VA Secretary visits with UH Mānoa veteran students
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Link to video and sound (details below): https://bit.ly/3SGCvv4
WHAT: Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis Richard McDonough visits with veteran students at UH Mānoa to discuss topics of interest for service members transitioning to college life and careers beyond the military.
WHO: VA Secretary Denis Richard McDonough, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, UH veteran students and administration involved in assisting veteran students.
WHERE: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
HOW: UH Mānoa assists students using Veterans Affairs benefits such as GI bill scholarships and other funds.
WHY: The VA secretary hosts discussions with student veterans on campuses around the country as part of finding how the former service members are adjusting to life after the military and how the VA can improve assisting in the transition.
OTHER FACTS:
- UH Mānoa enrolls more than 700 veterans as undergraduates and more than 100 as graduate students.
- UH Mānoa has an Office of Veteran Student Services that assists at the campus level with the transition to student life with academic support and other services.
- The Student Veterans Scholarship Fund aims to support veteran and military connected students at UH Mānoa. Funds are used for costs associated with attendance (e.g. tuition, books, fees, etc.). The Office of Veteran Student Services understands and recognizes the unique needs of veterans and their families and has created this account to provide continued support for veteran and military connected student success. For more information, visit https://giving.uhfoundation.org/funds/12784704.
VIDEO BROLL: (0:50)
VA Secretary visiting with UH Mānoa veteran students
SOUNDBITES:
Denis Richard McDonough, U.S. Veterans Affairs secretary (:22)
“I’m thrilled to be here at the University of Hawaiʻi to hear directly from student veterans and military-connected students about their experience here. Some of them will be here relying on programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, so I want to hear directly from them, our customers, about how those programs are working.”
Matthew Rinaldi, UH Mānoa student and former U.S. Army aviation logistics specialist (:21)
“It’s pretty unprecedented that the secretary of the VA is willing to come here and talk to students. It really makes our voices heard or listened to, just to get those issues out there, and to actually bring changes to the VA system is important for a lot of veterans.”