Post on 29-May-2018
January 2017
Veterans Academic Resource
Center Staff
Paul Viau
Associate Registrar/VARC Director
Bethany Glassbrenner
Assist. Registrar/Certifying Official
Lena Huntsman
Program Assist./Certifying Official
Lorine Cisch-Taylor
Transfer & Transition/
Career Services
Joshua “JJ” Johnson
Program Coordinator
Lee Young
Office Manager
Connect with other UCF Student Veterans
Join the Student Veterans Association to connect with other
student veterans.
Contact the Chris Lonas President:
Lonas_chris@knights.ucf.edu
The Student Veterans Asso-
ciation is looking for a new
officer position to fill. The
SVA is accepting applicants
for position of Event Coordi-
nator. If interested email
SVA President, Chris Lonas:
Lonas_cris@knights.ucf.edu
Support Student Veterans of America, UCF Chapter
Shirts for sale! Available now!
$15 each order yours today email: SVA.UCF@gmail.com
Or stop by the VARC and see JJ Johnson, VARC Program Coordinator
Happy New Year and Welcome Back
We hope you had a great Winter Break and welcome you back to the start
of the Spring 2017 Semester. As many of you know, spring semester is a
very busy time and the VARC is here to help all military veterans during
this hectic time!
In order to help streamline the process, we want to highlight certain dates
that are important to you which can possibly affect your GI Bill certifica-
tion, school and BAH payments.
Classes Begin—Monday, January 9, 2017
Last day to Drop/Swop Classes—Thursday, January 12, 2017
Last day to Drop & Receive Full Refund—Thursday, January 12, 2017
Last day to Add Classes—Friday, January 13, 2017
Payment Deadline—Friday, January 20, 2017
At the University of Central Florida and the UCF VARC we have plenty of
upcoming events in the month of January to keep you busy. Interested?
Please visit http://events.ucf.edu/upcoming/ to find out more about UCF’s
upcoming events for all students.
VARC - Orientation Revisited
While the VARC is highly committed to helping our student veterans
with GI Bill certifications and transcript evaluations, we want to high-
light other resources that the UCF VARC offers:
Tutoring - The Student Academic Resource Center (SARC) hosts regular
scheduled tutoring sessions at the VARC.
Career Counselor - Lorine Cisch-Taylor is our Career Counselor to help
students find the right major, minor, and career.
Academic Advisor - Lorine Cisch-Taylor and our Peer Mentors can help
you develop and implement your academic plans and goals.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) - The VARC works in col-
laboration with CAPS to ensure all students get the correct resources that
they need.
VARC PEER MENTORS
MICHAEL ARP Air Force
Sport & Exercise Science, Senior Michael.Arp@ucf.edu
BRIAN BARNETT
Marine Corps Sport & Exercise Science, Senior
Brian.Barnett@ucf.edu
MARCO JUSTO Air Force
Aerospace Engineering, Senior Marco.Justo@ucf.edu
TRACY LOVEGOOD
Navy Anthropology, Junior
Tracy.Lovegood@ucf.edu
QUYNH-ANH MARTIN Air Force
Biology, Junior Quynhanh.Martin@ucf.edu
Peer Mentor Phone: 407-823-1186
Congratulations to our newest VARC Peer
Mentor, Brian Barnett! Brian is a Marine
Corps veteran and is currently a senior ob-
taining a BS in Sport & Exercise Science. Ten Things You Should Know About Today's Student Veteran
by Alison Lighthall
The National Education Association published a great article about to-day’s student veterans. It is a very interesting read and highlights what makes student veterans so special. You can find the full article at: http://www.nea.org/home/53407.htm
10. Student veterans are a highly diverse group—as diverse as America itself.
9. Veterans do not see themselves as victims. Ever. 8. They can feel very alone on campus. 7. They are often unaware of their own mild traumatic brain injuries. 6. There are three things you should never say to a student veteran
(but they still hear them every day). “These wars were atrocities and a waste of human life,” “I don’t get why you’re having so much trouble—you volunteered, right?” and worst of all, “Did you kill anyone?”
5. Female veterans suffer deeply, and almost always in silence. 4. They often want to go back to the war zone. 3. Combat trauma is an injury, not a mental illness. 2. To succeed, veterans need your understanding, compassion and
respect. 1. Student veterans are one of America’s greatest untapped human
resources.
University of Central Florida Named Silver Award Recipient by Military Friendly®
School’s Military Initiatives Honored for being
“Better for Veterans”
University of Central Florida has been named a Silver-level Military Friendly® School Award recipient for 2017. Victory Media, originator of the family of Military Friendly® em-ployment, entrepreneurship and education resources for veterans and their families, published its special awards for 2017 Military Friendly® Schools and Employers at https://militaryfriendly.com. For more than a decade, Mili-tary Friendly® ratings have set the standard for companies and colleges demonstrating positive employment and edu-cation outcomes for veterans and their families.
New this year, Military Friendly® Awards showcase the most powerful and effective programs of more than 200 companies and 1,200 post-secondary schools that were designated as “Military Friendly®” in November. Of those designated, 154 employers and 541 schools have been recognized for excellence in different categories, high-lighting not only “Are you Military Friendly®?” but “How Military Friendly® are you?”
“All of our Military Friendly® award recipients set the standard for excellence,” said Daniel Nichols, Chief Prod-uct Officer of Victory Media and head of Military Friendly® development. “They offer exceptional examples of what it means not just to build a program that meets federal re-quirements, but one that serves the military and veteran community from classrooms to careers.”
Thank you to everyone who donated to Toys for Tots!
The UCF VARC 2nd Annual Toys for Tots Drive was a major success.
We had over 200+ new, unwrapped toys donated from our student
military veterans. MSgt Robert McChesney (pictured below) re-
ceived the donated toys for distribution. Thank you for making an-
other Christmas Holiday memorable for all the toy recipients.
VARC Employee Spotlight
Michael has also constantly worked hard to make sure all his student
population has been contacted and made them aware that he is there
to assist with any academic and/or social challenges they may face.
Michael also coordinates the VARC social media and has increased our
presence over 75% on LinkedIn and 45% on Facebook. Starting this
Spring semester, he will also be Editor of the VARC newsletter.
Michael, a Sports and Exercise Science Graduate Student, who will
graduate this Spring semester, plans to work as a Registered Dietitian
upon completing his degree. Michael is also an Air Force Veterans
who worked in transportation and has been stationed around the
globe.
These are just a few reasons why, Michael was selected as VARC Em-
ployee of the Month for December 2016!! During your next visit to
the VARC, please make sure you stop by and congratulate him on this
achievement !
Michael Arp, December 2016 Employee of
the Monday. Michael currently serves as a
VARC Peer Mentor who works with our Grad-
uate Students and Graduating Senior popula-
tions. Since beginning with the VARC in Sep-
tember 2016, Michael has made tremendous
efforts with enhancing the VARC Graduation
Recognition Ceremony.
Program Name and Description Date/Time/Place
VARC MOVIE NIGHTS
Movies shown in the VARC Lobby every other Thurs-day night starting January 26 through April 6. Pop-
corn and Drinks will be provided. Bring the family or just bring yourself. Child friendly movies will be
shown in VARC Study Room 109. Check the VARC Website for movie showing.
EVERY OTHER THURSDAY
STARTING JANUARY 26
VARC LOBBY
5:30 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M.
VARC GAME NIGHTS
VARC will have board games and Nintendo Wii availa-ble for veterans to play every other Wednesday night starting January 18 through April 12. Bring the family or just yourself. Check VARC Website for game dates
EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY
STARTING JANUARY 18
VARC LOBBY
6:00 P.M. TO 9:00 P.M.
VARC RESOURCE FAIR
Local Veteran Service Organization and Businesses to provide information and resources for our veteran
student population. Florida International Real Estate, Orlando VA Medical Center, UCF Victim Services, Or-
lando Vet Center, and many more will be present. Door Prizes and light refreshments will be served.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2017
316 STUDENT UNION
11:00 A.M. TO 2:00 P.M.
NOW OPEN! Veteran Food Pantry
Sponsored by SVA
Housed at the VARC
SVA and the VARC are proud to present
the Veteran Food Pantry! Similar to the
Knight’s Pantry located on campus, this Vet-
eran Food pantry will supply students in
need with food items to help them get by. It
has been a major undertaking that we are
happy to present to our students.
The pantry will be open Monday through
Friday during VARC Business Hours. How-
ever, the pantry will also be opening for two
Saturdays each month. Stay tuned to this
newsletter for updates on that.
The pantry is donation based and as such
is limited in what is can provide. With this
in mind we ask that veterans wanting to
utilize this new service only take around
three days worth of food per visit.
If you have any questions please do not
hesitate to contact the VARC Front Desk at
(407) 823-2707.
Employer of the Month
Thank You Lockheed Martin!
Please join me in a Great Big Thank you to Lockheed Martin for their generous contribution to the Paychecks for Patriots Ca-
reer Fair! Many students had the opportunity to “Vet” Work with Lock-
heed Professionals – and a few even participated in inter-views!!
Keep your eyes open for the next Lockheed visit or event on Campus! You never know when they will be here with some-
thing just for YOU!!
For more information on Job Opportunities at Lockheed, please go to:
http://search.lockheedmartinjobs.com/ListJobs/ByState/FL/Country-US/
The UCF VARC wants to congratulate VARC Work Study employee Abigail Ristino on earning her
BS in Criminal Justice and VARC Office Manager Lee Young on earning his MS in Criminal Justice.
Lee will remain with the UCF VARC full time, while Abbi will move forward in future endeavors.
We will miss Abbi and thank her for all that she has done for the VARC!
We had a great turnout and a lot of fun at the Fall 2016 Graduate
Recognition Ceremony. The UCF VARC congratulates all of our
student veterans who graduated this Fall 2016 semester, and
wishes you the best in your career paths. Good luck and thank you
for your service!