Monday, Nov. 11, 2013 marked the 12th annual Veteran’s day Ceremony on The University of New Haven Campus.

The ceremony took place in the Maxcy Quad at 11 a.m. Students, faculty and veterans attended the event. UNH is home to Nearly 200 veterans, including current students and alumni, who have served and protected the U.S, and 45 are enrolled for the fall semester.

Justin Farrar, Criminal Justice Major and President of Military Veterans of U.N.H. Club, opened the ceremony with a Call to Order. Color guard was called to attention to march and present the colors. The National Anthem followed, sung by Ronald Peirce, music and sound recording major.

Deacon Wayne Sandford, Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Professor, read the Invocation before President Steve Kaplan welcomed guests to the ceremony and reflected on his time teaching for the United States Military in Germany.

President Kaplan thanked the veterans in the campus community for their dedication. “Our veteran students have become a vital part of the campus community, and I am very grateful for their many contributions to the University,” he said.

Student veterans are active volunteers in the community outside the classroom. Last year, some visited Newtown just days after the tragic shooting to interact with some of the children and their families. Over the summer, they collected materials and supplies that were donated to a veteran transitional house in West Haven.

“Through their actions, our veteran students serve as role models for the entire campus community, and I commend them all for their actions,” said Kaplan

The laying of the wreath was carried out by Jessica Zielinski and Claudine Villette-Pettigrew, UNH students and members of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S.M.C, respectively. They carried the wreath from the center of the Maxcy Quad to the flag pole located near the entrance of the library.

While they carried the wreath, Brandon Downer, Criminal Justice Major, preformed Taps on the trumpet.

SGT Grant Briggs was an honored veteran of the event. He was a first sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II, a musician and ball room dancer, and a UNH graduate of 1954, A.S. He spoke about his life experiences and reasoning for entering the U.S. Army; he chose to enlist himself after high school, and not be drafted. “I was proud to serve my country,” he said.

SGT Briggs served two years in Germany, and after, enrolled at UNH to pursue his degree taking classes at night. Now he spends his time ballroom dancing and staying young as one of the few WWII veterans alive today.

Sean-Michael Green, Associate Vice President for Graduate Enrollment and Marketing, served in the United States Marines, and was another honored veteran at the ceremony. He spoke of how he finally felt he had a place in school after his service in the Marines. The academic challenge that college provided opened a new window for him, after he had felt out of place throughout high school when he graduated 723 out of 725, and his early collegiate years before entering the U.S.M.C.

Green joined the UNH community over the summer and said it would have helped him to know there were other veterans like him on campus, so that is his goal now at UNH, “I want everyone here who is a student veteran to know there are other people here like you.”

Green admits that he feels a bit uncomfortable when people thank him for his service. “I didn’t do anything exceptional,” he said.

He spoke at the ceremony less than an hour after participating in a 5K run that benefited the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. “My brother is a marine, my father was a marine. It’s just what we do.”

Gregory Jones, Fire Science Major and member of U.S. Army, lead the Pledge of Allegiance, where the audience rose to face the flag, bringing the ceremony to an end. Before Farrar dismissed the audience, Deacon Sandford closed with a prayer.

To assist the veteran students on campus, UNH participates in the Yellow Ribbon program, and there are dedicated staff members in a variety of offices on campus – including Admissions, Financial Aid and the First-Year Success Center – to work with veteran students. Each of the last three years, the University has been recognized by G.I. Jobs magazine among the top colleges nationally for veterans.