WASHINGTON — The
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and Student
Veterans of America (SVA) are seeking student veteran candidates to participate
in the 2016 VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship program. The fellowship will once
again offer 10 selected student veterans the unique opportunity to meet
face-to-face with their legislators next spring as part of the VFW National
Legislative Conference, as well as additional academic opportunities for
fellows to substantively address veterans’ issues in their communities.
Student veterans interested in applying for the 2016 VFW-SVA
Legislative Fellowship must complete an application package that includes an
essay proposal on one of four specific legislative issues. The proposal should
include a discussion of why the issue is important to the veterans’ community, and how the fellowship candidate plans to address the issue
through community-based advocacy. Selected fellows will then be flown to
Washington, D.C., to storm Capitol Hill alongside fellow veterans’ advocates as
part of the 2016 VFW Legislative Conference, Feb. 28-March 3.
“The
VFW is the nation’s strongest veterans’ advocate, which is a legacy we are
looking to extend to a new generation of student veteran leaders,” said VFW
National Commander John A. Biedrzycki Jr., a retired high school history
teacher who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of
Pittsburgh after serving in the Army from 1967-1970. “These annual fellowships
provide 10 hard-charging student veterans the opportunity to share their
passions and concerns on veterans’ issues directly with our nation’s lawmakers,
which will help make a difference not only for their generation but for those
who will follow.”
"SVA recognizes the assets and potential
that student veterans bring to the table at all levels of the policy
discussion,” said Will Hubbard, SVA Vice President of Government Affairs. “We
look forward to continuing our strong relationship with the VFW, with the focus
of informing members of Congress on the major successes and opportunities for
student veterans, while demonstrating the value and return on investment of the
G.I. Bill.”
VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship opportunities are open to
currently-enrolled student veterans at colleges and universities with active
SVA chapters. Candidates must also satisfy VFW membership criteria, which can
be found here. For the
application essay proposal, applicants must select one of the following
veterans’ issues
to write about:
- The effects of budget sequestration on military and veteran
programs;
- Challenges
in the transition from military to civilian life;
- Fostering
veteran success in higher education; or
- Access and
accountability in delivering veterans’ health care.
All applications must be submitted by close-of-business Oct. 30, 2015.
Selected fellows will be notified before
Thanksgiving, with a formal announcement of the fellowship class at the SVA
National Conference in Orlando, Fla. For full
details about the fellowship and to apply, visit: www.vfw.org/StudentFellowship.
The VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship is another example of the
strong collaboration between VFW and SVA that resulted from a memorandum of
understanding signed by the two organizations at the SVA National Conference in
January 2013. To date, the collaboration has resulted in a variety of
initiatives such as commissioning
VFW Student Veteran Liaisons in every state, establishing the 1 Student Veteran
education benefits assistance program, and successfully pushing for in-state
tuition for veterans via the 2013 #InState4Vets campaign.
-vfw-
ABOUT THE VFW: The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is a nonprofit
veterans service organization comprised of eligible veterans and military service
members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. Founded in 1899 and
chartered by Congress in 1936, the VFW is the nation's largest organization of
war veterans and its oldest major veterans organization. With more than 1.7
million VFW and Auxiliary members located in more than 6,800 Posts worldwide, “NO
ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS.” The VFW and its Auxiliaries are dedicated to
veterans’ service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service
programs. For more information or to join, visit our website at www.vfw.org.
About
Student Veterans of America: SVA is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit coalition of
1,200-plus student veteran organizations representing 440,000 veterans in higher
education. SVA's mission is to provide military veterans with the resources,
support and advocacy to ease veteran and active military students' transition
into higher education and leverage military experience to launch successful
careers in high-demand fields. For more information, visit us at www.studentveterans.org and follow us on Twitter @studentvets.
Contacts:
VFW: Ryan Gallucci, rgallucci@vfw.org
SVA: Jessica Coscia, jessica.coscia@studentveterans.org