USFSP accommodates student military with new success center
(From left to right) Milton White, assistant director of veterans services; Sophia Wisniewska, USFSP regional chancellor; David Creighton, president of the Student Veterans Organization; Nicole Smith, constituent services supervisor for U.S Representative David Jolly; and State Representative Kathleen Peters.
University officials, politicians, students and veterans gathered on Nov. 10 to celebrate the grand opening of the new Military and Veterans Success Center in Terrace 300.
David Creighton, president of the Student Veterans Organization, struggled to hold back tears as he took the stage.
“You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve heard that (Taps) played far too often, for those gone all too soon,” he said.
The center is now home to Milton White, Student Government Secretary of Veteran Affairs Kaitlyn Mollo and the Student Veterans Organization.
St. Petersburg Patrol Officer Andre Sousa, 26, awaiting the presentation of colors. Sousa is an armed forces veteran who served in Afghanistan as a sergeant in the U.S. Army during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Although the Military and Veterans Success Center had its soft opening on Sept. 11, the grand opening was held on Nov. 10. Since then, veterans have enjoyed the new space as a place to work, relax and spend time with fellow students and staff.
Marine recruiter Sean Varela (left) stands beside Dr. Bill Heller, Dean of the USFSP College of Education (right), as Chancellor Wisniewska addresses the audience. A former state representative, Heller is also a U.S. Army veteran, who served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division.
