1. 2016 PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Faculty Advisor: Sheri Sallee
Professional Advisor: Phyllis Larsen
Bateman Team: Amy Kula, Cara Oldenhuis, Emily Wicht, Ryann Lynn, Ryan Rothman
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Executive Summary
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s (UNL) Bateman Competition team partnered with the UNL Student Veterans
Organization (SVO) to launch the Duty Always campaign, advancing the Student Veterans of America’s (SVA) mission.
This campus and community communications effort focused on influencer education and relationship building, versus
short-term publicity. The campaign showcased student veterans’ desire that their actions as UNL students would convey
their commitment to lead and serve – versus their past military service or uniforms that student veterans felt boxed them
into stereotypes. After learning the SVO’s preferred and sustained method of communications is a peer-to-peer model,
rather than today’s typical and expected digital communications, a strategic decision was made to focus resources in areas
other than SVO’s digital presence.
Duty Always focused on educational briefings and campus/community outreach for UNL student veterans to further
integrate their voices and viewpoints into relevant campus inclusion conversations, while building long-term relationships
and collaborations with influencers that demonstrate student veterans’ service commitment. This education and
outreach led to unexpected, powerful learnings. While all overly supportive of student veterans, the Executive Council of
Multicultural Organizations advisory board and residence hall directors leading a well-known campus inclusive language
campaign had stereotypical views and biases. When sharing a campaign concept about whether or not students see one
another for WHO they are versus artificial, external (social media-influenced) filters, student leaders did not readily see a
connection to student veterans. These leaders felt separate patriotic promotion of veterans would be best, which completely
countered student veterans’ own perspectives. Student leaders also expressed some resistance to involve student veterans
in their existing campus inclusion efforts – not recognizing 1) the diversity of student veterans and 2) stereotypes and bias
student veterans face. Relationship building continues with these influential student leaders, including a potential “Meeting
of the Minds” round table in initial discussion for the fall 2016 semester.
Notable campaign milestones included:
• Twenty-five distinguished state government, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. military, university
and community leaders attended an educational panel and breakfast with opening remarks by Nebraska Lieutenant
Governor Mike Foley, which coincided with state budget negotiations affecting university funding. Three student
veterans shared personal stories to convey the support and challenges they face on campus, as well as an innate desire
to continue their leadership and service. Following the formal panel, smaller briefings occurred with the Speaker of
the Nebraska Unicameral chief of staff and two other campus SVA chapters aiming to reinvigorate membership and
campus engagement.
• Through a collaboration with a non-profit organization founded by UNL students, Put A Sock In It, the SVO led a
campus inclusion event advocating the shared duty to “Put A Sock” in stereotypes and bias on campus and in the
process collected more than 630 pairs of socks for homeless veterans in the Lincoln community. The sock drive itself
enabled critical conversations about stereotypes related to veterans and homelessness.
• Duty Always successfully facilitated an SVO connection with the UNL Faculty Senate that introduced the Senate
president to SVA’s Kognito training resulting in a planned faculty training session next fall to help faculty better
integrate, understand and connect with student vets in the classroom.
• The SVO vice president and advisor also had the opportunity to speak at an Honors Seminar, “Think Global, Mentor
Local” to discuss their time overseas and how it has helped them to be better mentors today.
• Duty Always also facilitated SVO’s ongoing membership engagement efforts, utilizing various member development
tactics including email communications to SVO members, attendance at peer mentoring program events and
interactions at SVO meetings.
Situation Analysis
The Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (Post 9/11 GI Bill) was enacted in 2009 to address the financial need of
veterans pursuing higher education. Along with increasing federal tuition support, the legislation added support for other
expenses related to the challenges of being a nontraditional student.
The VA has supported approximately 1.4 million veterans and dependents pursuing higher education through Post 9/11 GI
benefits. High benefit utilization by veterans’ spouses and dependents has contributed to higher costs for the VA to manage.
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In 2015, the fiscal budget for veteran’s benefits including health care, dependents and the Post 9/11 GI Bill reached $65.32
billion. Congress monitors responsible use of this sizeable investment of taxpayers’ dollars and has considered tighter rules
on the use of veteran education benefits. Student veterans value educational benefits, but can find it challenging to access
benefits and navigate benefit administration through the VA. Veterans mixed experiences with the VA can actually extend
to veterans organizations, unrelated to the VA.
Incorporated in 2008, SVA provides leadership and educational programs, resources and support to student veteran
organizations nationwide. UNL’s SVO is an official chapter of SVA. Considered by the national organization as the “boots
on the ground,” the group provides social programs and academic assistance to succeed. The SVO formed in 2007 and
membership has fluctuated since then. Currently, there are an estimated 30 members that utilize the student-run office and
attend different social programs, conferences and other events. In April of 2015, UNL’s Military and Veteran Success Center
opened in the Union providing academic and transition coaching, peer mentors and support in and out of the classroom.
While the Center and student organization work together on various projects, they are two different organizations--the
Center run by UNL staff and SVO which is run by students. SVO views their separation as an important part of how things
work at UNL.
With a student population of 25,000, there are approximately 750 student veterans on campus, making up roughly three
percent of the UNL student population. UNL has only been recording veteran status on university applications for two
years, making it even harder to identify student veterans on campus. There is no definitive list of student veterans on
campus provided by UNL. There is an overall positive attitude of veterans on the UNL campus, including prominent
feature stories by The Daily Nebraskan collegiate newspaper. Many other cause-related messages exist on campus and
compete for collegiates’ attention.
Due to the significant drawdown in U.S. military troops, the numbers of student veterans returning to higher education
(for undergraduate or graduate degrees) are expected to grow. Colleges and universities have expanded student veteran
support services and actively market ‘vet-friendly’ campuses. The Pat Tillman Foundation has led the successful Got Your
6 public education campaign to bridge the gap between veterans and civilians, bringing nonprofits and the entertainment
industry together to bring authentic attention to stereotypes and bias affecting veterans. This campaign sheds light on
veterans not wanting or expecting a benefit “handout,” but rather wanting to continue serving in their communities and
for their fellow veterans. Major corporations, such as Starbucks and Walmart, have led public campaigns to further support
veterans’ transition to civilian life - advocating for hiring of veterans and greater community recognition of veterans as
assets to our communities. This somewhat bandwagon effect was compounded by a fall 2015 Congressional report showing
the U.S. Department of Defense paid professional sports teams to publicly recognize veterans’ service, misleading fans
and using veterans somewhat as patriotic “props.” The recent Wounded Warrior Project scandal only added more concern
about the potential for veterans to be exploited.
Research
Methods:
Campaign research was designed to answer four core questions to inform planning:
• What resources are available to veterans on campus, in the Lincoln community and on the state and national level?
• What is the overall perception of student veterans at UNL?
• What challenges do student veterans face?
• How do veterans use the experience they received in the military in their civilian lives?
Secondary research included:
• Completion of traditional and social media analysis - SVA national, Got Your 6, Wounded Warrior Project, and the
Nebraska and National VA Chapter websites, Brian Adam Jones’ Twitter (SVA’s 2015 Student Veteran of the Year).
• Review of the Got Your 6 campaign and national poll research bridging the gap between veterans and civilians.
• Assessment of campus-based veterans services centers.
• Review of a related master’s thesis “Planning for Student Veteran and Military Member Support Programs at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln” (Daniel Moseman, 2013).
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Primary research included:
• An intercept survey conducted in the Nebraska Union with 121 respondents representing the student body at large,
including undergraduate students and graduate students from several disciplines and with varying knowledge and
experience regarding the military and veterans.
• A survey of student veterans and their dependents placed in the Military and Veterans Success Center and the SVO
office completed by 17, including respondents with ties to all branches of the military.
• A focus group of four student veterans to further understand opinions expressed in the survey of veterans and
dependents such as: why nearly half of those surveyed felt there should not be heightened awareness of student
veterans.
• Two in-depth interviews conducted with the SVO advisor and a student veteran and his spouse to understand the
challenges that student veterans face as non-traditional students with other obligations and responsibilities.
• Concept testing of stereotype and bias messaging with student leaders advancing campus inclusion.
Key Insights:
• The student veteran and dependent survey found that nearly half of the participants believe that there should not be
heightened awareness of student veterans for a variety of reasons including, “by highlighting veterans, you are further
other-izing them from the rest of the student body.”
• The focus group criticized the Greenlight a Vet campaign, as nothing more than using veterans for corporate gain.
The focus group explained that “veterans are doing their jobs,” calling a green light superficial recognition and
“unnecessary praise.”
• Student veterans encounter stigmas and misconceptions. Focus group findings supported national Got Your 6 research
– public perceptions of veterans range from either an overly positive “heroic” view of veterans or an overly negative
view of veterans seen as “broken.”
• Despite UNL’s growing support of student veterans earning recognitions such as a 2016 Military Friendly School
(awarded 2011-2016), influencers leading campus inclusion don’t readily identify student veterans’ diversity as well as
the unique stereotypes and bias veterans face as a group.
• Despite secondary research acknowledging UNL as a “vet-friendly” campus, our focus group participants expressed
otherwise stating that faculty should be more aware of student veterans and their status as a non-traditional students
with obligations and responsibilities outside of class that may include military reserve/guard training, careers and
families.
• Research strongly supports our primary research findings, citing a public perception that veterans as assets to the
community. The Got Your 6 campaign acted as a helpful model with significant research on the national scale that
correlated with UNL campus research.
• Student veterans want to continue to serve. The Got Your 6 research states “Our communities, and our veterans, can
only reach their full potential when both are given meaningful opportunities to engage together.” Similarly, focus group
participants expressed feeling more at ease when they have a specific task to accomplish and serve the community at
large, one saying “We are at our best when we have something to do.”
Challenges & Opportunities
1. Challenge: There are many competing messages, campaigns and movements on campus including Black Lives Matter (a
rally was hosted on the green space last November) and sexual assault education (required at UNL).
Opportunity: Student veterans are leaders on issues facing the campus, community and world today, and can demonstrate
this leadership by joining the conversation about and advocating for an inclusive campus, including putting a spotlight on
the SVO’s service-oriented projects.
2. Challenge: SVO’s informal membership structure makes campus and community involvement somewhat unpredictable.
Opportunity: By creating smaller forums or opportunities for student veterans to become involved, involvement on
campus and in the community could increase.
3. Challenge: SVO’s preferred and sustained method of communications reflects more of a peer-to-peer model than a
digital communication model.
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Campaign Theme
Key Messages
Objectives, Strategies & Tactics
Target Audiences
Opportunity: Creating more face-to-face, relationship-building opportunities or one-on-one, in-person educational
opportunities could increase and continue to sustain the preferred method of communication between student veterans.
4. Challenge: Many student veterans involved in SVO are non-traditional students with careers, continued military training
and families, so the organization isn’t well integrated into campus.
Opportunity: By forming relationships with other highly integrated student organizations at UNL, the SVO could increase
their presence and involvement on campus.
Throughout the research phase of the campaign, there was a strong presence of community and support among student
veterans. This idea was supported by the SVO, as one of its own mottos is “Veterans Serving Veterans.” Additionally,
there was a consistent desire among student veterans to continue service. These student veterans have the capacity to be
strong student leaders on campus, but they often face stereotypes on campus that can hinder their efforts. Instead of being
labeled as a “hero” or being labeled “broken,” student veterans wanted to be labeled for their service and dedication. This
perspective led to the theme of “Duty Always.”
Student veterans live out their duty to serve:
• By providing camaraderie to fellow student veterans on campus.
• By supporting fellow veterans in the community.
• By using the skills and experiences they gained in the military to make a meaningful contribution in their classes,
campus and community.
Additionally, the Duty Always campaign supported the following messages:
• Student veterans are valuable assets to the campus community.
• Student veteran experiences and stories are vast, varied and deserve to be heard.
• Student veterans may often face stereotypes and key influencers should work toward including student veterans in
important campus conversations surrounding inclusiveness.
The primary target audience included campus and community influencers:
1) government leaders (elected officials and VA officials)
2) student, faculty and university leaders
A secondary target audience included the broader UNL campus body.
IMPACT/OUTPUT Objective 1:
To forge five ongoing relationships with government influencers, thereby increasing understanding of student veterans’
commitment to serve and conveying the sound investment in veterans’ educational benefits by March 15, 2016.
Strategy: Facilitate a meaningful, personal and direct dialogue between student veterans and government leaders.
Strategy: Connect with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce to leverage its support of veterans.
Rationale: Colleges and universities have faced challenges in supporting the number of veterans returning from
recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As discussed in the focus group, veterans’ desire to serve and learn does not end when
they take off the uniform. Government leaders need to fully understand this vital information, as they have a direct impact
on the budget decisions that provide student veterans with the necessary support for a successful transition into campus
life.
Tactic 1: Host an educational panel.
On March 15, 2016, 25 government representatives and members of other SVA chapters attended the Duty Always panel
with three UNL SVO members. The event was held at a historic home across the street from the Nebraska state capitol. The
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setting allowed student veterans a personal way to meet and interact with government officials, launching open dialogue
about veterans as an asset to college campuses and businesses. This event also showed government representatives that
student veterans are usings educational benefits wisely, especially in a time when budgets are tight. Attendees received SVO
facts sheets explaining student veterans’ commitment to serve the community and campus.
Tactic 2: Create an SVO-Chamber event calendar.
The team in partnership with the Chamber’s special events team identified breakfast and luncheon opportunities for
the SVO and Chamber members to connect, including a military service and educational advancement luncheons. The
Chamber also endorsed the educational panel on its Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development Facebook page,
which has 400 followers.
OUTPUT Objective 2:
Build five new campus relationships with SVO and UNL campus inclusion influencers by March 15, 2016, establishing
baseline awareness that student veterans face stereotypes and bias.
Strategy: Position the SVO to join, contribute to and lead advocacy on campus inclusion.
Strategy: Collaborate with nonprofit organizations that have a shared mission to address veterans’ issues.
Rationale: Campus inclusion ranks as a prominent communication theme at UNL. This important topic allowed SVO to
make a connection and enter the conversation. Research supported this approach by showing a disparity between how the
student veterans in our focus group said people viewed them, and how civilians in our intercept survey viewed them. The
student veterans said they felt labeled as only a veteran. Upon people discovering they were a veteran, civilians would either
be very put off by their service and ask inappropriate questions, or be overly supportive. The top five most common words
used to describe student veterans in our survey for non-veteran students were all positive. With a campus initiative to be
more focused on inclusion and equality, this was a timely
conversation for SVO to join.
Tactic 1: Create a campus event with another UNL student organization.
Our focus groups showed that a common theme among veterans was the desire to continue service work in their civilian
life. The SVO then decided to pair with the nonprofit UNL student organization, Put A Sock In It, who sets out to improve
the lives of the homeless by collecting mismatched socks and distributing them to the larger Lincoln community, which
is known to have a large homeless veteran population. On March 2, the partnership kicked off with a campus event
outside the union to start a conversation about the SVO and their desire to be leaders on campus against stereotypes and
to advocate for the homeless. To attract students to the event, students were able to play “sock pong” with the chance
to win coupons to local restaurants. Team volunteers were able to briefly discuss the Duty Always message as well as
write down on sheets of paper the stereotypes they wished to end and throw them into a washing machine. More than
200 informational sheets about the campaign were distributed to passersby detailing veterans’ commitment to serve the
community and campus.
Tactic 2: Launch a campus service project benefiting the community and enabling conversations about
veterans’ issues.
From March 2-11, the SVO partnered with Put A Sock In It to to have a sock drive on campus. Donation Boxes were
placed in key locations throughout campus, including the student union, resident halls and select academic buildings. In
addition to student-donated socks, SVO obtained a donation of 200 new pairs of socks from SOCS (Simplified Online
Communications Systems), a local technology group specializing in tools to aid the communication of nonprofits. The VP
of Foundation for Educational Services, SOCS parent company, is a veteran himself.
Tactic 3: Educational briefing with campuswide inclusive language Think Before You Speak campaign founders.
This briefing allowed the SVO to educate University Housing’s Multicultural And Diversity Education (MADE) committee
on stereotypes, bias and inclusive language applicable to student veterans. The briefing also connected the Think Before
You Speak’s campus progress to the broken veteran narrative, by advocating for the eliminating negative phrases such as
“crazy” related to mental health challenges that dehumanize fellow students. Finally, the briefing led MADE’s invitation
to the SVO to create a poster series aligned with Think Before You Speak’s current text messaging promotion. The SVO
developed a Snapchat poster concept “Do You See Me or Do You See My Filter?”
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Evaluation
Tactic 4: Educational briefing with the Executive Council of Multicultural Organizations (ECMO).
This group, comprised of leaders of multicultural organizations on campus, was contacted to forge a formal
collaboration between ECMO and SVO, so as to insert student veterans into conversations about filters and bias on
campus. The hope behind this collaboration was to find common ground between student veterans and minority students,
since both are marginalized in some ways on campus. Consulting with this group led to the revelation of some bias,
however; specifically that student veterans are not often considered underrepresented students on
campus. The campaign also sought feedback for a potential poster for the “Think Before You Speak” campaign, which
showed veterans as multifaceted, not just limited to their military experience.
Tactic 5: Educational briefing with the UNL Faculty Senate president.
SVO outreach introduced stereotypes faculty may unknowingly perpetuate and requested the support of the Faculty Senate
to advocate for broader UNL faculty inclusion training, integrating SVA’s Kognito resources.
Tactic 6: Select campus speaking engagements.
The SVO pitched TEDxLincoln and the UNL Honors Program. SVO vice president and SVO advisor delivered hour-long
remarks to UNL’s freshman honors seminar “Think Global, Mentor Local.” Remarks shared their global service in the
military and how their experiences across the globe has encouraged them to continue to mentoring locally here on campus
and in the community.
Another intercept survey at the Nebraska Union was conducted following the efforts of Duty Always. Although, this is
a not perfect sample because it was not possible to find the same students passing through the Union from the previous
semester. This exit survey contained the same questions as our initial intercept survey and fostered similar results. In
both surveys, 55 percent of students that were neither a veteran nor a dependent stated that they were aware of veterans’
educational benefits. An intercept survey was not the most effective way to evaluate the results of the campaign. The first
results were gathered at a Veterans Day event, whereas the exit survey was not pulled from the same group of people or the
same number of respondents.
A post-intercept survey at the Nebraska Union was conducted. Although this method does not create a perfect sample,
the survey does provide useful measurement to inform ongoing SVO communications. Additionally, an influencer survey
was created to better measure audience understanding of student veterans’ commitment to serve and the stereotypes they
face. Final results for this survey could not be collected by the competition submission deadline, but findings will support
essential data to measure against in the future.
IMPACT/OUTPUT Objective 1: MET
To forge five ongoing relationships with government influencers, thereby increasing understanding of student veterans’
commitment to serve and conveying the sound investment in veterans’ educational benefits by March 15, 2016.
Result: the educational panel and breakfast established foundational SVO relationships with seven government leaders and
influencers.
1. Mike Foley, Nebraska lieutenant governor
2. Sue Crawford, Nebraska state senator (district representing Bellevue and Offutt Air Force Base)
3. John Hilgert, director of the Nebraska department of Veterans Affairs and former Nebraska senator
4. Roger P. Lempke, former United States Air Force adjutant general (TAG) of the Nebraska National Guard, currently
director of military and veterans affairs for U.S. Senator Deb Fisher
5. Jim Kuester, director of military and veterans affairs for U.S. Senator Ben Sasse
6. John R. Liebsack, adjutant-quartermaster with Veterans of Foreign Wars, Nebraska
7. After the panel completed, there was a separate informal briefing. SVO panelist Jared Collins met for 30 minutes with
staff from Unicameral Speaker Hadley’s office.
The panel also strengthened four key relationships with university leaders and influencers.
1. Tom Allison, senior career advisor at UNL Career Services
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2. Dr. Sonya Belcher, licensed psychologist and case manager Krystyn Schmidt, UNL Counseling and Psychological
Services (CAPS)
3. Michelle Waite, assistant to the chancellor for community relations, who served on UNL’s Student Veteran and Military
Task Force
4. Mary Niemiec, associate vice president, distance education, and director, online worldwide represented University of
Nebraska President Hank Bounds, who also is a veteran
The SVO’s outreach to the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce did make more businesses and business leaders aware of
the leadership and involvement of student veterans on campus. The campaign was unable to quantify exact numbers of
companies and leaders reached.
OUTPUT Objective 2: MET
Build five new campus relationships with SVO and UNL campus inclusion influencers by March 15, 2016, establishing
baseline awareness that student veterans face stereotypes and bias.
Result: the campus event, service project, educational briefings and speaking engagements created five new campus
relationships.
1. SVO established an essential long-term collaboration with UNL’s highly regarded Put A Sock In It nonprofit, creating
the opportunity for annual service projects and stereotype awareness.
2. SVO now has a relationship with University Housing’s MADE committee and the invitation to help shape veteran-
specific inclusive language within the Think Before You Speak’s education and outreach.
3. The Executive Council of Multicultural Organizations was receptive to working with the SVO in the future, hoping to
plan out several events with multicultural organizations in the fall.
4. The SVO now has established a connection with the UNL Faculty Senate president, who was receptive to implementing
SVA’s Kognito training program and invited an SVO member to address the entire Faculty Senate in the fall. The
president recommended the beginning of the school year to create a formal kick off for faculty education and
engagement enabling vet-friendly classrooms.
5. The SVO also built campus relationships with the UNL Honors Program and TEDxLincoln to support ongoing
speaking engagements.
Conclusion
Duty Always shifted from a traditional publicity focus to influencer education, based on research showing student veterans’
sensitivity to being labeled, put on a pedestal or positioned as a “prop.” Rather, UNL student veterans expressed a sincere
desire to have their actions speak for themselves to communicate an authentic dedication to serve and lead beyond past
military experience. This communication approach showcased UNL students who happen to be veterans, instead of
solely communicating about their military lives. This influencer model of communications led to the decision to focus
resources on relationship building, rather than simply increasing SVO’s short-term digital engagement, which the student
organization cannot sustain itself.
Duty Always:
• Created foundational influencer relationships that exceeded the campaign’s goals.
• Identified unexpected stereotypes and biases among certain influencers.
• Increased government, UNL and student leader understanding of veterans’ duty to serve as well as the stereotypes and
issues that face student veterans on campus.
• Started conversations on campus about stereotypes and how to help shift the narrative.
• Formed campus collaborations that have the potential to create a long-term partnership network.
Moving forward, SVO now can pursue:
• A collaboration with the Executive Council of Multicultural Organizations and UNL Housing to organize a fall 2016
“Meeting of the Minds” campus inclusion roundtable.
• A UNL Faculty Senate training session featuring SVA’s Kognito in fall 2016.
• An SVO TEDxLincoln talk in fall 2016.
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• A student engagement presentation and potential regional or national “road show” with SVO advisor and UNL
director of the Military and Veteran Success Center to share student veteran research insights and unexpected student
leader and influencer stereotypes.
• Work with communicators across the UNL campus to be leaders in encouraging the discussion of veterans issues
outside of Veterans Day and other patriotic holidays.
• A collaboration with SVA on a broader student veteran engagement program to leverage the veterans-first research
insights identified by the Duty Always campaign.
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Focus Group Questions:
INTRO - Names, branch, major/year in school
Where did you find out about your educational benefits?
When you have free time and you’re on campus, what do you do/where do you go?
Have you heard of Student Veterans of America?
If you’ve heard of it, tell me what you know about the org. or what’s your perception?
Have you used the Military and Veteran Success Center?
For student vets of UNL who haven’t used the center, how can they be reached?
What would you want to say to new student veterans coming into college?
What first led you visit the Military Veteran Success Center? (Need to continue service?)
● What were some helpful resources you used transitioning into student life?
● What are the most beneficial services at the Center?
What are resources that you need but don’t currently have access to?
Do you think there should be heightened awareness of student vets on campus?
Maybe the discussion could be introduced by asking what misperceptions they feel exist – in the general public? On campus?
What would they like others to know to provide a more full picture or (more information regarding) the vet experience to create
greater understanding/address the misperceptions?
What are some ways you would be interested in serving? (this feels like an abrupt shift in conversation. Ease into it. Ask
what role they’d like to play at UNL--how they would like to be involved on campus. Probe to see if continuing to being of
service even interests them)
● Would you be likely to serve on campus, in the community or both?
● Only for veterans and dependants or all students or other community members?
Is there anything else that you’d like us to know about the student veteran experience?
For the Student Veterans Organization members: Would the Bateman team be able to attend the next meeting?
(December 4 at 5 pm?)
Focus Group participants
Darwin: Army Reserves, former dependent, dietetics major
Dannee: Marines, accounting major
Justin: Army Reserves, political science
Paul: Marine Corp, history major
Focus Group
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Education benefits
originally from father
all through his parents
knew the basics through training
pretty well-known
recruiters tell you about educational benefits when you join
different forms of benefits
so people don’t always understand the benefits
lots of situations to use them
talk to someone to determine benefits
Montgomery-pay to be eligible when you get out
Post 9/11 much better for 4 year school, monthly stipend
too much paperwork
it was a big deal when i was in, they try to retain but once you’re out they want to succeed
wanted benefits immediately once he got out
stipend-depends on area code
only counts for the months you are in class-may get smaller checks
benefit awareness depends on who really wants it-you have to go out and search for it
pushed education at every level of military
yearly briefing on benefits
sometimes pushed military training instead of civilian education
depends on commanding officers
do research before you get out
very few officers have college experience-mostly intermarine educations
TAPS-transitional programs, information overload
sometimes you have to go find it
Free time on campus
military success center, married, first child not much time
hang out in the SVO, doing homework and planning events
very involved with ASUN, etc.
pretty stacked with classes and health awareness, student support services
here before, nothing for vets
SVO lots of conferences and travelling, wanted to be involved,
tailgated every weekend
SVA knowledge
technically a chapter
went to conferences
others don’t know much
leadership opportunities
national business plan-$2,000 grant
national conference
SVA perception
great support network
connect with other schools
BIG 10 student veterans
reach back to talk and get advice
national businesses-build your network for jobs
Have you used the center?
print papers, do homework
more social area
no problem with benefits-Deb is great
more convenient to have Deb here
FocusGroupTranscript
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you would meet people if you didn’t come down to the center
other vets are here doing what i’m doing
sometimes it can seem like you are the only one
every tuesday Sonja comes from CAPS
Barb-VA contact, integration, VITAL
How can we reach student vets?
every school faces this problem
vets that are already here, seniors and juniors, no presence,
meet people at NSE
let them know we are here
facebook, events
everything is brand new, people are set in their ways, didn’t know it is existed
once you stop by, you’ll want to stay
get engaged, resource center
don’t connect with student population that much, they may not connect on campus
not the common college experience
i didn’t know anybody
sometimes it takes an individual choice to take the first step
friends can be motivating to invite people
let them know, but don’t force participation
used to structure, maybe a little bit older than peers
different responsibilities, live off-campus
New Student Vet Advice
Make sure they at least have a connection
student vets will reach out to invite people to become more active
webpages have wrong information sometimes
showing up to classes is half the work
having people to lean on, used to being a part of the team
different stories to tell, introduce yourself, find common ground
we can learn together
ultimately it up to you
don’t feel sorry for yourself,take advantage of opportunities
everyone knows a little something else
don’t isolate yourself
When were you first led to the MIlitary Center?
pushed for opening
involved in ribbon cutting
resource center was taxing for students
needed full-time staff
really needed more school support, so far behind not having a resource center
really focused efforts on advocating for that
Transition to student life
Center is more a resource for studying, SVO is more about social transition, student vets integrating
on campus
different social events that interact with regular students
brings the comfort level down for student vets
work with other groups
new officers, people who actually cared
people didn’t understand their transitions
“I didn’t want to seem different. I’m just a regular student. It seemed like a would get a lot of
stupid questions if I told them”
FocusGroupTranscript
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More access to benefits
more tutoring
kicked out students, if even government isn’t paying
CAPS mental health
pretty satisfied with center and benefits so far
Should there be heighted awareness?
professors need to be aware sometimes, sit in the back example
different experiences coming into the classroom
can’t understand that they still have obligations
veterans are here that might take them out of class sometimes
we need people to adjust with them
get more veterans out from under the rocks
changing the perception
traditional student don’t understand the experience
stigma, stereotypes are totally different that what they are
only 3% see combat
not everyone has ptsd-before joining
tell them you’re a veteran-even think a good or bad thing
not all veterans are good people
“I want them to judge me as a student, by who I am in the class.”
people can downgrade veterans based on their service, disrespectful to ask if they have killed someone
people either put veterans on a pedestal or they look down on veterans
“I’ve never even seen war”
too much positive feedback that seem unwarranted
I’m just here to do my job, don’t give praise that I didn’t deserve
Interested in serving on campus?
Veterans are leaders on campus. Generally, with the right support, they are more likely to graduate,
have higher gpas, etc. Veterans are not a liability.
“We are at our best when we have sometime to do. We need more responsibility”
Civic engagement-Dr. Moody
audit at every course at UNL
food drives, community activities. more drive with SVO.
“We need something that is bigger than ourselves. We value that more. We to do stuff for each other,
sometimes to a fault.”
Health programs at Nebraska
Last thoughts
programs have really grown
experience will be a lot better
a vet will make it here now
FocusGroupTranscript
22. 22
Greetings Student Veterans-
I am writing to inform you of an exciting campus and community education opportunity the
UNL Student Veterans Organization (SVO) is participating in the next few weeks.
The Student Veterans of America (SVA), the national nonprofit supporting organizations like ours, has charged
universities to educate their local communities about the importance of higher
education as active military and veterans transition into civilian life. SVA believes our organization can show that
student veterans are an asset to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and Lincoln community.
To help us achieve SVA’s mission, students in the UNL College of Journalism and Mass
Communications are implementing a public relations campaign to raise awareness of SVO on campus and in the
broader Lincoln community. The campaign’s theme of “Duty Always” centers around student veterans’ dedication
to continue serving both on campus and in the community.
We would appreciate your support throughout this campaign, specifically during the campus and community
events. Your participation and time truly matters to us, because you are the SVO and your dedication makes our
organization stronger.
More information regarding these events will be available in the coming weeks, but I wanted to inform you of this
campaign in advance.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or our Advisor Darrell Everhart.
Thank you for your continued participation!
Sincerely,
Justin Otoski, President - UNL Student Veterans Organization
Darrell Everhart, SVO Advisor and Director of the UNL Military and Veteran Success Center
Internal Communications
24. 24 Put A Sock In Stereotypes Pictures & Social Media
25. 25
Dear TEDxLincoln Planning Committee,
It’s terrific to see that Lincoln will be among the communities able to participate in the TED2016
Opening Night Live event set for February 15. I’m writing to share an idea to give the event a local connection, too.
Thank you for considering a mini-TED Talk to open or close Opening Night Live from UNL student
Justin Otoski whose service to our country and UNL makes his impactful ideas about empathy for
“others” worth sharing. He’s passionate about changing stereotypes of both the people of the Middle East and the men and
women who have served in the U.S. military there to enable peace and greater freedoms. This
vantage point connects to TED’s 2016 DREAM platform to “stare hard at humanity’s toughest challenges, and to listen care-
fully to those who can show us a way forward.”
A LITTLE ABOUT JUSTIN:
Otoski joined the Nebraska National Guard in 2005 and was deployed from 2010-2011 in Afghanistan. Working as a men-
tor to Afghan security forces and police, he learned about leadership and teamwork.
Otoski also developed empathy for misunderstood groups of people that we, as Americans, sometimes consider to be “oth-
ers” or different from us. The perspective he gained while deployed resulted in
tremendous amounts of respect for the people of Afghanistan, as well as an understanding of how this service stays with
men and women after they come home.
Otoski’s military service also provided him with valuable skills that prepared him for the significant transition to civilian
and student life. Upon arriving at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), he noticed there was a need for student
veterans’ resources and played a role in expanding veteran support at UNL. He serves as the president of the UNL Student
Veterans Organization and as an ASUN student senator, currently running for student body president. Additionally, he
was a member of UNL Veteran Student Task Force, which advocated for the creation and launch of the UNL Military and
Veteran Success Center that opened in the fall of 2015.
With TED2016 Opening Night Live right around the corner, I appreciate you making time to
consider this BIG IDEA. Otoski, a junior communications studies major, can quickly prepare and share brief remarks with
your team. Please feel free to contact me if I can help in any way.
Sincerely,
Emily Wicht
UNL PRSSA President
emilywicht830@gmail.com
402.613.6855
TEDx Pitch
29. 29
Duty to students
First and foremost, student veterans have a duty to continue service to each other. The mission of
the UNL Student Veterans Organization is to help student veterans achieve their educational goals
while providing an environment in which student veterans have the opportunity to socialize with one
another. By creating a strong sense of camaraderie within the organization, student veterans are
able to have stronger social networks
on campus.
The UNL Student Veterans Organization runs a peer mentor program which provides students with
individualized help in the classroom as well as a friend on campus. These ten mentors
volunteer their time to help ease the transition for veterans new to UNL.
Student Veterans are leaders on campus as well. Six veterans currently hold positions in ASUN
student government. Past military leadership directly translates into effective leadership on campus
to support UNL students.These leadership skils in extracurrilar activities extend into the classroom
as veterans who are active in campus organizations are more likely to have higher GPAs and are
more likely to graduate on time.
Duty to service
Many veterans who return to civilian life end up in service-based professions. Their commitment
to service in the military is a highly transferrable skill in any profession. These skills help veterans
demonstrate that they are a valuable asset to any organization or company upon graduation.
Duty to Community
Student Veterans also express a desire to continue service to their broader local and statewide
communities. The strong sense of duty towards helping veterans means that student veterans are
advocates for other veterans in community, including homeless veterans and elderly veterans.
Student Veterans can be trusted to raise their voices when it comes to important veterans issues.
More information regarding UNL Student Veterans can be found at veteran.unl.edu.
Handout #2
30. 30
How to be an Advocate for Student Veterans
What is an advocate?
“a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy”
An advocate is a person who takes positive action that results in a desired change. As an advocate
you express your opinions because you feel strongly about a particular issue and recognize that
action is necessary to in order to create change.
Why should you advocate?
The best advocates are individuals that are passionate. Anyone can be a leader when they help
raise visibility and importance of supporting student veterans in our community.
General Techniques for Effective Advocacy
Immerse yourself.
Stay up to date on veterans’ issues and be educated to defend your position with facts, data and
statistics. Use the most recent and accurate information, then when you express your opinion you
will be able to back it up, which will make more people listen to what you have to say.
Identify yourself.
By letting your representatives in Congress or the media know who you are, they will pay attention to
what you have to say. Depending on the situation you may include such information as that you are
a parent, teacher, professor, doctor, lawyer, owner of a business, member of a church or other
organization, etc.
Be specific.
When advocating, address one issue at a time and always be as specific as possible. Many people
may not be as familiar as you are with the particular issue, so try to clearly describe the issue. Then
state your position and any related goals.
Make it personal.
As a citizen, telling your story is the best way to provide a meaningful impact when you express your
position. Try to use personal, individual examples from your own life experience and speak with the
maturity and authority, which such experience brings.
Reflect confidence.
Be emphatic. When you express confidence in your position people will gain understanding and be
more likely to come share your position. Because of your experience you may very well know more
about an issue than elected officials, media, and medical professionals.
Relate to timely topics.
Try to make it relevant to current events. Elected officials and media outlets are more likely to
prioritize relevant issues. The more relevant your issue is, the more likely it is to receive
consideration.
Be brief and to the point.
State your position clearly in as few words as possible. Keep to the point. Stick to one issue per
correspondence. Focus narrowly and strongly upon one issue to be most effective. And do not
hesitate to embrace the age of social media! Facebook and Twitter are excellent places to keep your
message short and get your voice heard by a specific audience.
Take-away for student representatives
33. 33
HONORS SEMINAR: THINK GLOBAL, MENTOR LOCAL
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Stereotypes and BiasGive examples of how you feel stereotyped as a veteran
● Discuss biases toward veterans
○ the “broken” veteran
○ Inappropriate questions
■ “How many people have you killed?”, etc.
Empathy
● Discuss time in Afghanistan
○ Empathy towards Afghani people
■ Share a story about experience
■ What did they teach you
Mentor and Leadership
● What aspects of your service helped you become a stronger leader?
● Why is empathy important in leadership?
● Why is mentoring important?
○ Who have been some of your mentors?
■ How have the influenced you?
○ Why do you want to mentor others?
Honors Seminar Presentation
Screenshots from the video
“UHON 298”
38. 38
Budget
$300
Budget
Item Unit
Price
Alex
Albers-‐freelance
graphic
designer $100
Washer
(recycled) $0
Ferguson
House
event
rental $85
Cream
cheese
for
breakfast
panel $8
Printing
and
binding
entry
books $40
$233
In-‐Kind
Donations
Scooter's
Coffee $64.95
Bruegger's
Bagels $37.16
Amigos
Coupons $67.25
Jersey
Mike's
Coupons $217.92
Raising
Cane's
Coupons $21.57
CoJMC
Printing
$200
$608.85
*all
other
materials
such
as
white
board,
etc.
were
borrowed
from
the
Journalism
college
