UWM Honors Graduating Student Veterans

Many young men and women decide to make a sacrifice in their early adult life and swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Many of these individuals complete their initial enlistment of four years, while others may serve until their retirement. Taking their experiences from their service and navigating the tumultuous grind of college life, many take on the challenge of earning their degrees and begin a new chapter in their life.

On Dec. 15, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the UWM Military and Veterans Resource Center honored student veterans with their red, white and blue commencement cords during an informal gathering at the UWM Alumni Fireside Lounge.

Whatever their decision in their military career may be, each man and woman that has served their nation and separated from the Armed Services with honorable conditions receives the GI Bill as part of their veterans benefits.

This decision and task is one that is well respected by the faculty and staff at UWM.

Representing their hard work and their service to this nation, each of 140 student veteran graduates is honored with the privilege of wearing this cord with their cap and gown when they walk across the stage on December 17 with the other 2,000 graduates at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

“We are honored to serve the veteran community and give them our complete and full service,” said UWM Chancellor Mark Mone. “It is our privilege to strengthen their academia as they prepare for life beyond UWM.”

Helping host the event, MAVRC Director of Operations, Yolanda Medina, became very emotional when speaking of the student veterans that were graduating from UWM.

“I feel like a mom beaming with pride,” said Medina. “I’m so proud of what they’ve done. They’ve done so much not only in their college pursuits, but they’ve also done so much for UWM.”

Also in attendance was J. Dietenberger to represent the student affairs and IT services on campus.

“We work closely with MAVRC,” said Dietenberger. “And it is important for the student veterans to know how much we support them and how much we appreciate what they have done for us.”

Student veterans with friends and family members were among the gathered in the Fireside Lounge, creating an atmosphere that was very casual and allowed many to congratulate their friends and wish them their best in their next chapter of life.

“It means a lot to be here for them,” said Evan Brunn, a student veteran and junior at UWM. “The friendships you build in the veteran community are stronger than the ones you find in the military. These guys, they’re lifelong friends, I’ll stay in touch with them. It’s cool to see them achieve their dreams and goals.”

Representing the Student Veterans of America chapter at UWM, club president Sam Rogers spent much of the evening thanking the student veterans for their service and wishing them the best after graduation.

“It is rewarding to see student veterans cross the finish line and head out to their next great challenges,” said Rogers. “Many of these folks have been vital advocates over the years in our fight to protect and improve veteran services.”

One of these student veterans that Rogers spoke of is graduate Kurtis Ehlers. Ehlers spent much of his time on campus as an employee at the Military Education Benefits Office and his supervisor James Schmidt, senior administrative program specialist, is upset but proud to see Ehlers graduate and move back to Pennsylvania.

“In my 12-year career, Kurt was the best I’ve ever had in the office. He’ll be an asset to any company he works for,” said Schmidt.

Ehlers said that he is excited to move back home and hopes to find work at the local Veterans Affairs office in Annville, PA.

“I enjoyed working with the 1,300 to 1,400 student veterans on campus,” said Ehlers. “And I want to continue that.”

With the 1,086 student veterans enrolled under the federal GI Bill and another 300 to 400 student veterans at UWM, the university has become the leading college or university in Wisconsin to educate as many veterans. UWM is also 1 of only 3 universities nationwide that partners with all three of the major veteran support programs.

The UWM graduation was held Sunday, Dec. 17.