5 professionals connect with student veteran attendees on our SVA Campus, or exhibit hall, to provide guidance on internships, research, graduate education, and careers. Washington Week, held for one week each spring, is an invitation from your National Headquarters to Chapter Leaders to join SVA executives and staff in an experiential learning program designed around veteran education policy. Attendees join SVA in their annual testimony to the Joint House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees, advocate to members of Congress, participate in policy symposiums, and influence decision-makers. Regional Summits, held every summer, are the definitive experience for planning and building a worldclass SVA Chapter. They provide Chapter Leaders with the tools, techniques, and tactics to manage a successful and sustainable student organization. The curriculum for the Summits has been designed to deliver strategic planning and role-specific training. The regional design of this program intentionally allows attendees to connect directly with others within the same region for coalition building, organic network building, and peer-support. The Leadership Institute is an immersive leadership program that prepares students to affect change stretching beyond their SVA chapter and campus. Each fall, the top 100 Chapter Leaders are invited to your National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to participate. This is the premier student foundational leadership experience in the country, where participants are identified through a highly competitive application and selection process. It is a four-day, personal core values-based leadership immersion program with intentional and innovative curriculum. Many of the nation’s top leaders provide mentorship to attendees throughout this experience, including members of the press, Congress, White House officials, and others. Chapter Consultations are provided throughout the year. Whether Chapter Leaders are facing difficult decisions, seeking guidance on steps to build a better Chapter, are experiencing difficulties in navigating university administration, or even want to share a success stories, Chapter Consultations are an opportunity to engage one-on-one with SVA staff. Finally, several select SVA partners have created financial assistance packages in the form of scholarships to assist student veterans in meeting the financial requirements of post-secondary education. Many student veterans bring responsibilities traditional students don’t experience with them to school, and often have financial needs beyond the supports of the GI Bill. These scholarships alleviate stressors associated with that financial need to allow student veterans to focus on their education. The list of programs and services continues to grow and evolve as data, feedback, and impacts are collected and analyzed. The strategic direction of the Programs and Services Department is intended to accommodate the lifecycle of the student veteran and the Chapter, where design and implementation of new curriculum is modeled in alignment with our mission. Why It Matters The more than 1,500 Student Veterans of America Chapters represent over three-quarters of a million student veterans currently earning a degree or certificate in post-secondary education. These student veterans and military-affiliated students are tomorrow’s leaders. The transition to, through, and beyond higher education is, without a doubt, within the capabilities of these highly trained and qualified students who have been instilled with the core values of the military. SVA’s role in this transition is to reduce barriers, provide opportunities, build community and empower student veterans to achieve their greatest potential. Student veterans can be successful in college even if they dawn blinders leading straight from admissions to graduation, especially if the only metric for success is graduation. By removing those blinders, building community, and engaging with a Chapter that is matured through SVA programs and services, supported by SVA advocacy, and backed by SVA research, student veterans can exceed their assumed potential to
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