Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--More than 300 Army National Guard recruits will be at Mississippi State Nov. 14 for the university's third Veterans' Discovery Day.
Held in conjunction with the university's home football game with the University of Alabama, the event will conclude Veterans Awareness Week on campus.
Sponsored and organized by MSU's G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans, the week's programs are designed to draw attention to the importance of the national Nov. 11 Veterans Day observance.
On the 11th, MSU President Mark Keenum will be keynote speaker for a 2 p.m. public ceremony on the Drill Field that pays tribute to veterans and highlights the importance of the student-veteran population.
"This whole week is about increasing the awareness of how important Veterans Day is," said center director Andrew Rendon. "While Memorial Day remembers soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country, Veterans Day is a time to pay tribute to and honor all service members, both current and former."
In addition to receiving campus tours and introductions to the various academic offerings, the new enlistees will be special guests on the 14th for a pre-game tailgating function at the Junction, the green space adjoining Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. A ceremony honoring their service is scheduled during the game's halftime.
"Veterans' Discovery Day is a great opportunity to introduce these new soldiers to our beautiful campus, as well as to many degree opportunities available, should they wish to use their GI Bill benefits and continue their educations," said David Blair, the Montgomery Center's outreach coordinator.
University admissions counselors and other representatives of the Division of Student Affairs, along with the Reserve Officers Training Corps departments, will be on hand to provide detailed answers to visitors' question, Blair added.
Other Veterans' Awareness Week events include:
--Nov. 10, faculty workshops at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to share information concerning issues facing student veterans and service members as they make transitions to university life. Both 90-minute sessions take place in 324 Colvard Student Union.
--Nov. 12, former lieutenant governor Amy Tuck, now special assistant to Keenum, as featured speaker for a luncheon honoring Vietnam War veterans in the union's Foster Ballroom. Getting under way at 11 a.m., the program is open to all area veterans of the Southeast Asian conflict.
The Montgomery Center for America's Veterans was established to provide higher education opportunities to former and current service members as well as their dependents through programs and services largely unavailable at many other institutions. Among other missions, its staff members provide career counseling and guidance, and academic assistance and mentorship. (For more information, visit www.veterans.msstate.edu.)
For more information about the 2009 MSU Veterans' Awareness Week, contact Blair at 662-325-1496 or dblair@saffairs.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.