Student Veteran Organization at SDSU
On November 26th, 2006, founder Nathaniel Donnelly received a notification letter from the Office of Student Life and Leadership that the Student Veteran Organization at San Diego State University was now a recognized organization on campus. At the time, there were only 3 names on the original document: Drew Hake (Executive Vice President), Beau Tres (Treasurer), and Nathaniel Donnelly (President). Just enough to meet the requirements to become an official SDSU student organization. It didn’t take long to quickly add a few more students to the board, Joseph Heine, Elise McPherson, Jason Lombard, and Heather Rabenburg, just to name a few – mostly veteran friends that had been made that were part of the ISCoR major and student society. There was no Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center, or any veterans center for that matter. There was a walk-up booth in the Admissions office that more often than not had a sign posted that said to “call Joan’s extension”. There were only a couple work studies then; the then Veteran's Coordinator Joan had a cubicle lost amidst stacks and stacks of student veterans’ files, that sometimes would take weeks to get certified.
Although the SVO then was only about a half-dozen strong, the members were tight, and spent a lot of time together in and out of class, in pubs, and at each other’s homes for barbecues, UFC events, and football games. Fortunately, as word got out about the organization, they began to get calls from the media, and had a number of articles written about what the SVO was doing on campus for veterans. One of these articles landed on the front page of the San Diego Union Tribune, and that’s when the campus administration took notice. Once President Weber learned of SVO activities, he gave his full support and that’s when things really began to take off.
Student Veteran Organization President Nathaniel Donnelly remembers the day he received a call from Derek Blumke out of the University of Michigan. He was the founding president of a Student Veteran Organization on his campus, and was coordinating with Luke Stalcup at Columbia in New York and a few others around the nation. Their idea was the formation of a national umbrella organization with the idea of lobbying capitol hill. In January of 2008, about a half-dozen of student veteran leaders, including the aforementioned, convened in Chicago to meet and eventually found, the Student Veterans of America (SVA). These trailblazers literally wrote the constitution on Nathaniel Donnelly’s crappy little laptop over a case of beer while sharing war stories in a hotel room. Derek Blumke became the founding president and Nathaniel Donnelly was the Western Regional Director, tasked with notifying student veteran groups in the western United States of the SVA, and recruiting them to our ranks. Their goal was simple: to lobby for the implementation of what became known as the Post-9/11 G.I Bill. Within six months, working alongside Senators Webb and Hagel, the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was passed. Like Nathaniel Donnelly, we believe this piece of legislation changed the future of our nation, and we are proud that our little organization took a lead role in it.
Although the SVO then was only about a half-dozen strong, the members were tight, and spent a lot of time together in and out of class, in pubs, and at each other’s homes for barbecues, UFC events, and football games. Fortunately, as word got out about the organization, they began to get calls from the media, and had a number of articles written about what the SVO was doing on campus for veterans. One of these articles landed on the front page of the San Diego Union Tribune, and that’s when the campus administration took notice. Once President Weber learned of SVO activities, he gave his full support and that’s when things really began to take off.
Student Veteran Organization President Nathaniel Donnelly remembers the day he received a call from Derek Blumke out of the University of Michigan. He was the founding president of a Student Veteran Organization on his campus, and was coordinating with Luke Stalcup at Columbia in New York and a few others around the nation. Their idea was the formation of a national umbrella organization with the idea of lobbying capitol hill. In January of 2008, about a half-dozen of student veteran leaders, including the aforementioned, convened in Chicago to meet and eventually found, the Student Veterans of America (SVA). These trailblazers literally wrote the constitution on Nathaniel Donnelly’s crappy little laptop over a case of beer while sharing war stories in a hotel room. Derek Blumke became the founding president and Nathaniel Donnelly was the Western Regional Director, tasked with notifying student veteran groups in the western United States of the SVA, and recruiting them to our ranks. Their goal was simple: to lobby for the implementation of what became known as the Post-9/11 G.I Bill. Within six months, working alongside Senators Webb and Hagel, the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was passed. Like Nathaniel Donnelly, we believe this piece of legislation changed the future of our nation, and we are proud that our little organization took a lead role in it.
If you would like to get more information about the Student Veteran Organization at San Diego State University, please email us at [email protected] or find us on our public SVO Facebook page and give us a like! Like and follow us at our other social media outlets.
Hours
9:00-4:00
Monday-Friday |
Address
Joan & Art Barron Veterans Center
5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-7470 |