Nov 8 2021

UIC Student Veterans Association Info Session

November 8, 2021

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

UIC Veterans Week 2021

Address

Chicago, IL 60612

Calendar

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Are you interested in taking on a leadership role for the UIC student veteran population? The UIC Student Veterans Association’s past president, Daniel Alkire, will discuss his journey from service member to UIC student leader to UIC Alumni, as well as his current status as a graduate student at Illinois State University.

Register at: https://uic.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkceqtpzItE9XhK1V_4Hm2fxVqE72qBezn

Contact

Mia Garcia-Hills
mia123@uic.edu

Date posted

Oct 26, 2021

Date updated

Oct 29, 2021

Speakers

Daniel Akire

Daniel Alkire served in the Navy from 2010-2016 at Ft. Meade, MD, as a crypto-linguist. Daniel applied to UIC and was admitted quickly. From Spring '17 to Spring '18 Daniel finished his BA in British literature and rolled into an MA in English education. Unfortunately, his last semester was Spring '20, when COVID-19 hit. Daniel finished remotely, but didn't finish his MA project until this semester. Daniel is working on another BA in journalism.
 While at UIC, he was actively involved in the Student Veterans Association (SVA) and eventually became Treasurer then President. Honestly, it was difficult taking over for the old guard. Daniel had a good connection with a VA rep on campus. Unfortunately, this contract expired and the SVA was left without a great resource. But SVA sailed on. SVA continued to offer a great study space for veterans and connected them with the proper resources they needed each semester and every week. The SVA leadership team held monthly meetings to attend and voice concerns. SVA continued to hold fundraisers for extra-curriculars and volunteered in the community. Most importantly, we continued to aid veterans in their transition from Active-Veteran-Student-Career. Obviously and unfortunately, the pandemic put a stop to everything we could do, even at the lowest level. Student Veterans Association needs active and attentive guidance. I'm glad that Mia is getting the ball rolling on this, and I know that she's going to make sure that the SVA thrives again at UIC.