Student Veteran Alliance (SVA)

The Student Veterans Alliance (SVA) is a club for student veterans. Our primary goal is to generate a campus-wide culture that embraces the leadership, discipline, and high standards veterans bring to our campus while translating their military experience to student success. Also, to further educate faculty and staff about the issues that we, the veterans, deal with coming to school, especially adjustment to college, traumatic head injury or post-traumatic stress disorder.

How will the SVA accomplish these goals?

Facilitate access to programs, benefits and services for veterans in the local and college community.
Invite all students, staff, and faculty to participate in the SVA community.

The current Student Veterans Alliance club was conceptualized by a student veteran that wanted to ensure that the veteran population had a voice on campus and resources available for the combat to classroom transition. This effort began September of 2010 by establishing meetings twice a month that welcome student veterans, dependents and spouses of veterans, and all other BCC students, staff/faculty interested in participating in the veteran community. This group is officially recognized as a student club on campus by the BCC Student Life Office and has an active membership and always welcomes new student veterans.

Sometime during these meetings a student suggested that the club use social media as a tool to connect the folks attending meetings. It was at that time the BCC Student Veterans Alliance Facebook group was created. The intention of the Facebook group was to have a safe space for the student veterans to share their voices, resources and experiences with each other outside of the bi-weekly meetings.

SVA members have done extensive outreach to the BCC campus and community through volunteerism, networking, events and community service. The members are committed to developing community relationships, creating visibility and establishing an access to BCC for veterans and the families and friends of veterans. At this time there are 71 veterans on our campus representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Air National Guard.