September 2016 CONGRATULATIONS to the UCF Football Team on their victory over the South Carolina State Bulldogs!! Football Fever Sweeps Community VARC Prepares for Family Tailgating Sept. 17, 2016 New head coach Scott Frost began his own era on September 3, 2016 when the University of Central Florida Knights overpowered the South Carolina Bulldogs in a 38-0 victory! Following the pains of last season the victory was embraced by the UCF and Orlando communities. With the September 10, 2016 game being held in Michigan, all eyes have shifted the next home game on September 17, 2016! A game that also happens to fall on the same day as UCF s annual Family Weekend. Embracing the football fever the VARC will be hosting its Family Tailgating! An opportunity for the UCF Veteran community to participate in the excitement that happens just before kickoff. THE VARC will be offering food, games, and reprieve from the Florida heat! Open to all vets and their families the VARC Family Tailgating will begin at 3:00 p.m. This event is also completely family friendly, making it an excellent opportunity to combine the American favorites family, food, and fun. Veterans Academic Resource Center Staff Paul Viau Associate Registrar/VARC Director Bethany Glassbrenner Assistant Registrar/Certify Official Lena Huntsman Program Assistant/Certify Official Lorine Cisch-Taylor Transfer & Transition/ Career Services Joshua JJ Johnson Program Coordinator Lee Young Office Manager The Veteran s Academic Resource Center will be accepting Spring Certifications starting on November 1, 2016! Football is Finally Back! 09-10 @ Michigan Wolverines 11-26 @ USF Bulls 09-17 v. Maryland Terrapins 12-03 American Championship 09-24 @ FIU Golden Panthers 10-01 @ East Carolina Pirates 10-07 v. Tulane Green Wave 10-15 v. Temple Owls 10-22 @ UConn Huskies 10-29 @ Houston Cougars 11-12 v. Cincinnati Bearcats 11-19 v. Tulsa Golden Hurricane Connect with other UCF Student Veterans Join the Student Veterans Association to connect with other student veterans. Contact the Chris Lonas President: Lonas_chris@knights.ucf.edu
VARC - In Case You Missed It Just in case you missed it, August 30, 2016 marked the first ever Orientation Part II. The event was created by veteran students for veteran students and offered new students access to information and resources that hadn t been to heavily discussed in the past. Topics included G.I. Bill timelines, veteran benefits beyond the G.I. Bill, transfer shock, available resources, non-scholastic financial aid, and things to watch out for! The event also included a walking tour of the campus. Meet the New VARC Office Manager Our new Office Manager, Lee Young is a fellow veteran of the United States Army. Lee previously served as a Vet2Vet Peer Mentor at the VARC, aiding veterans with their transition to UCF, their VA Benefits, and working with students to get off of academic probation. As the new VARC Office Manager he will oversee the entire office and insure that it is running smoothly. Please make sure to come in and say Hello! to our newest staff member! VARC PEER MENTORS MICHAEL ARP Air Force Sport & Exercise Science, Senior Michael.Arp@ucf.edu MARCO JUSTO Air Force Aerospace Engineering, Senior Marco.Justo@ucf.edu TRACY LOVEGOOD Navy Anthropology, Junior Tracy.Lovegood@ucf.edu QUYNH-ANH MARTIN Air Force Biology, Junior Quynh.Martin@ucf.edu ROBERT SMITH Army History, Senior Robert.Smith@ucf.edu Peer Mentor Phone: 407-823-1186
S.V.A. New Officers! VARC Employee Spotlight! Abbi Ristino came to work at the VARC as a VA Work Study Student beginning with the fall semester, 2015. She hit the ground running and soon became a valuable member of the work study team. President: Chris Lonas Vice President: Her ethic, attention to detail and genuine empathic and serving mantra soon became the standard for her fellow work study students to emulate. Jonathan JT Nicolini Events Coordinator: Jonathan JP Gabler Treasurer: Joe Krause Secretary: Abbi Ristino Recruitment Coordinator: Marius Loots Social Media Coordinator: With the addition of a new office manager at the VARC in July 2016, Abbi was promoted into the newly created position of senior VAWS. She quickly adapted to and embraced her new responsibilities and became the right hand of the new office manager during the extremely busy period of orientations and fall certification. She can be counted on to readily carry out instructions from the professional staff at the VARC and done so to near perfection. Sadly, this will be Abbi s last semester with the VARC and as a student at UCF. She will graduate with a Bachelors in Science in Criminal Justice this December. Donny Meno Support Student Veterans of America UCF Chapter Available soon! Shirts for sale! $15 each order yours today email: SVA.UCF@gmail.com Or stop by the VARC and JJ Johnson, VARC Program Coordinator
Program Name and Description VARC FAMILY FUN WEEKEND TAILGATING Indoor pre-games tailgating event for the entire family at the Veterans Academic Resource Center. LEGAL SERVICES ORIENTATION More information to come, please check VARC website and Facebook for updates VETERANS CAREER & RESOURCE FAIR Central Florida Veterans! This is a collaborative effort with UCF Career Services, Mission United, and the Orlando VA. VETERANS KAYAKING TRIP Offered by UCF Outdoor Adventure (Rec & Wellness Center). $15 which includes equipment, Instruction, Transportation, and T-Shirt. Sign up beginning October 1, 2016 VETERANS FLAGS DAY Flags of the United States of America on Memory Mall to represent all UCF Student Veterans enrolled and attending UCF VETERANS DAY COMMORATION CERMONY Ceremony in collaboration with the UCF Veterans History Project to honor and remember our Veterans for Veterans Day LIGHTS UP UCF (VETERANS NIGHT) Bring family and friends to enjoy a night of holiday movies, ice skating, themed attractions, holiday music and snow. BIZ LIFE FINANCIALMANAGEMENT SEMINAR This FREE one day seminar is designed to address the five areas of business (Accounting, Finance, Economics, Management, and Marketing). This seminar is for Veterans interested in Entrepreneurship. VARC LATE NIGHTS VARC Study Rooms and Lounge will be open until 7:00 p.m. for our student veterans. Food and refreshments will be served. VARC FINALS WEEK VARC Study Rooms and Lounge will be open until 7:00 p.m. for our student veterans! FALL 2016 VARC GRADUATION RECOGNITION CEREMONY Ceremony to recognize and honor our UCF Student Veterans graduating. Date/Time/Place September 17 VARC 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. October 12 VARC 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. November 2 CFE Arena Venue 11:00 to 2:00 p.m. November 5 TBA 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. November 8 Memory Mall 3:00 p.m. November 10 Memory Mall Noon November 18 CFE Arena 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. (Tenatively) November 19 VARC 10:00 to 3:00 p.m. November 28 December 2, 2016 December 6 December 12 December 14 TBD 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. NOW OPEN! Veteran Food Pantry Sponsored by SVA Housed at the VARC SVA and the VARC are proud to present the Veteran Food Pantry! Similar to the Knight s Pantry located on campus, this Veteran Food pantry will supply students in need with food items to help them get by. It has been a major undertaking that we are happy to present to our students. The pantry will be open Monday through Friday during VARC Business Hours. However, the pantry will also be opening for two Saturdays each month. Stay tuned to this newsletter for updates on that. The pantry is donation based and as such is limited in what is can provide. With this in mind we ask that veterans wanting to utilize this new service only take around three days worth of food per visit. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the VARC Front Desk at (407)
VA Student Volunteer Program The VA is offering Volunteer opportunities in Health Care management and practice. If you are interested in participating please check the link: http://www.volunteer.va.gov/ StudentProgram.asp