Center For Wounded Veterans Celebrates First Veterans Day Since Opening Its Doors
The $14 million facility opened on October 2, 2015 and offers several programs to help veterans attending the university as they earn their degrees and transition from military to civilian life. Center for Wounded Veterans
Nicholas Osborne served eight years in the Coast Guard including a tour in Kuwait. He says transitioning into civilian life can be isolating for veteran students, especially if they have a disability.
Now, Osborne is the interim director of the Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education and says the center hopes to bring veterans together especially on Veterans Day.
“One of the most important aspects of this center is to provide community to student veterans with disabilities, and we spoke with our students and we asked them, ‘what is it that you would like?’ and they simply said all we want is a pizza party. We just want to be able to interact with other veterans in a social manner who we can relate to, and to take a moment and reflect.”
Osborne says the center will raise its flag for the first time today (Wednesday) honoring those who have served and who are currently serving in the armed forces.
The Center for Wounded Veterans will have a display outside of the main library on campus showcasing the UofI’s military history for the rest of November.