Mason's new Military, Veterans, & Families Initiative & "Veterans Week"

For the past year, several individuals have been working to create and launch the “Military, Veterans, & Families Initiative” (MVFI) at Mason. MVFI seeks to give back to those who give to our nation by helping service members, veterans, and their families here at Mason and in the broader National Capital Region through education, direct services, workforce development, and research. The ultimate goal is to connect and enhance the numerous efforts to serve this population across the University, raise their visibility, and ensure that service members, veterans, and their family members can find the resources they need.

Due to safety issues on campus with COVID-19, we are unable to meet in person. Thus, MVFI has pivoted to focus on virtual events and connections. As our first major public effort, we have teamed up with Mason's Reserve Officers' Training Corps program and the Office of Military Services to offer a variety of free virtual events, pre-recorded messages of appreciation, and discounts for our Mason Veterans throughout “Veterans Week.” You can learn more about Veterans Day and all of the great opportunities scheduled from Monday, November 9th through Sunday, November 15th at our Veterans Week 2020 webpage. We hope you will consider sharing this information with faculty, staff, students, or your broader networks.

At Mason, we aspire to serve our service members, veterans, and their family members with as much dedication and devotion as they have provided to our county. We hope all our Veterans have a wonderful Veterans’ Day, and we hope that you will take the time to look through the MVFI website (and consider following us on our newly launched Twitter account – @MVFI_GMU), to see all the ways that Mason celebrates and serves this important population throughout the year. 

Select Veterans Week Events:

Tuesday, November 10 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Living with PTSD & TBI: Symptoms, Experiences, and Resources

Recent military conflicts have been associated with high levels of both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). These two conditions have overlapping symptoms and can be experienced simultaneously, which sometimes makes it difficult to distinguish between them – and they have profound impacts on one’s life. In this webinar, Dr. Keith Renshaw, a licensed psychologist and Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, will speak with Matthew Hoh, a Marine Corps combat veteran of the Iraq War who is 100% disabled with PTSD, TBI, and other related diagnoses. They will review common symptoms of these conditions and offer resources, and Captain (Ret) Hoh will discuss his own personal experiences, including elements of his own path toward recovery. The webinar will conclude with a Q&A from attendees.

Tuesday, November 10 @ 1:00 pm – 6:00 pmDominion Energy Virtual Military and Veteran Career Expo

As Dominion Energy grows, they are looking to hire more individuals from various backgrounds including veterans and military spouses, skilled workers, business professionals, engineers, technical specialists, and more. Sign up for the Virtual Career Expo and talk to a recruiter about their openings

Tuesday, November 10 @ 3:00 pmTeam Rubicon’s Local Director Information Seminar (Volunteer Service)

Team Rubicon is a veteran led nongovernmental organization (501) providing disaster relief operations domestically and abroad. We invite you to this webinar, which will be a one-hour presentation discussing Team Rubicon is and how to get involved. This will be followed by a Q&A.

Wednesday, November 11 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 amStress Management Workshop, Sponsored by CAPS

Mason’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) invites our Mason Veterans to join them for a complementary stress management workshop.  Please join us in discussing ways to cope with challenges related to PTSD, Covid-19, and other items affecting our veterans.

Thursday, November 12 @ 1:00pmEdward Jones Financial Advisor Webinar with Shawn Stuckey

Shawn Stuckey, a former United States Marine has spent 20-plus years as an accountant and treasury professional which culminated in serving in the role of SVP of Finance and Treasurer. In his seminar, Rules of the Road Seminar: Understanding you Finances After Discharge, Stuckey will focus on areas of investment and savings that will benefit our military community including active duty servicemen/women, veterans, and their families.

Friday, November 13 @ 12:15 pm – 1:15 pmCelebrating Veterans Social Hour

Grab your lunch and join members of our Military Sciences Office, Mason’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, and the Military, Veterans, & Families Initiative for a social hour honoring and celebrating our veterans and active service members. There will be opportunities to interact “virtually” with fellow service members of your branch and a chance to socialize with all our Mason service men/women.

Saturday, November 14 @ 8:00 pm | Celebrating Veterans and the Arts: A Virtual Concert

Since 2014, the Veterans and the Arts Initiative has served as an arts and community hub for our local Veterans, Servicemembers, their families, and community members. Join us on Saturday, November 14 at 8 p.m. for a FREE online concert featuring Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, celebrated duo on the American acoustic scene; Darden Purcell, Washington D.C.-based jazz vocalist and recording artist, joined by Mason Jazz faculty; and Voices of Service, a quartet of Veterans and active duty servicemembers who were finalists on America’s Got Talent (Season 14). This family-friendly concert has something for everyone!

Sunday, November 15 On Your Own| Jennifer DiMauro Memorial Walk

Jennifer was a Mason doctoral student who was tragically killed in an auto accident a short time after she graduated and had begun working in the VA Healthcare System. Jennifer was passionate about providing evidence-based mental health care to veterans. To honor her legacy, the Jennifer DiMauro Honor Fund for Veterans was established to provide free assessments and therapy to veterans at the GMU Center for Psychological Services. This year we invite you to walk with us, wherever you are in the world, for however long you wish.

For questions regarding our Veterans Week Celebration, please email Lesley Irminger, University Events (lirminge@gmu.edu).

For questions regarding the Military, Veterans, & Families Initiative, please email Keith Renshaw, Director, MVFI (krenshaw@gmu.edu).