Yesterday’s Warriors.  Today’s Scholars.  Tomorrow’s Leaders.  This is the battle cry of the Student Veterans of America, who held their 2014 Leadership Summit for the Pacific Northwest on the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, WA on August 14-16, 2014.

These officers, representing Student Veterans of America chapters from college and university campuses in 5 states, were treated to a 3-day intensive seminar outside Seattle that included workshops, school-specific meetings, exercises in business plan development, and some social time as well.

Theses veterans came from all 5 branches of the US Armed Forces, and summit facilitators came from the same.

In addition to learning sessions, attendees were also offered mini-seminars presented Microsoft, a strong SVA partner, on a range of topics around transitioning from active duty through higher education to the private sector work force.  These mini-sessions included help in resume building, networking techniques and budget management.

The 3-day summit finished with the leadership of each school presenting their business plan to move forward through the 2014-2015 school year and beyond, adjudicated by a mix of SVA and Microsoft employees all veterans in their own right, then closed with a graduation ceremony where each leader received a diploma and a Challenge Coin – a military tradition.

The Student Veterans of America provides military veterans with the resources, support, and advocacy needed to succeed in higher education and following graduation.  Working with this group was a real pleasure, and as a registered 501(c)(3) organization I was able to offer services at a discount.  See the entire set from the 3 days on the Microsoft campus here.