Video by Mei-Ling Shaw Williams
By Andy Goodell
Jeremy Williams, graduate assistant for I-SERVE, won the 2017 Ernest T. Pascarella Military Veteran Promise Award.
I-SERVE at the University of Iowa College of Education is Support, Education, Resources for Veterans and Enlisted.
The Ernest T. Pascarella Military Veteran Promise Award was created to acknowledge veterans who seek to make civilian-life career contributions through their studies in the College of Education. The award is named after Pascarella, who is both a highly-distinguished scholar and a decorated veteran.
Williams is a company commander for an Army reserve unit in Des Moines. While enrolled in the Higher Education and Stu-dent Affairs PhD program, he is also conducting research on the tremendous value student veterans bring to college campuses and is helping veterans and their families enrich their quality of life through higher education.
“The College of Education is leading the way across the university campus as the only college to have its own veterans’ re-source center for student veterans and their families to enroll, learn, graduate and lead in communities throughout the state of Iowa,” says Williams. “With veterans’ initiatives being a high priority in the college, veterans can thrive while doing their academic work here, which can help catapult their careers both inside and outside the academy.
Williams adds, ”At the Dr. Paul D. Larson I-SERVE office, we provide support to veterans and their families through scholarship opportunities, veteran-centered programming and events, a veterans’ resource center, such as self-help veterans transition books and other academic resources for re-searching the veteran population, and job placement assistance following graduation.”