In celebration of Veterans Week 2019, the University is recognizing stories of student veterans and faculty/staff who are veterans or have especially strong connections to the military. These stories are just some of the many from the veteran and military-connected community on campus whom the University is dedicated to supporting. From welcoming veterans to campus as far back as World War I, and having the longest consecutively running ROTC program in the country, the University is committed to being the “best place for veterans.”
Today, read the stories of alumnus and current graduate student Dan Cordial and LaVonda Reed, professor of law and associate provost for faculty affairs.
Dan Cordial ’18, M.P.A. ’20 Gets a Second Chance at Syracuse
Sometimes a person just needs a second chance. It can be something as small as a chance to redo an assignment for a class or something as big as a second chance at going to college. For U.S Army veteran Daniel Cordial, as he stepped foot onto the Syracuse University campus, he was taking advantage of a second chance at working towards the life he wanted.
After serving five years as a welder and completing multiple deployments to Iraq, Cordial decided to leave the Army. At the time, he was married to another soldier, and they were expecting a son. He used his trade from the military to find work and he came face-to-face with a reality that many civilians in the manual labor workforce experience.
Read the full story on Dan Cordial.
Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Law LaVonda Reed on Growing Up in a Military Family
For Syracuse University Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Law LaVonda Reed, service runs deep. The lawyer and academic was born in Quantico, Virginia, after her father, the late U.S. Marine Corps Col. Henry Leon Reed, returned from his first deployment to Vietnam.
“My father was the oldest of eight children—five boys and three girls,” says Reed. “All five boys served in the military, and all three girls married military service members. My paternal grandfather and a paternal great-grandfather and also two maternal great uncles were military veterans as well. One of those uncles, who will celebrate his 102nd birthday this month, was a World War II veteran and retired from the U.S. Navy.”