On June 22, the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency honored Michigan State University and 14 other institutions in the state for their commitment to helping student veterans transition from military to college life through the Michigan Veteran Education Initiative.
MVEI places veteran resource representatives on college campuses throughout the state to help student veterans succeed as they pursue an education through a partnership between the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and Michigan College Access Network.
The representatives provide support and answer questions from veterans, faculty and staff about admissions, financial aid and other topics. During the past 18 months, VRRs have connected with more than 2,000 student veterans and assisted them in claiming more than $5 million in benefits.
Sarah Mellon is MSU’s student resource representative. She was hired in February 2015 to run MSU’s Veterans Resource Center.
“Working with more than 300 military-connected students throughout the past 18 months has allowed me to assess the interests and goals of student veterans on campus, while also connecting them to available resources,” she said. “This will allow us to begin implementing additional programming for the military and veteran student population.”