Fifteen students in the Veterans Civic Engagement Project volunteered as course marshals in a ten-mile race in Reston, Virginia on March 3rd to support Team Red, White & Blue [1] (RWB), which seeks to reintegrate veterans into society through physical and social activities. Through the contributions of volunteers like TWC spring interns, Team RWB was awarded $500 by the Potomac River Running store for veterans to purchase running shoes and apparel. “Students were excited to see their volunteered time directly benefit Team RWB,” said Stephanie Aromando, who leads this Civic Engagement Project, “especially because they had met several veteran leaders of Team RWB earlier in the semester and seen firsthand how committed they are to successfully reintegrating combat veterans into the D.C. community.”
The Veterans Civic Engagement Project has over 60 participants this semester. Besides the Reston 10 Miler [2], March activities included a panel with five speakers who discussed employment issues for veterans—the national unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans is two percentage points higher than for non-veterans.
Panelists included:
- Gabe Morris, a 10-year army veteran with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan
- Martin Pursley, an army veteran and Department of Interior Program Officer who recruits veterans and persons with disabilities
- Larry Huff, a former army medic who now focuses on integrating veterans into the classroom through his VetOut program
- William B. Reynolds III, an army veteran and senior consultant with the Deloitte financial consulting firm
- Nicholas G. Lawless, TWC coordinator in the Office of Internship Site Relations who worked on the Apache helicopter in the army until an injury ended his military career
