Veterans Week honors those who serve(d) – and their allies

The Dunham Children's Learning Center eagerly embraced the celebration, holding a "Red, White & Blue Day" on Nov. 3. Honoring veterans among its families, as well as students who are currently serving, the CLC invited those parents to join a group photo in the play area. (Photo by Jennifer A. Cline, writer/magazine editor). Members of the Penn College Student Veterans Organization, a chapter of Student Veterans of America, paint "The Rock" in advance of the week's observance. With the project completed in time for a Nov. 4 Open House, the Wildcat adds its solidarity with the cause. (Photo by campus leader Kellor A. Schooley, a business administration student from Turbotville) Vouchers were issued for a free veterans lunch in the Keystone Dining Room on Tuesday. A series of displays in campus buildings imparted information on topics ranging from women in service ... ... to the history of service personnel's tattoos. President Michael J. Reed (left foreground) joins a tribute to Penn College's military family, organized for the third year by Kimberly S. Cordrey, aviation center assistant. Cordrey's appreciation for those in the armed services extends beyond her husband and daughter; at her Lumley Aviation Center luncheon, gratitude is always on the menu. Empty tables across campus, symbolically set and reverently intended, remember those who didn't come home. Certainly included in the week's honorees are the hundreds of student veterans and active military, like Cadence J. Copson, a pre-nursing student from Jersey Shore who serves in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. She is also a work-study student in the Major General Fred F. Marty Veterans & Military Resource Center and treasurer of the college's Student Veterans Organization. A slideshow of "Our Veterans," which ran throughout the week on campus video screens, greeted brunch guests at Penn's Inn on Friday. This one pays tribute to Joshua S. Burke, a May graduate in network & user support and an associate enterprise infrastructure engineer in Information Technology Services. Among those wearing T-shirts to commemorate the day – olive green for veterans, light gray for allies – are (in foreground) Heather M. Shuey, senior director of employee success, who served in the Army for 12 years; and Tanya Berfield, director of student advocacy; Title IX coordinator. The president, whose grandfather was a World War I veteran and whose father fought in the Korean War, welcomes brunch attendees by applauding the "extraordinary service" of the 300-plus veterans currently on campus. "Multiply that by the 110-year history of this institution," he said. "We honor what you have done, what you are doing and what you will do for the college, the community and our nation." The meal included a sweet "Oorah" to the Marine Corps, which celebrated an anniversary this Veterans Day. Cutting the cake are Mike A. Cruz (foreground), a heating, ventilation & air conditioning engineering technology student from Mechanicsburg; and Alex N. Hernandez, of Pittsburgh, enrolled in construction management. Army veteran John F. Chappo, assistant professor of history/history of technology, was the first of the day's speakers – one each from faculty/staff, alumni and the current student body – to retrace their path from military service to Penn College. Relating how the crucible of camaraderie melts away all distinction and class, he said, "There's not a soul on this planet that I can't learn something from if I'm open and receptive." Representing alumni was Capt. Diego H. Wilson, an Army pilot and a 2015 graduate in aviation maintenance technology. Joking that he was given only five minutes to speak, when others were allotted 10, he said, "Maybe we're just more efficient, getting it done in half the time." To reinforce his message of "Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it," Wilson told of returning to campus with his best friend from Penn College, landing their helicopters on The Madigan Library lawn during June's Wildcat Rotorfest – the same lawn where they did their physical training as Army ROTC students. Goodnatured rivalries among service branches – including the internet-age trope that Marines eat crayons – colored the atmosphere in the Bush Campus Center. A tradition is born with presentation of the Veteran Student Success Award to Cordrey for her contribution to veteran students' academic achievement. Cordrey received the award (which was produced by students in the Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College) from Alicia "Marty" Martinez, of Allentown, an Air Force veteran enrolled in aviation maintenance technology. Martinez, student speaker at the brunch, called Cordrey "our Mom" as she told of enrolling at the college to carry her affinity for aircraft mechanics into civilian life. The award-winner gets a congratulatory hug from Army veteran Rebecca A. Steer, office assistant to the dean of engineering technologies. Cordrey wears her heart on her sleeve ... and her patriotism from head to stylish toe. "I don't like when veterans tell me, 'It's nothing. I was just doing my job,'" she emotionally said in accepting her award. "Because it's not 'nothing' to me." A post-brunch gathering at "The Rock" Katie C. Burke, veteran services specialist; and Chet Beaver, assistant director of student advocacy for veteran/military – co-workers and architects of the college's inaugural Veterans Week – pause to celebrate a successful weeklong salute (before planning what to add next year).