Colorado State University Veterans Day Media Tip Sheet

Note to Reporters: The following is a media tip sheet that includes information about events, experts and resources at Colorado State University. The contact information for experts is intended to provide resources to reporters and editors and is not intended as contact information for the public. To arrange interviews, please contact the person listed with each topic.

 

Veterans Day Activities Nov. 11 on the CSU Campus

A Veterans Day celebration will be held from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, at Colorado State University on the Lory Student Center Plaza. Activities include Adult Learner and Veteran Services Open House and breakfast from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at Lory Student Center, Room 195; hotdogs provided at noon on the Lory Student Center Plaza by Adult Learner and Veteran Services and the ACE/Wal-Mart Veterans Success Grant; and a free movie showing of “Restrepo” at 7 p.m. the Lory Student Center Theatre. The events are being sponsored by the Adult Learner and Veteran Services Office and the Student-Veterans Organization. Jan Rastall is the director of Adult Learner and Veteran Services at Colorado State. To speak with Rastall, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

Veterans Day 5K in honor of CSU Army ROTC graduate Nov. 13

CSU’s Student Veteran’s Organization is hosting a Veterans Day 5K Run/Walk at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13, on the Oval. The race is being held to recognize all who have served and sacrificed and to honor the life and service of Capt. Jason Galus, who was killed last year. Galus deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom from April 2007 to May 2008. His military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge. Galus was an outstanding Army officer and a graduate of the Army ROTC Ram Battalion at Colorado State, where he was commissioned in 2003 as a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery. While a student, Galus was a Division I varsity athlete on the CSU track and field team in the middle and long-distance events. Testimonials from his fellow officers and soldiers attest to the fact that Galus was a caring leader who led by example. He exemplified the character and skills of a graduate of the Army ROTC program at Colorado State. Jan Rastall is the director of Adult Learner and Veteran Services at Colorado State. To speak with Rastall, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

CSU Recognized for Providing Education to Colorado Army National Guard

Colorado State University’s Continuing Education program was honored recently with the presentation of a plaque and American flag to recognize the educational opportunities it provided to the Colorado Army National Guard. The flag was flown over Camp Ramadi in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. It was presented to Colorado State for “support of our service members while serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom.” From 2006-2010, Colorado State Continuing Education offered a special cohort of its Organizational Performance and Change Master of Education in Education and Human Resource Studies to 70 military personnel, some of whom served in Iraq while working to earn their degrees. Colorado State University faculty commuted weekly from Fort Collins to deliver the program on site at the National Guard headquarters in Centennial, Colo. Pam Nicholson is the CSU program director. To speak to Nicholson, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or Jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

Military Veterans Section of College Composition Course

As veterans transition from active duty to full-time student status, the strong sense of purpose, the intense camaraderie and the stimulation of shared missions in combat are exchanged for a comparatively calm and self-reliant student life. Veterans need support during this period of transition, and the CSU English Department, working with the Office of Adult Learners and Veteran Students, is providing that support in a veteran-designated first-year composition course. While the course requires students to meet the same written communication objectives as a “regular” composition class, the vets-only course provides veteran-students with a cohort of fellow veterans who share experiences and perspectives; supportive, veteran-friendly faculty who have experience with the military and veterans; and opportunities to develop materials for the “Veteran Students Survival Manual,” an information packet distributed to student-veterans at the ALVS Veteran Student Orientations each fall.

The course of 23 students have written about a diverse range of topics from the challenge of working with Veterans Affairs to the influence of John Stewart’s Daily Show on Generation Y to the challenges of maintaining healthy relationships in military families. They are a diverse and vocal community of students whose work ethic and drive for success is nothing short of impressive. To learn more about the course, contact Kimberly Sorensen at (970) 491-0757 or Kimberly.Sorensen@colostate.edu.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Counseling Veterans

Michael Steger, assistant professor of counseling psychology and applied social psychology, can speak to the challenges facing veterans relating to how they were received when they returned from tours of duty. He can discuss how the support veterans receive seems to help – a lesson learned following Vietnam. He can talk about military service and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as the potential for growth following trauma. He can discuss the fact that soldiers often have a hard time talking to people about their experiences or believing that others can understand what they experienced. Steger can describe effective treatments for PTSD, which involve re-learning the mind’s natural response to intense stress and trauma to reduce the feeling of "being there" when memories come back. He can also address the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, which he aided in a small way as a consultant, and the emphasis placed on spiritual fitness, posttraumatic growth and preparing soldiers to make meaning from their experiences. To speak with Steger, contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

CSU Among Top Military Friendly Schools in the Nation

In August, Colorado State University was named as a top military friendly school in the nation, according to G.I. Jobs magazine. The 2011 list of Military Friendly Schools honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans as students. Criteria for making the Military Friendly Schools list included efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, results in recruiting military and veteran students, and academic accreditations. Schools on the Military Friendly Schools list also offer additional benefits to student veterans such as on-campus veterans programs, credit for service and military spouse programs. Jan Rastall is the director of Adult Learner and Veteran Services at Colorado State. To speak to Rastall, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or Jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

CSU Program Helps Returning Military Vets Overcome Injuries, Re-enter Community

A Colorado State University program announced this year helps military veterans returning from the Middle East re-enter the community – a challenge that may be characterized by brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and a significant cultural shift from being at war to working along the Front Range. CSU’s New Start Program is being implemented by the Center for Community Partnerships, a service and outreach arm of the Department of Occupational Therapy in the College of Applied Human Sciences. New Start tailors a re-entry system for veterans to help them begin local career and educational pursuits. Catherine Shelly is the director of the program. To speak with Shelly, contact Dell Rae Moellenberg at (970) 491-6009 or DellRae.Moellenberg@colostate.edu.

CSU’s Veteran Green Jobs Initiative

Colorado State University and Veterans Green Jobs announced on Veterans Day 2009, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to create the Veterans Green Jobs Education Initiative at the university. CSU was the first four-year university to partner with Veterans Green Jobs to provide “green” educational opportunities to veterans. The MOU established a formal relationship between CSU and the Denver-based, non-profit organization, Veterans Green Jobs, for the purpose of encouraging and enhancing opportunities for military veterans to attend the university, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The initiative promotes academic disciplines that provide post-educational career opportunities for veterans in the green-jobs sector, both in Colorado and nationally. Bill Doe is the director of the program. To speak with Doe, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or Jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

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