When Captain Andrew Cole decided it was time to get his master's degree, he chose Trevecca Nazarene University because of its military-friendly designation.

“What led me to Trevecca, besides the programs and the Christian atmosphere, was that Trevecca is a military friendly university,” said Cole, who has made the military his career for 26 years. “Trevecca has been recognized for their ability to serve veterans and go that extra step and become a military-friendly college.”

Cole soon discovered that he wanted to be a part of making Trevecca even more military-friendly. He began looking into ways he could help support student veterans even more. 

“I started to do some research and found that the Veteran's of Foreign Wars had [started something called] the Student Veterans Association (SVA),” he said. “They saw the need on campus for veterans that were going back to school.”

Cole then began figuring out what needed to happen to bring an SVA chapter to Trevecca's campus. The recently established chapter has been recognized by the national SVA organization, and Trevecca recently approved the group's charter. Any student can be a member of Trevecca’s SVA group, but only student veterans can be voting members.  

The Trevecca SVA chapter will host two open house sessions May 3 in Quick Lecture Hall on Trevecca's campus. The sessions, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m., will be mostly informational.

“It's more of a membership drive to get the word out,” Cole said. “We're building the foundation.” 

Most universities have military liaisons who promote the schools and the programs and scholarships they offer for military veterans, active duty personnel, and their families. While these liaisons help veterans begin to understand the educational benefits legislation like the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Programs offer them, liaisons can only do so much, Cole said.

That's why the SVA group is so important, according to Cole. The chapter will come alongside Trevecca's military liaison, Lewis Bridges, and provide further resources and support to military students. Trevecca's SVA has already been in contact with representatives from the Veteran’s Administration and is reaching out to Trevecca alumni who are part of other veteran organizations that can provide additional support to help veterans adjust to post-military life.   

“If you've never been there — been a veteran or been in the military or done a tour — then it's hard to understand the process of transitioning,” Cole said. “So veterans for veterans is probably one of the easiest ways to make things happen for people.”

Bridges is excited about the opportunity this group will afford Trevecca's student veterans. He said the association would help student veterans and their families gain greater access to needed information, like changes or additions to VA benefits.

“This association will also establish a support system to assist veterans’ transitioning from active duty to college life and reentering the civilian workforce,” Bridges said.

For more information about Trevecca's SVA chapter or the open house on May 3, contact Andrew Cole at amcole@trevecca.edu, andrewmcole@comcast.net, or by phone at 615-982-3345.

Last November, Trevecca was designated as a 2016 Military Friendly® School by G.I. Jobs® and Victory Media. The Military Friendly® Schools designation process includes extensive research and a data-driven survey of thousands of schools nationwide approved for Post-9/11 GI Bill funding. The school survey, methodology, criteria, and weightings are developed with the assistance of an independent Advisory Board comprised of educators and HR, diversity, and recruitment professionals from schools across the country. The survey is administered for free and open to all post-secondary schools who wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at militaryfriendly.com.

--Trevecca Nazarene University