Time is running out for potential applicants looking to become one of Syracuse University’s next Tillman Scholars. The scholarship, made available by the Pat Tillman Foundation, is held in high regard as one of the premier academic scholarships for the military-connected community within higher education. The foundation will close the application window this year on Feb. 28 and announce this year’s selected scholars near the end of the spring semester.
student veteran
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.
Hometown Hero: Jennifer Aquino
United States Navy Veteran Jennifer Aquino is a native of Puerto Rico. She enlisted into the United States Navy in 2003 She attended boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, and later become a cryptologic technician collector and interpreter. Petty Officer Aquino served aboard the Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. She also served with the Navy Information Operations Command in both Virginia, and South Texas for a total of 14 years of honorable service.
Student Veterans Travel to Disney World for 15th Annual NATCON
Military-connected students from Syracuse University returned from a three-day trip to Walt Disney World Resort earlier this month. While many of their classmates enjoyed the remaining class-free days of their winter break, the group of 14 students were in Florida attending the Student Veterans of America 15th Annual National Conference (NATCON).
Hometown Hero: Samuel Ruiz
United States Marine Corps Sergeant Samuel Ruiz was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. SGT Ruiz enlisted in the Marine Corps on November 25, 2015, and he has served in the 2nd Marine Division in Jacksonville, North Carolina, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Miramar, California, and the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Crisis Response Central Command in Camp Pendleton, California. He currently serves with Echo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in Syracuse, New York.
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.
Student Veteran Savion Pollard Shares His Incredible Experiences at Syracuse University
As a student veteran, what can you expect from Syracuse University? What distinguishes this institution from others? A Syracuse University student veteran, Savion Pollard, shares his incredible experiences studying at Syracuse University.
Senior Profile: Navy Corpsman Emily Graham ’22 Finds Community Through Public Health Education
ney Emily Graham ’22 took to Syracuse. It prompted her to see what the University offers for veterans, and she would not be disappointed.
‘The Possibility of Yes:’ Jennifer Pluta Helps Student Veterans and Military Service Members Thrive
Jennifer Pluta G’15 has exactly the right mix of experience for her work at as the director of Veteran Career Services. A native of the Binghamton, New York area, Pluta has served in the Army Reserve for 23 years, where she’s a career counselor, a master sergeant, and recently selected for promotion to sergeant major.
Hometown Hero: Nadia Morris-Mitchell
United States Navy veteran, currently serving New York State Air National Guardsman, and Syracuse University undergraduate student veteran Nadia Morris-Mitchell hails from Syracuse, New York. She enlisted in the United States Navy in 2004 as a heavy equipment operator, Seabee. Also in 2004, Nadia married her high school sweetheart, Cody Stasko.