FSU Reps Attend Student Veterans of America Conference

BY TY DEMARTINO ’90

Representatives from Frostburg State University’s Veterans Services attended and presented at the 15th Annual National Conference of the Student Veterans of America. The conference took place at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., this past January with the theme “On the Shoulders of Giants.”

According to Clarissa Lang ’06, advisor and director of Veterans Services at FSU, the SVA National Conference is the largest gathering of student veterans and hosts 1,500 campuses from across the world.

“Our students were able to gain skills through workshops within the three days of the conference, meet other students going through their same experiences, network with chapter leaders and sell themselves for possible jobs at the SVA Campus Career Fair,” said Lang, who also presented the session “Building Leaders to Build Successful Student Organizations.”

FSU representatives at the National Conference of the Student Veterans of America included (left to right) Hailey Jenkins, Isaac Esene, Aisa Wright, FSU Director of Veterans Services Clarissa Lang, Marcus Stuart, Taylor Reams and Hope Smart.

The six FSU students who attended this year are veterans, dependents or military-connected and included Isaac Esene, Marcus Stuart, Hailey Jenkins, Hope Smart, Aisa Wright and Taylor Reams.

Esene, a veteran and a graduate student at the FSU Hagerstown campus, presented the talk “A Student, An Airman, and a Black Man – A General Guide on How to be a Successful Student.” In the session, Esene shared personal accounts and strategies to manage being a student while in the National Guard and reserves.

“The SVA Conference was such a pleasant experience. There were several sessions filled with valuable information -- specifically, the Linkedin for Veterans seminar,” Esene said. “It was great to connect to such a large base of veterans.” For more information on the SVA, visit studentveterans.org.

Isaac Esene