Southeastern designated a Military Friendly School for tenth time
Friday, April 22, 2022
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – For the tenth consecutive year, Southeastern Louisiana University has
been named a Military Friendly® School for 2022-2023.
Southeastern continues to strive to be one of the best military and veteran friendly
institutions in the state of Louisiana and in the nation. Viqtory Media, publisher
of “G.I. Jobs,” states the listing honors the top colleges, universities and trade
schools that are doing the most to embrace the nation’s military service members,
veterans, and spouses as students and to ensure their success on campus. This year
Southeastern was awarded Gold Status, which is the highest award currently in the
state of Louisiana. No other university or college achieved a designation this high
by the publication this year.
“We are proud of our consistent listing, as it illustrates Southeastern’s continued
commitment to serve active military, veterans and their families. It also places us
among some of the top universities in the nation,” said President John L. Crain. “Most
importantly, we know the designation means we are doing our best to serve those who
have made many sacrifices in service to our nation.”
Southeastern enrolls 591 veterans, dependents and military service members. The
university maintains a Veterans Upward Bound program; provides academic and other
counseling services; offers scholarships specifically for military students and veterans;
and maintains a wide range of online and distance learning programs that provide students
with flexibility in scheduling.
Southeastern’s ROTC program, which is a sub-unit of the Southern University Army
ROTC program, returned to Hammond in 2016 after more than a 20-year hiatus. Fifty-five
students now participate in the program.
Southeastern also serves as a resource center for thousands of Louisiana veterans
in an effort to help active-duty military service men and women successfully transition
to college through a new program called LaVetCorps.
Additionally, Southeastern now has an Office of Military and Veteran Success.
The new office includes two college employees, a LaVetCorps employee and 10 veteran
ambassadors and student workers. The office offers help with academic advising related
to VA education benefits, processing VA education benefits, counseling on VA education
benefits, programs, events, and priority registration.
“Southeastern has made a concerted effort in the past several years to focus
on military service members, veterans and their families,” said Director of Military
and Veteran Success Matt Watkins, a U.S. Air Force Veteran. “Southeastern has created
innovative programming, services, events and resources for our veterans, dependents
and military population. All of our staff members feel there is no greater calling
than serving those who have served us.”
A recent addition to campus is the Southeastern Student Veterans and Military
Interest Association, a group open to veterans, reservists, spouses, dependents, and
ROTC participants attending both Southeastern and Northshore Technical Community College.
The association was founded to help the school administration better understand and
meet the needs of veterans; offer advice from experienced to incoming veterans; help
civilians better understand the military experience; and provide opportunities for
veterans to meet one another and connect.
Institutions competed for inclusion on the Military Friendly Schools list based
on such categories as military support on campus, graduation and employment outcomes
and career and job counseling services. The firm Ernst and Young independently tested
the data provided by schools.
The 2022 list of Military Friendly Schools shows the commitment of those institutions
in providing a supportive environment for military students, the company said in announcing
the list.
Viqtory Media is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business founded in
2001. In addition to “G.I. Jobs,” the company also publishes the magazine “Military
Spouse.”