Today, Notre Dame joins over 170 colleges and universities across the nation by including the National Roll Call in their observance of Veterans Day.
The event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Clarke Memorial Fountain (“Stonehenge”) with the presentation of the flag. Throughout the day, 62 members of the Notre Dame community, half of whom are members of the university’s Navy, Army, and Air Force ROTC units, will read aloud the names of some 6,300 American servicemen and women killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. At 2 p.m. (EST), a nationwide minute of silence will be observed.
The university’s traditional Veterans Day ceremony will commence at 5 p.m. in the same location. The memorial will feature the national anthem, the raising of the flag, prayer, and speeches.
The event constitutes one element of the university’s support for veterans of America’s armed forces.
There are currently two veterans enrolled as undergraduates at Notre Dame. Joseph Russo, director of student financial services and one of the organizers of the Veterans Day events, pointed out, however, that “the undergraduate [program] is actually being used very significantly by dependent veterans.”
“While there are only 2 veterans themselves, there are actually 52 undergraduates receiving benefits from the VA,” Russo said. “Forty-two of the 52 are getting benefits from this new yellow ribbon. So overall [there are] over 100 students getting veterans benefits.”
One of these undergraduate students is Marine Sergeant Leichty. Leichty was selected in November 2009 for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP). Students must use any combination of the GI Bill, grants, and loans to finance their educations, and the program enables Marines like Leichty to return from active duty, earn a degree, and then go on to a career in the military.
Prior to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Leichty, a high school junior, debated between attending college or enlisting in the Marines.
“That day made my decision easy,” he said. “I grew up in northern Indiana so attending Notre Dame has always been one of my dreams. Through some form of God’s will, I ended up earning an opportunity to attend Notre Dame despite choosing to serve our country first.”
“Luckily, the only other active duty enlisted Marine here at Notre Dame, the NROTC AMOI, Gunnery Sergeant Kennington, has provided me with a piece of the Marine Corps to ground myself with,” he said. “Without another enlisted Marine outlet, my time here would be a bit more awkward.”
There are 48 veterans in the graduate programs.
“[This number is] definitely up,” Russo said. “A lot of that [number] is attributable to the new GI Bill. It’s clearly the most generous set of benefits for veterans since WWII.” The Post 9-11 G.I. Bill assists members of the armed forces who served in active duty after September 11, 2001, for at least 36 months.
Notre Dame’s voluntary participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program sets it apart from many other schools. A special provision of the new G.I. Bill, the program offers assistance with housing, books, and supplies specifically to those attending a more expensive private school or a public school as a non-resident out-of-state student.
More than its financial aid makes Notre Dame a military friendly university.
“There has been a very long tradition of Notre Dame’s affiliation with and support of our country’s military servicemen and women,” Russo said. “It begins with Father William Corby’s role at Gettysburg during the Civil War, continues through many of our ROTC graduates now serving as officers in our conflicts in the Middle East, and was recently expressed in the Notre Dame Senior Alumni’s establishment of an endowed University fund entitled ‘The God, Country, Notre Dame Scholarship.’”
“Do we want more veterans? Absolutely. They bring special perspective to our community life, to our classrooms,” Russo added. “They bring a maturity and focus unlike many of our other students might have. Hopefully everyone is benefitting from their presence.”
In September 2011, G.I. JOBS, a magazine dedicated to helping members of the military transition to civil life, placed Notre Dame in the 2012 ranking of Military Friendly Schools. The survey honored the top 20 percent of the over 8,000 schools surveyed.
Many graduate student veterans are earning MBA degrees. Mendoza College of Business’ MBA program offers a military recruiting admissions office.
Captain Carly DaCosta, an ’11 two-year MBA student, came to Notre Dame neither as a result of a ranking nor word of mouth recommendation.
“I wasn’t even looking to go back to school for my graduate degree,” she said. When her husband, also a West Point graduate, applied for the program and she came to a meeting with Mendoza’s MBA Admissions Director Brian Lohr. He asked me “with a huge grin on his face, ‘Why don’t you think about applying to the program?'”
“The military-friendly ranking achieved at ND is because of people like Brian,” DaCosta said. “He is vocal about what he thinks military members bring to the table as far as leadership, ingrained integrity, hard work ethic, and discipline.”
DaCosta said Notre Dame reminded her of her alma mater, West Point.
“Every person I met was so friendly and it was clear that the business program was built on a student attitude of cooperation and not one of every-man-for-himself,” she said.
Captain Jeremy Benvenuti, the military recruiting admissions office liaison and ’12 MBA student, was a classmate of DaCosta at West Point. He echoed DaCosta’s comment.
“The ranking helps, but I just knew I wanted to be at a top tier business school,” he said. “The cultures of West Point and Notre Dame are a lot alike in terms of tradition and service and upholding your morals.”
“The transition into civilian life has been very positive,” DaCosta. “It is amazing how people outside of the military try to empathize with those who served. There are so many programs to partner non-military with military support groups nowadays.”
DaCosta, now a private banker at J.P. Morgan, described the formative effects of her military experience.
“First, it’s helped me shape the soft skills required to work in a team environment,” she said. “Second, it’s helped me feel comfortable taking charge of uncertain situations. And third, it’s given me a strong sense of responsibility and urgency in getting things done. Jered [her husband] and I have taken active interest in helping veterans transition into financial services at our respective firms.”
Benvenuti will work for Bank of America upon graduation. He plans to move to Charlotte, North Carolina, across the state from Fort Bragg where he spent 6 years as an artillery officer prior to his service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Benvenuti credited Jeff Morris, an ex-Naval officer at the Mendoza Career Development Center, with helping him determine his future career.
“In my first few weeks I didn’t know what I wanted to do but he gave me a list of recent vet retirees that really helped me separate myself and figure out what I wanted to do,” he said.
“The [Notre Dame] community is awesome. You’re really involved and I’m Catholic and like the Catholic feel as well as the collegial feel with the sports,” he said.
Leichty also expressed gratitude for his reception at ND.
“I have not met any negativity for being a Marine at all, unlike some of my MECEP buddies who chose to attend, let’s say ‘more liberal’ schools, like the University of Colorado, Boulder,” he said. “The military appears to have great ally in the Notre Dame staff and student body…I would not want to be at another school in the nation.”
Madeline Gillen is a sophomore majoring in history and art history. Her favorite artist is Mary Cassatt. Contact her at mgillen@nd.edu.
