A poster with the words "Never leave a veteran behind" hangs on a wall in the once-empty office of the Panhellenic Building. Flags from around the world adorn the room. Lists of names of military veterans line the walls, and a white board is filled with ideas of ways to make those who served in the military comfortable on a college campus.
It is all part of the preparations for the new Veterans Resource Center, a first for the University of Memphis. The grand opening is Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. in room 110 of the Panhellenic Building.
"We are focusing on creating an environment where veterans can get the help they need to graduate," said Darrion Garrett, secretary for the Veterans Student Center and a 25-year-old communications major.
Garret is one of the 660 veteran students enrolled at the University, according to a data collection from the Veteran's Student Center.
The center will provide a place for veterans to study together, exchange ideas and share concerns about returning to college after a military career.
The idea developed this past summer when Joy Stout, the director of the Adult and Commuter Student Services, analyzed the results of a student-conducted survey. The survey's purpose was to see what programs the veteran students were looking for on campus.
The results showed many veteran students were looking for a place where they could converse with other veteran students and have a place to hang out.
"I wouldn't want to take credit for the idea," she said. "We just simply heard their request and the University honored it."
Over summer break, Stout met with campus administration and together developed the idea of the resource center.
"I am so excited," she said with a smile on her face. "We learned from the students what they wanted and, on the 22nd, we will accomplish just that."
The center will offer its facilities to veterans of any age. The average veteran student is 22 to 23 years old, but there are veterans on campus as old as 45.
Stout said the goal of the center is also to increase the number of student veterans of all ages on campus, so adult and commuter student services can provide more programs like the resource center.
"One thing we do not want to do is set up an organization with no fun and games or vice versa," said Nathaniel Hoch, a geology student who was in the Marine Corps for eight years and the Army for three years. "We just want to show the community why it is good to have veterans around."
For more information about the Veterans Resource Center, students can email Joy Stout at acss@memphis.edu.
