Erica Santiago / News Director
Jan. 7-10, members of the FIU chapter of the Student Veterans of America, a national organization dedicated to providing resources, advocacy and support for active duty veterans and their dependants, represented the university at the 8th annual SVA National Conference in Orlando FL.
Over the years the SVA National Conference has grown to be a center where veterans come together to facilitate “connections between thought leaders, stakeholders and veteran advocates.”
Johnson also explained the the conference serves as an opportunity for many Veterans to get reacclimated into society via employment fairs and internships.
One major opportunity at the conference is the annual national business plan competition. During the competition, SVA chapters from across the U.S. compete for up to $3000 in grant money for their chapter.
“This is our second year competing in the competition and last year we were in the top six in the nation,” says Christopher Johnson, an Information Technology major and IT committee chair for the FIU chapter of SVA.
The competition serves as a way for SVA chapters to earn large grants that could be used towards facilitating the services of SVA and further expanding SVA chapters. Participants must present a business plan that summarizes how the chapter generates revenue, how the revenue is used and the future plans of the chapter. A budget must be included in the presentation.
The competition starts accepting plans around August of every year. This year over 100 chapters submitted their plans and the top six went on to present in front of a panel of judges. The top two competitors go on to present in front of the whole conference. From there, votes from the audience combined with ratings from the judges determine the winner.
This year, not only did FIU SVA’s business plan earn them a spot in the finals, but they also earned second place and took home a $2750 grant for their chapter.
“We can use the money to help service veterans on campus, provide resources and fellowship events,” says Johnson.
FIU SVA also plans to provide a scholarship for veterans at financial risks.
Johnson credits Amal Rosario, president of FIU SVA, and the FIU SVA team who came together to represent FIU in the business plan competition.
“It’s important to understand this was done by a team of 10 people who worked really hard.” says Johnson.
He goes on to credit Rosario with organizing their participation and planning out the trip to the conference.
“She’s the one who drives the train,” says Johnson.
The Student Veterans of America is an organization that seeks to provide support and advocacy for active duty veterans and dependants. Johnson says that it is important for there to be an organization and safe space for student veterans because often times they have a difficult time relating to fellow students. This has to do with many of the veterans training and personal experiences, as well the fact that the vets are much older than some students and have families of their own. Johnson himself, who did three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army National Guardsmen, is in his 30s and has two children of his own.
Non-veteran and dependents are encouraged to join as well. Johnson says this is because civilian students could actually benefit from learning from and getting to know FIU’s student veterans.
“One of the biggest things [students can do with veterans] is talk to them. We have so much knowledge to share,” says Johnson.
[image from Flickr]
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