News

Student Veteran Cynthia Kao-Johnson Creates “Resilient Documentary” at Syracuse University

June 9, 2015

Documentary Film and History (DFH) graduate student Cynthia Kao-Johnson entered the military with a creative mind and left with the added benefits of skills and discipline. Now she wants to make a difference by igniting conversations about sensitive topics through her skills in documentary filmmaking.

Kao-Johnson is a mother of three, an active-duty army wife, and a veteran who was in the Army Reserve from 2009 to 2013. According to her, being a reservist is living in both the civilian and the military world at the same time. She is used to having a civilian job while living in a military world. This gave her a unique advantage but it also created trouble. It was a surreal experience when she left that world. Not having to go to drills, or having people understand the acronyms that had become part of her vocabulary, took some getting used to. Feeling it was time to explore a different world, she enrolled in the DFH program at Syracuse University. Kao-Johnson came back to grad school searching for individual creativity, and to see how she could shape her storytelling in an artistic and provocative way.

“I was a broadcast journalist with the Air Force. I did a lot of camerawork. So I have a lot of creativity and a yearning for the freedom that documentary film-making affords.”

Throughout the year the program requires the students to put together a thesis film in order to complete the graduate program. Kao-Johnson’s film revolves around veterans’ experiences with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and is a complete feature-length film. It deals with understanding PTSD and what veterans go through paralleled with how the community and outside world perceive it. She brings to life different war eras and how PTSD was experienced in earlier times because the actual term did not exist until 1980. Older vets sometimes did not even know they struggled from the disorder.

This topic is very close to Kao-Johnson as she personally struggled with PTSD herself. This encouraged her to integrate her story into the film as she felt that the veterans she was working with were making an impact on her life as she hoped she was making an impact on theirs. So the film to her is not just surveying different troops and chalking out a story, it is something much closer to heart. The film showcased at the end of last month. She has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to market and distribute the movie further. The trailer can be viewed on YouTube.

The Master’s of Documentary Film & History (DFH), a joint degree program between the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is the only program in the country designed for students seeking the skills and knowledge to produce documentary films on historical subject matter.

Meghavaty Suresh is a Graduate Assistant at IVMF currently pursuing a Master of Science in New Media Management from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She holds a Master’s in Management and Bachelor’s in Commerce from Mumbai University.

Alumnus Receives Medal of Honor for Wartime Courage

June 2, 2015

Sergeant William Shemin ’24, a graduate of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor today at the White House. The award was presented to Shemin’s two daughters, Ina Shemin-Bass ’53 and Elsie Shemin-Roth ’51.

The President relayed Shemin’s tale of saving three wounded fellow soldiers despite a barrage of machine-gun fire during his service in France during World War 1. Eventually, Shemin would assume command of his platoon following the death of the platoon’s senior leaders.

SU Picture — Three generations of the Shemin family (and Syracuse University graduates) celebrate the fourth generation and William Shemin’s Medal of Honor presentation at the White House on June 2, 2015. Front row (L-R): Ina Shemin-Bass ’53, holding the MOH, and Elsie Shemin-Roth ’51 (daughters of William Shemin). Back row (L-R): Scott Bass ’15 (great grandson), William Cass ’08 (great grandson), Rachel Forman ’05 (great granddaughter), Seth Forman (Rachel’s husband), Leslie Shemin-Lester ’84 (granddaughter) and Sam Cass ’13 (great grandson).

In his sentiments during the presentation, President Obama stated, “It has taken a long time for Henry Johnson and William Shemin to receive the recognition they deserve. And there are surely others whose heroism is still unacknowledged, and uncelebrated. So we have work to do, as a nation, to make sure that all of our heroes’ stories are told. And we’ll keep at it, no matter how long it takes. America’s the country we are today because of people like Henry and William. Americans who signed up to serve and rose to meet their responsibilities and then went beyond, the least we can do is to say we know who you are. We know what you did for us. We are forever grateful.”

The Medals of Honor were the 44th and 45th that President Obama has awarded.

View the Medal of Honor presentations at https://youtu.be/EusxvUrgKQg.

U.S. Secretary of the Army Visits Syracuse University

May 20, 2015

Former Congressman, representing CNY and Northern New York, John M. McHugh discusses veteran and military-connected programs at SU

The Honorable John M. McHugh, Secretary of the U.S. Army and former member of Congress representing Northern and Central New York, visited Syracuse University on Thursday morning, May 21, to learn more about the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and the many veteran and military-connected programs and services offered at Syracuse University.

Secretary McHugh’s visit included a brief stop at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, where he received an update on SU’s Defense Comptrollership Program (DCP) – a military degree program that represents a unique cooperative endeavor between Syracuse University and the Department of Defense (DoD) – and spoke with Military and DoD Civilian members of the DCP, Class of 2015. More than 1,600 graduates of this program have provided meaningful contributions in demanding management positions.

Secretary McHugh then attended a discussion with the leadership team from the ‎Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF). The meeting provided an opportunity to brief Secretary McHugh on the IVMF, its programs, research, community engagement and collaborations enacted in service to America’s veterans and military families.

An additional morning session followed at the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs where SU Chancellor Kent Syverud participated in a review of Syracuse University’s efforts to best serve veterans, military-connected students, and military family members who are students or employees at Syracuse University.

“The Secretary’s visit to Syracuse University speaks directly to the work we are doing for those who have served the nation in uniform,” states Vice Chancellor for Veteran and Military Affairs, and IVMF Executive Director Mike Haynie. “Secretary McHugh is well aware of Syracuse University’s historic commitment to veterans, and IVMF’s mission to fully leverage the intellectual, human and social capital of higher education, in service to America’s veterans and their families.”

Secretary McHugh, in anticipation of his visit to Syracuse, shared, “Syracuse University is a leader in offering timely and rigorous programs designed for the military and for our transitioning service members. I am looking forward to learning more about SU’s efforts in this area, as well as gaining a better understanding of the IVMF’s programs and initiatives, and the national impact the institute is having on our nation’s veterans and military families.”

Secretary McHugh specifically pointed out the impact the Boots to Business program has on those serving in the U.S. Army. Operated by Syracuse University, Boots to Business is an entrepreneurial education and training program offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP). The Boots to Business program has been delivered at 46 Army bases in five countries and 21 states. More impressive is that 45% of all Boots to Business applicants in 2014 were transitioning service-members (8,230) of the U.S. Army.

Real Dads Wear Orange: From Afghanistan with Love

May 18, 2015

Sergeant Bryane Greene is thousands of miles away deployed in Afghanistan but his heart and soul are back home with his family especially since his oldest child, Harmony, graduated from college this month. The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs at Syracuse University made certain that Sergeant Greene could watch his daughter receive her degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University through an online live stream. It was a moment he will always cherish.

My name is Bryane A. Greene; I was born in Chicago, Illinois and currently reside in California. I have been in the military for over 16 years and with two deployments it has not been easy as a dad. Having a family structure in which everyone supports each other as we do makes times like this easier yet they are still missed. I am currently deployed in Bagram, Afghanistan, finishing up on the second leg of an 18-month tour.

Harmony is the oldest of six and it was an honor to watch her take that walk across the stage and graduate from college. Seeing a young lady with so much desire and heart never give up or give in has been wonderful. Knowing that when times got hard being away from home, to see her go through the growing pains of becoming a woman and knowing how to handle those situations, to get to this day was incredible. At times, she had to work late hours to finish her class work, all the while trying to have a normal college lifestyle, too. Let’s just say that I have watched her not just receive her degree, but I have seen what road she had to take to get there, and it makes me even prouder of her accomplishment. She has the strength beyond measure to achieve whatever she sets out to attain no matter how hard the road is.

I remember when we first took Harmony out to Syracuse, going to her dorm and seeing that our big girl was turning into a young woman right before our very eyes. She made the first step in pursuing her dream, and to see her excitement in just shopping for things for her college room was beautiful. With all that Harmony has experienced at Syracuse, I can confidently say that it was a good fit. She was able to do what she wanted, which was to be on her own and in control of her own success. Yes, missing home was hard at times, but the Syracuse community kept her busy and now, four years later, she has accomplished what she set out to do: earn her degreeand move towards accomplishing the rest of her goals. To Syracuse, I say thank you; for you are regarded by our entire family as a great university. Being from Chicago, Blue and Orange fit right in. So now I have the Blue and Orange of both because “Real Dads Wear Orange.” Go Cuse!

Sergeant Bryane Greene is expected home this fall and he eagerly awaits reuniting with his family.

For more information on the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, visit https://veterans.syracuse.edu.

Syracuse University 1924 Alumnus to Receive Medal of Honor Posthumously

May 15, 2015

Syracuse University celebrates the recognition of 1924 alumnus, William Shemin, who will receive his long-deserved Medal of Honor–the nation’s highest military decoration for valor—for conspicuous gallantry during World War I on June 2, in a White House ceremony. President Barack Obama will present the medal to Shemin’s daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth ’51, who was instrumental in ensuring her father’s service and valor were recognized.

Shemin, who was stationed in Syracuse prior to deploying to France, returned to pursue studies at Syracuse University in 1919 and graduated in 1924. During his studies at SU, he was also a member of the Syracuse University football and lacrosse teams. Many of Shemin’s descendants have attended Syracuse University, some of which include his son, Emmanuel “Manny” Shemin ‘52, who served as a University Trustee, his daughters Elsie Shemin Roth ’51 and Ina Shemin-Bass ’53, his granddaughter, Leslie Shemin-Lester ’84, who currently serves on the College of Visual and Performing Arts Deans Advisory Council, and his great-grandson William Cass ’08, who is co-chair of the university’s Metro New York Leadership Council.

To our knowledge, William Shemin is Syracuse University’s first and only graduate to earn the Medal of Honor. Information on his courageous action is available at http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/shemin/. President Obama’s announcement of William Shemin as the nation’s newest Medal of Honor recipient is posted at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/05/14/president-obama-award-medal-honor. A more in-depth story can be found here.

Maxwell MSSc helped me continue a lifetime of service

May 11, 2015

Written by Chris Farlow

The Master of Social Science program was an ideal fit for me personally and professionally. While I was serving on active duty, a traditional full residency graduate program was unmanageable due to frequent deployments and a hectic work schedule that involved unusual shifts and being on-call. The MSSc program at Syracuse offered many of the benefits of a traditional graduate school experience blended with the flexibility of distance learning and, of course, I was able to take off an occasional semester due to a deployment. After I attended the first residency, I established relationships with other students and faculty that I still maintain ten years later, and those interactions made the distance coursework much more rewarding.

As I transitioned from active duty into the reserves, the MSSc was an enormous help to me in being selected to become a U.S. diplomat. Of the 22 people who competed on my interview day with the State Department in 2010, only two of us were selected, and coincidentally (or not?), both of us were military veterans who had attended the Maxwell School. The program still continues to benefit my reserve career, and was a necessary part of being selected to the Foreign Area Officer program, which required an advanced degree in international or regional studies, and my MSSc degree was accredited. I now serve as a reserve defense attaché, representing the U.S. military in U.S. Embassies in Africa and the Middle East.

One thing I would like to emphasize to veterans is the advantage of a blended program like the MSSc program. If you’re simply pursuing your graduate degree purely by distance learning, you don’t often have the opportunity to socialize and trade ideas with high-caliber graduate students in professions far different than your own. At Syracuse, I remember some of my fellow students were college admissions officers, regional managers of non-profit charities, political strategists, and high School history teachers. They all had different perspectives on international affairs than I did, and I think that they gained perspective through academic exchange with a veteran.

Chris Farlow is currently the Vice Consul of the United States in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and previously served as a diplomat in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Washington, D.C. Prior to becoming a diplomat, he served eight years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence officer, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He completed the MSSc program at Syracuse in 2009 and graduated from the University of South Florida in 2000. He continues to serve in the Air Force Reserve, as does his wife, Anne. He is originally from Bishopville, Maryland, and speaks English, French, and Russian.

Notable Veteran Alumni: Joseph “Beau” Biden III

May 7, 2015

Joseph “Beau” Biden III is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Biden III, the eldest son of former Senator and current Vice President Joe Biden, was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. Following his father’s footsteps, Beau attended his father’s high school alma mater, Archmere Academy, was a member of the same fraternity, Psi Upsilon, at the University of Pennsylvania, and continued to Syracuse University College of Law.

Biden began his career in public service shortly after graduation from law school. First, he served as a clerk for Judge Steven McAuliffe of the U.S. District Court in New Hampshire. A year later, he joined the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Policy Development as a counselor, where he worked on issues such as the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the Violence against Women Act. From 1997 until 2002, Beau served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia. He later turned to private practice as a partner in the Wilmington-based law firm of Bifferato, Gentilotti, Biden & Black.

Beau Biden 2 While working in the private sector, Biden joined the Delaware Army National Guard in 2003 as a member of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. Notably, he served as Interim Legal Advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice in post-war Kosovo, assisting in the development of a law enforcement and criminal justice system.

Elected in 2006 as Delaware’s Attorney General, Joseph Beau Biden III took office and served two consecutive terms. In his first term on October 2008, the 261st Signal Brigade was activated for a 12-month deployment supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq, during which Beau delegated his Attorney General responsibilities to serve. In November 2011 Beau Biden was promoted to the rank of Major.

Protecting children was among Biden’s highest priorities as attorney general, evident through his creation of a Child Predator Task Force. Beau assisted in making Delaware a national leader in the fight to protect children from predators by successfully pushing for tougher, mandatory prison sentences for child predators and distributors of child pornography. In addition, Beau created the Mortgage Fraud Task Force, designed to protect homeowners from consumer fraud and help stop the rising tide of foreclosures. The Task Force’s work with the Consumer Protection Unit resulted in what is believed to be the largest mortgage rescue fraud indictment in Delaware’s history.

Beau Biden 2 Notably, in 2011, Beau was honored with the Voice of Courage Award from Darkness to Light (D2L), a national nonprofit organization working to empower and teach adults to prevent child sexual abuse; and in 2013, Beau was awarded the LifeLock Ultimate Award for his efforts to fight identity theft, improve online safety and educate children about cybersecurity. Described by many, Beau Biden was a careful, cautious, and deliberate politician, who shunned the limelight to focus on the issues at hand.

Beau Biden passed away May 30th, 2015 and is survived by his wife, Hallie, and two children.

Joseph “Beau” Biden III is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Major General Peggy Combs to Administer Oath of Office to Army and Air Force ROTC Cadets at May 8 Commissioning Ceremony

May 7, 2015

CNY Native, Alumna of Oriskany High School and Syracuse University, and First Woman to command the U.S. Army Cadet Command, to speak at SU ROTC Commissioning Ceremony

Major General Peggy C. Combs, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Cadet Command and Fort Knox, Kentucky, will deliver the keynote address and administer the oath of office to 20 cadets from the Army and Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at the 2015 Commissioning Ceremony on Friday, May 8, 2015. The ceremony will begin at 5 p.m., and be held in Hendricks Chapel on the Syracuse University campus.

Major General Combs is a native of Central New York, having graduated from Oriskany High School in 1981. She received the Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Syracuse University in 1985, is a distinguished military graduate of Syracuse University’s ROTC, and was commissioned as a Regular Army Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Chemical Corps.

Major General Combs’s assignments include being the Joint Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Operations Officer for United States Central Command (CENTCOM) during Operation Enduring Freedom, as the Chief of Staff for the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission, United States Forces-Iraq duty at the National Ground Intelligence Center, and Chief of the Full Dimension Protection Division for the US Army Pentagon. She most recently served as the 27th Chief of Chemical and Commandant, US Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. From 21 May to 27 August 2013, Major General Combs simultaneously served as the Commanding General, US Army Training Center and Fort Jackson, Fort Jackson, South Carolina. On 6 March 2014, Major General Combs assumed command of the US Army Cadet Command and Fort Knox, Kentucky. Visit http://www.cadetcommand.army.mil/commanding-general.aspx for a complete biography.

Twenty cadets from five local colleges will be commissioned as officers in the Army and Air Force at the 2015 Commissioning Ceremony. Syracuse University is the host institution for Army ROTC and Air Force ROTC. Students from the following institutions may enroll in Army ROTC at Syracuse: Cazenovia College, Colgate University, Hamilton College, Le Moyne College, Morrisville State College, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and Utica College. Students from the following institutions may enroll in AFROTC at Syracuse: Cazenovia College, Columbia College, Hamilton College, Le Moyne College, Mohawk Valley Community College, Morrisville State College, Onondaga Community College, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, SUNY Upstate Medical University, and Utica College.

The Syracuse University Army ROTC unit was established in spring 1919. Following World War II, Syracuse was one of the original 77 universities to house an Air ROTC unit starting in fall 1946. With the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate service in 1947, it became known as Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC).

About the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs:

The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA) serves as Syracuse University’s single point of entry for all veteran and military related programs and initiatives. Committed to being the “Best Place for Veterans,” OVMA assists university stakeholders to support and empower veteran, military connected, and military family member students and employees who are veterans at Syracuse University.

# # #

Media Contact:

Wayne Westervelt

Director of Communications

Office of Veteran and Military Affairs

(315) 4435690

wwesterv@syr.edu

Scholar Spotlight: Jesse Campion ’15

May 5, 2015

Written by Cindy Moritz for Syracuse University News

As an undergraduate at Temple University, Jesse Campion never thought he would end up in the military. But then 9/11 happened. “That kind of shifted the tide,” he says. After graduating in 2002, he started learning more about the benefits of the military, enlisted, and left for basic training in November 2003.

Q. How did your military service progress?

A. I wanted to learn from the ground up and started out as a vehicle mechanic and paratrooper, stationed with the 82^nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. I worked my way up to sergeant, and about halfway through my service I was recommended for Officer Candidate School. That began the second chapter of my military career. After OCS, I was commissioned and served as an infantry officer. It culminated with me going to U.S. Army Ranger School in 2007 and eventually leading a platoon into combat in 2008. With Ranger School, that was a special accomplish for me. My grandfather, who was an Army Ranger during World War II, served with 5^th Ranger Battalion and was part of the invasion at D-Day. I grew up being proud of his sacrifices for our country. He was able to make the trip to Fort Benning, Ga., for the graduation and pin the Ranger tab on me. Overall, I honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant in 2009. I served for a total of six years in the military with two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom—one being a year in Mosul, Iraq.

Q. What came next for you?

A. I decided to go to law school. It had been a dream of my mother’s, but she died of cancer in 2005. I always had a strong interest in going to law school. The GI Bill had been revamped in 2008 to allow for minimal to debt-free education for transitioning veterans. So about a two years after I got out of the service, I took the LSAT and started applying to law schools. Given the opportunities for veterans and national security study, I decided to come to Syracuse University College of Law, where I’m a third-year student. I’m also earning a master’s in public affairs from the Maxwell School and a certificate of advanced study in security studies from the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism.

Q. How has it been coming back to school after all those years in the military?

A. It’s been a great experience, and has given me so many options. But there have been a lot of trials and tribulations along the way, and it’s certainly been a lot of hard work. I’ve currently done long distance from my wife for the past three years, which has been stressful at times. I’ve been very lucky in that I was selected for a couple of great internships and I’ve found supportive professors and colleagues who believe in me. My wife has been the biggest pillar of support for me during this uncertain journey. The summer after my first year, I worked as a legal intern with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of the Chief Counsel. Last summer, I was a legislative fellow in the office of U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

In addition, I was fortunate in the support that I got. The nonprofit veterans group Soldier Socks awarded me their 2014-15 academic scholarship. And just recently, I was named a 2015 Presidential Management Fellow. That is a two-year leadership development program that fast-tracks graduate students into leadership development roles in the federal government. Just seven percent of applicants were chosen at finalists this year out of close to 8,000 PMF applicants.

Q. What’s ahead for you after graduation?

A. I am now applying for different positions as a Presidential Management Fellow. I’d like to work in the national security or foreign policy field, and develop as a senior leader in federal government. Ultimately, I would like to learn as much as possible and work my way up into Senior Executive Service and one day, a presidential appointee.

Via Syracuse University News

Campus Community Invited to Voluntarily Confirm Military Status through MySlice

May 4, 2015

As part of the University’s efforts to distinguish Syracuse University as one of the nation’s leading institutions for veterans, and to recognize the important contributions that veterans and their families make to the University every day, a new Military Status Self-Service feature is now available in MySlice.

“Providing an easy-to-use self-service feature is a critical component in our vision of being the premier university for veterans,” says Vice Chancellor for Veterans and Military Affairs Mike Haynie. “It provides a way for us to more fully understand the military status of students, faculty and staff and their dependents at Syracuse University, knowledge that helps the University better serve its veterans and their families.”

All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to voluntarily enter or update their current/prior military status or indicate their status as a dependent using military benefits by logging into MySlice and answering a maximum of six short questions. Find the “Personal Services” section, click on the “View/Update Military Status” link and follow the prompts. These actions are entirely voluntary, as is participation in any veterans-related programming.

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Andy Gordon says the new Military Status Self-Service feature will also simplify the Office of Human Resources’ onboarding process and provide more reliable data to meet the University’s reporting requirements.

“By voluntarily providing current or prior military status,” Gordon says, “our students, faculty and staff are helping us to enhance and expand programs that address the needs and interests of veterans and military families and advance post-service success.”

Campus community members who indicate their current or prior military status also will be able to receive current information through Syracuse University and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families about resources and programs for which they qualify.

If you have any questions, call the HR Service Center at 315-443-4042 or hrservic@syr.edu.