AUK is a platform for sharing the best American expertise and practices due to our partnership with Arizona State University(ASU) and the Pat Tillman Veterans Center - Arizona State University(PTVC) at the university, which serves veterans and their families to succeed on their college journey and in further civil life.
This Monday, December 11, we hosted the online "Proving Grounds Training. How to Interact with Student Veterans" with two incredible speakers – Shawn Banzhaf, Executive Director of The Pat Tillman Veterans Center, and Michelle Avila Loposky, Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships at the PTVC. The workshop was designed to provide practical tools and skills to engage with student veterans effectively.
As a combat veteran and former police officer, Shawn Banzhaf emphasized, "Veterans will always and forever be veterans, but help them transform into the 2.0 version of themselves, into the things they're passionate about, the talents they haven't let shine for a long time. According to a US government study, an average of 22 veterans commit suicide every day. If you know that your buddy, friend, brother, or sister gets into dark places, you need to do everything you can to give them the help they need. Do what you can to lessen their further trauma."
Michelle Avila Loposky, Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships at the PTVC and a veteran, stressed: "Encourage the student veterans to show the best of what they've learned from being in the military, that they are leaders and amazing team members. They are very mission-driven. Allow them to really showcase who they are in a positive light. It gives them a sense of purpose."
On behalf of AUK, we are highly grateful to Shawn Banzhaf and Michelle Loposky for raising hard and important issues and sharing practical tools and steps for supporting student veterans.
We also thank the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation for its partnership in the event.
We are grateful to Dan Rice, AUK President, and Liudmyla Dolhonovska, AUK Chief of Staff, for their consistent strong support and initiatives for Ukrainian veterans and their families.
Please watch the full video of the Proving Grounds Training: https://youtu.be/_2q5f-p1m0w