By Hannah Myers

Lee University’s “ONE44 PR” Bateman team is launching its regional Student Veterans of America (SVA) campaign this month. The team consists of senior public relations majors Ashley Akeson, Peyton Camera, Rebecca Coram, and Hannah Myers.

The Bateman team’s campaign is titled “SVA: Serving. Striving. Succeeding.” The reason for starting an SVA chapter on Lee’s campus is to provide Lee veterans and any post 9-11 GI Bill recipients with a community that helps them transition from military life to life on a college campus. The Bateman campaign wants to highlight veterans’ unique strengths and skills and create a community that will help develop those traits.

The students have been working since October to create a public relations campaign for their client, SVA. Their regional campaign continues this month with the launch of an SVA chapter at Lee, a Camo Run, a veteran chapel service, a veteran social at Lasaters Coffee, and other special events for student veterans.

The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) holds the Bateman Team Competition every year. It is a competition in which approximately 70 schools select four or five students to create a public relations campaign for a national client. The teams are required to research, plan, implement, and evaluate their campaign during the school year and turn in their submission to national PRSSA for judging. The challenge is that teams have only from Feb. 15 through March 15 to implement their campaigns. All events, social media, and media coverage must be completed by March 15. In April, PRSSA selects top contenders who then present to a panel of judges. The winning team receives $3,500 and a trophy; second place receives $2,500 and a plaque, and third place receives $1,500 and a plaque.

“Through the years, our Lee public relations teams have received a fourth place national win and five honorable mentions,” said Dr. Patty Silverman, the Lee public relations program coordinator and PRSSA co-advisor and internship coordinator. “I have had the pleasure of coaching many outstanding public relations students as they work hard during the fall and spring semesters to research, plan, implement, and evaluate outstanding national campaigns. This year is no different. These four young women are not only pushing the limits to implement an aggressive and purposely thought out campaign, but they are representing, in my opinion, the best national client to date, Student Veterans of America. Not only are they creating awareness for our veterans, but they are passionate about launching an SVA chapter for our student veterans on the Lee campus.”

According to Coram, the difficulties student veterans face when transitioning from military life to college life range from feeling like an outsider among younger students to faculty not understanding their backgrounds, along with the possibility of injury from serving, whether that injury is mental, physical, or emotional. SVA wants to make getting a college degree a more achievable goal by tackling these challenges head on. SVA doesn’t just provide a community, but a home for veterans who don’t completely relate to the traditional student. These veterans have lived in the real world and will have a family to lean on with SVA.

SVA is a grassroots effort launched with the involvement of student veterans, post 9-11 GI Bill recipients, and veterans’ dependents taking membership. Gaining support from fellow students, educators, employers, and the community as a whole also benefits the SVA chapter.

Lee hopes to start an SVA chapter this month as well as open a lounge on campus specifically for veteran use.

“I think an SVA chapter is beneficial for not only student veterans, but for the campus and community as well,” said Dustin Gunnoe, a student veteran at Lee. “What veterans miss the most from our service is the camaraderie that we shared. It is hard finding that when you’re no longer in the service. Some feel as if they have nothing else to offer when their service ends. Veterans want to retain a sense of purpose and belonging. By starting an SVA chapter, I believe we can bring our skills and various strengths to help our fellow students, community, and ourselves!”

The Bateman team will hold a Camo Run on the Greenway in Cleveland on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 9 a.m. Registration starts at 8 a.m. The entire community is invited to attend this event to support student veterans in the area. The run/walk will start at Greenway Park at 755 Raider Drive. Go to Camo Run to register. For more information regarding the Camo Run, contact Rebecca Coram at [email protected].

SVA is a national nonprofit organization that aims to build support and community for student veterans. SVA has over 1,300 chapters on college campuses across the United States and abroad. SVA’s mission is to provide student veterans with resources, support, and advocacy needed to succeed in higher education and following graduation.

For more information about the Bateman team’s SVA campaign, contact Hannah Myers at (815) 263-7418 or [email protected].