OVMA

Historic Local Educator Added to Syracuse University’s Notable Veteran Alumni List

A Syracuse University alum and historic figure for the Syracuse City School District, was recently added to the list of the University’s Notable Veteran Alumni. Sidney L. Johnson ’59, G’65, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is now among 18 other influential members who have graduated from Syracuse University and have made a substantial impact during or after their military service.

ARMY ROTC Cadets Host CNY JROTC Fitness Challenge

Cadets from Syracuse University’s U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) welcomed more than 120 Junior ROTC cadets to the JMA Wireless Dome on the evening of February 8. The JROTC students came from seven high schools around Central and Western New York, and collectively had representation from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps JROTC programs.

Engineering a Career After Service

Student veteran Savion Pollard ’25 will be the first Syracuse University student to intern at Micron Technology, where he’ll work as an equipment engineer.

Meet Amanda Higginson: Doctor, Aspiring Lawyer, and Tillman Scholar

For many, earning a doctoral degree in medicine and being an officer in the Navy are lifetime achievements all on their own, but for Higginson it was just a start. Currently enrolled in the JDinteractive program at the Syracuse University College of Law, Higginson was also named a Tillman Scholar in 2022.

Hometown Hero: Rear Admiral John Okon

United States Navy Rear Admiral (RADM) John Okon was born and raised in “the 315,” having grown up in Camillus, and he has bled orange his whole life. John attended the last game in both Manley Field House and Archibald Stadium, as well as the first game in the Carrier Dome. During high school, he worked for Syracuse University parking cars in the west lots of the Carrier Dome and at Manley Field House. John says while the money was good, it was the free ticket to see his ‘Orange’ that was the most valuable benefit!

Veterans Day 2022 Profile – Adrian Byrne

The opportunity to travel the world is an enriching experience that many college students take advantage of through semester abroad programs every year. There are far fewer students who get to have that opportunity earlier in their education though. Adrian Byrne, a student veteran in the College of Law at Syracuse University, spent every other summer in his mother’s home country of Hungary. Eventually he would have the opportunity to study abroad in Holland for a year, an experience that would aid him in the travel-filled journey he would set out on after high school.

Veterans Day 2022 Profile – Dr. Jack Graver

The Great Depression often conjures images of long bread lines, sagebrush rolling over dusty farmlands baren from drought, and sprawling shantytowns full of families struggling through unemployment. For one Syracuse University professor with the College of Arts and Sciences, however, the era was a time where families often got together to support one another, and large pot-luck meals were served with other families in the community.

Meet Tillman Scholar Natasha DeLeon

When Natasha DeLeon opted to join the military after high school, one of the reasons she decided to enlist was that she understood the value of an education. She was also well-aware there was a financial cost required to obtain it. While the G.I. Bill is a well-known educational benefit for military service, each branch of the military has unique benefits for servicemembers seeking to better themselves through higher education, and for DeLeon the educational benefits were among her top priorities in terms of what she was seeking.

Hometown Hero: Raul Rosique, Jr.

United States Navy veteran Raul Rosique was born in Delano, California, and raised in Richgrove, California. Raul shipped out to boot camp a few months after his high school graduation at age 18 in 2014. Raul’s enlistment was for five years, and he was set to be attached to a Nuclear Submarine as a Logistic Specialist. After completing logistical training in Mississippi and Submarine training in Connecticut, he received orders to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii which luckily ended up being his only duty station.