to have a large table where people can work on homework or sit together for lunch, and the very comfortable couch and chairs for quiet studying or socializing,” Kohany said.
“It’s such an improvement from before when we’d have people literally sitting in the floor because we all wanted to be there together, so having an space that is integrated for studying and socializing has been the biggest blessing we could have asked for in my opinion.”
The SVRC had an official grand reopening on Tuesday, March 22.
Yasmeen Abdellatif
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