{"id":50805,"date":"2016-01-24T16:48:02","date_gmt":"2016-01-24T16:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2016\/01\/24\/student-veterans-announce-2017-natcon-7-takeaways-from-this-year-s-conference\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:18:09","slug":"student-veterans-announce-2017-natcon-7-takeaways-from-this-year-s-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2016\/01\/24\/student-veterans-announce-2017-natcon-7-takeaways-from-this-year-s-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Student veterans announce 2017 ‘NatCon’ \u2014 7 takeaways from this year’s conference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor’s note:<\/strong> If you’re part of a student veterans\u00a0club\u00a0and didn’t make it to Student Veterans of America’s\u00a0recent ‘NatCon’ National Conference at Disney World, here’s what happened, courtesy of a student veteran.\u00a0We know a lot of campus clubs\u00a0don’t automatically have the money to send student vets to a conference, so start considering how to raise the funds now. A year could be cutting it close. We learned in one session that you might look to your college’s\u00a0alumni association for a partnership.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student Veterans of America\u00a0convened more than 1,500 student veterans, supporters and other stakeholders from across the country at its\u00a0eighth annual “NatCon” National Conference, held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Florida. Attendance was\u00a0up from 1,200 in 2015. Here are some key pieces of news if you didn’t make it to Orlando:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. SVA solidifies leadership pre-conference.<\/strong> After a formal search led by executive\u00a0search firm\u00a0Korn Ferry, SVA named Jared Lyon its president and chief executive officer. Lyon was SVA’s Student Veteran of the Year in 2011 and had served as executive vice president for operations for much of 2015, stepping in as acting president and CEO in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

SVA also recently added James Schmeling as executive vice president for strategic engagement in December, bringing significant experience in the veterans higher education nexus to the leadership team. Schmeling previously co-founded the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Convening the dialog.<\/strong> School administrators, student veteran chapter leaders and members, government representatives, nonprofits\u00a0and companies converged in panels, town halls, information booths and frequent hallway conversations. At the chapter level, attendees ranged from one or two chapter leaders\u00a0to larger chapters that combined fundraising and school support to bring 15 to 20 student veterans. SVA reports that it is growing at a rate of\u00a0approximately 15 chapters a month, now with more than 1,300 student veteran chapters nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

3. Standing-room-only panels.<\/strong> SVA delivered a substantial lineup of panel sessions on Friday and Saturday. Sessions ranged from “Leading Practices in Student Veteran Focused Programming” to\u00a0“Women Veterans: Engaging Leadership and Influencing Change” and “Admission Accomplished! Transitioning to Highly Selective Universities,” with several panels conducted more than once in a round-robin format. Many sessions saw standing-room-only crowds in packed rooms designed for 100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald, left, talks to Student Veterans of America president and CEO Jared Lyon during SVA\u2019s 2016 \u201cNatCon\u201d National Conference in Florida.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald, left, talks to Student Veterans of America president and CEO Jared Lyon during SVA’s 2016 “NatCon” National Conference in Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Student Veterans of America<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Bob McDonald motivates.\u00a0<\/strong>Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald,\u00a0who also spoke at SVA’s NatCon a year ago, talked about\u00a0transitioning the Veterans Affairs Department\u00a0from being rules-based to principle-based, at one point invoking Gandhi’s example. The former CEO of Procter & Gamble\u00a0and West Point graduate sat with Lyon on stage for a one-on-one conversation about authenticity, passion and leadership. When asked for his final words of advice to the assembled student veterans, McDonald noted, “Don’t aim too low.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. The SVA Campus.<\/strong> A significant build-out from 2015, the SVA “Campus” provided a sizable meeting area on Friday and Saturday that included a government and nonprofit area, a corporate pavilion with hiring managers, an education pavilion with colleges and universities, and a professional development pavilion where student veterans scrubbed their resumes with a variety of coaches and mentors and had professional photos taken for their LinkedIn profiles. Look for SVA to continue to develop the SVA Campus model in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Student Veterans of America president and CEO Jared Lyon delivers the Chapter of the Year trophy to University of Houston\u00d5s SVA chapter president, Navy veteran Fontaine Wilson, during SVA\u00d5s 2016 \u00d2NatCon\u00d3 National Conference in January.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Student Veterans of America president and CEO Jared Lyon delivers the Chapter of the Year trophy to University of Houston’s SVA chapter president, Navy veteran Fontaine Wilson, during SVA’s 2016 ‘NatCon’ National Conference in January.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Student Veterans of America<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Robust honors banquet.<\/strong> The Saturday night awards banquet featured a rare discussion from not one but two Medal of Honor recipients, Army veterans Ryan Pitts and Kyle White, who served in the same company in 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) in eastern Afghanistan in 2007-2008. The pair, who both completed their undergraduate degrees after leaving the Army, discussed their experiences transitioning from their units to campus culture as older, nontraditional students, and then pursuing fulfilling employment after completing their studies. In addition to Pitts and White, the Labor Department’s\u00a0Assistant Secretary for Veterans Education and Training Michael Michaud and Congressman Jeff Miller (R-Florida), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, also provided remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SVA concluded the evening by announcing its national awards for 2015:<\/p>\n\n\n\n