CSU East Bay hosted on Feb. 9 their annual “Every Day is Veteran’s Day at the CSU” event, where military veterans received information on the California State University system, promoting and advocating for veterans to utilize resources available to enrich their experiences in college.

The five-hour event, co-sponsored by 10 Northern California CSU campuses and the CSU Office of the Chancellor, collaborated with veteran service providers from community colleges and community agencies throughout the Bay Area.

Approximately 70 students walked around the 10 tables that lined the New University Union, looking to meet people who have shared experiences and know what they are going through.

Targeting prospective veteran students wishing to pursue or continue their education and service members who work specifically with the veteran community, the event aimed to raise awareness about the services offered on each campus which could be of great assistance to new students out of military services.

According to the CSU system, more than 6,000 veteran and active-duty students were enrolled for the 2011-2012 academic school year in the CSU.

Many representatives said veteran students are a group most in need of assistance, mainly because the change from military life to civilian life is so different, resources can make an immense difference in college retention.

“Our goal for this event is to ensure a smooth transition into military personnel to a civilian life into the CSU system and the opportunity for them to network with CSU representatives and to gain the tools and resources they need to have a successful transition into the CSU system,” said Amanda Segura, director of enrollment development & communications at CSUEB.

California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) representative Kevin Graves, who advocates for more awareness on benefits for veterans and emphasizes the importance of education, regardless of their background.

“It is important for our veterans to understand that they have a lot of benefits coming to them including educational benefits,” said Graves.

Prospective veteran students had the opportunity to network with the resources provided and have their questions answered by a panel of four military veterans, who were also students in the CSU system.

Serving on this panel was current CSUEB senior and Liberal Studies major Clarence Dubose, a retired navy veteran working at the Veterans Services counter on the CSUEB Hayward campus.

“We basically have a staff to help veterans find out about financial aid benefits and the GI Bill which is normally used for school,” said DuBose.

The Veterans Affairs and Enrollment Development offices for CSUEB took part in the planning process, and held information tables at the event.

“We help them process their documentation for the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Any education benefits that they have from veterans affairs, and also refer them to resources on and off campus that they may need,” said Deborah Hansana, Veteran Affairs Coordinator at CSUEB.

Assistant Director of Enrollment Development for the Hayward campus, Marc Strong, was also a speaker at the event, discussing the importance of having numerous resources in one central location.

“One of my duties includes outreach services to the veteran population and as a part of that task, I discuss pre-admission requirements for veterans coming from high school or community college or who’ve been away from the higher education world for a while,” said Strong.

Coordinators and event planners said the event was successful, as in previous years, because they were able to reach out to a demographic who need as much help as any other group, but are often left behind.