One of the ways Westminster’s Sylvia O’Hara has earned the trust of student-veterans is by nudging them to leave their comfort zones and realize they already have many of the tools they need to succeed. courtesy of westminster college
UTAH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION VETERAN AFFAIRS DIXIE STATE UNIVERSITY Veterans Affairs Specialist: Steve Roberts 435-652-7699, dixie.edu/veterans/ SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Veterans Affairs Specialist: Darlene Head 801-957-4289, slcc.edu/veterans/index.aspx SNOW COLLEGE Veterans Affairs Specialist: Miriam Thomas 435-283-7065, snow.edu/offices/veteran_services/ SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY Veterans Affairs Specialist: Christine Byrnes 435-865-8477, suu.edu/veteransaffairs
A PLACE TO GET ANSWERS At the University of Utah, Paul Morgan leads the “Boots to Utes” effort as director of the Veterans Support Center on the top floor of the Olpin Student Union, where the center has been for the last two years. Morgan combines his Marine career as a data-comm officer, time as a smallbusiness owner and nearly completed Ph.D. credentials with his gentle, fatherly presence to serve the 1,000-plus student-veterans on the U. campus. He noted the 3,000 visits his vets made to the center in the past year and observed that “half of those were socializing, and I really enjoy that part of the job.”
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Veterans Affairs Specialist: Paul Morgan 801-587-7722, registrar.utah.edu/veteran/ UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Veterans Affairs Specialist: Tony Flores 435-797-7886, usu.edu/registrar/veterans UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY Veterans Affairs Specialist: Sheldon Holgreen 801-863-8212, uvu.edu/veterans/ WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Veterans Affairs Specialist: Charlie Chandler 801-626-6039, weber.edu/vetaffairs WESTMINSTER COLLEGE Veterans Affairs Specialist: Sylvia O’Hara 801-832-2202, westminstercollege.edu/veterans UTAH APPLIED TECHNOLOGY COLLEGES Most UATC have not developed dedicated spaces for veterans to gather, but they do have representatives to help guide veterans with available educational resources: Bridgerland Applied Technology College, batc.edu Davis Applied Technology College, datc.edu Dixie Applied Technology College, dxatc.edu Mountainland Applied Technology College, mlatc.edu Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College, owatc.edu Southwest Applied Technology College, swatc.edu Tooele Applied Technology College, tatc.edu Uintah Basin Applied Technology College, ubatc.edu —source:
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va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y
The U. center has a conference room for staff meetings, but Morgan explained that the space is more often used by student-veterans as a study hall, with a bit of commiserating mixed in. “In the same conversation they talk about a suicide bomber who died right in front of them, and then they switch to a discussion on calculus,” he said. Morgan sees himself as an answer man more than anything, but he knows his limits. “We will bend over backwards to do everything possible to help them succeed,” he promised. “If we don’t have the service, we’ll find the person who does. This is a great place to get answers.”
THE TOOLS TO SUCCEED Just down the hill at Westminster College is Sylvia O’Hara, the only full-time cast member in her self-called “one-person show” as director of the Center for Veteran and Military Services, which opened Sept. 11, 2015. She november
2016