Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) Military and Veterans Affairs Division (MVAD) celebrated six months on campus with Veterans Celebration Week from November 6th-11th, 2023.
The series of events welcomed Austin Peay State University’s military-affiliated students and invited them to take advantage of the division’s resources with celebrations, lunch-ins, an appreciation game and more.
The MVAD hosted a six-month celebration and birthday party for the Newton Military Family Resource Center on November 8th as part of the festivities. The event featured food prepared by Austin Peay State University’s culinary program, a raffle, and appearances by the Gov, APSU President Mike Licari, and Wilma Newton, the Newton Center’s primary funder.
The Newton Center hosts many events and activities throughout the year and has become a central place for military-affiliated students to get involved on campus.
“They’re doing exactly what I envisioned that they would do,” Newton said. “They’re really putting the building to good use. My greatest fear was that it would just be a building and other departments would start using it, but [Military Services] have clearly only used it for what it was meant.”
Other events hosted throughout the week featured exciting activities for all Austin Peay State University students, but the Military and Veterans Affairs Division’s primary focus is to support military-affiliated students on and off campus. That includes active-duty service members, retirees and their families.
MVAD serves those populations through both Austin Peay State University’s Clarksville campus and the APSU Center at Fort Campbell, ultimately supporting deployed students all over the world.
“When we service students at our Fort Campbell Center or at our Newton Military Family Resource Center we know the impact and the positive influence that is being carried with them to their next duty station,” said Marisa Roberts, MVAD’s director of recruitment, communication and marketing.
One of the Military and Veterans Affairs Division’s biggest priorities has been to provide an inclusive environment for veterans, active-duty service members and their families.
Student veterans often feel a sense of separation when first beginning their educational journey, and the division is working to combat this by reinforcing a sense of family.
