New York City College of Technology

Coordinator's Column

Dear Veteran Students:

I am glad to be a part of the City Tech family and I am glad to be part the CUNY initiative to establish services to our nation’s veterans. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ariel Jacob Luna and I am your new Veteran Services Coordinator. I served in the U.S. Army for seven years, which included one tour in Iraq as a Military Policeman. My motto is “Serving those who have served us.” I believe that no matter what branch of service you were in, we all served our great country together, and you deserve the benefits that you earned.

My job is to provide you with the knowledge that you need to obtain these benefits, to provide mentoring to help you achieve your academic objectives, and to develop events to promote camaraderie among the City Tech Veteran community. I have been working with veterans since 2002 at the Brooklyn College Veteran Affairs and Counseling Center. I was a recipient of the G.I. Bill and I used other awards to assist in financing my education. As veterans, we have a golden opportunity to take advantage of these supports, but we must know how to properly fill out the necessary paperwork to acquire these benefits. I am not the paperwork type either, but it is imperative that you know how to properly do this and that is where my staff and I come in. I have two other veterans that work alongside with me, Ms. Portia Donaldson (U.S. Navy) and Mr. Omari Rose (U.S. Marine Corps). They have been with me since the beginning and they are a big part of the Veteran Services Office. The fall 2007 semester was a great one for the veterans of City Tech because our community is one of the largest in CUNY. Any time there was an event, the City Tech presence was felt.

Under the guidance of Mr. Paul Schwartz, LCSW, the City Tech Services Office and Veteran’s Club has made tremendous strides. Mr. Schwartz is one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated professionals I have ever met and he has supported our office from day one. The veterans of City Tech were involved in various events which included the Bowling Tournament at Fort Hamilton, the Stories of Service Film Festival, the Brooklyn College Veteran Day Luncheon, the Veterans Day Parade, and the Small Business Administration Veteran Workshop. We will have a Memorial Day Weekend trip to Washington D.C. I hope to see our City Tech Veterans there front and center.

I would like to express a special token of gratitude to the Division of Enrollment and Student Affairs, especially Vice President Marcela Armoza, Delores Williams, and Audrey Phillips for helping me feel welcome and supporting my office throughout the entire semester. Without their support, our office would have not been able to be established the way it has been. Another token of gratitude is in order for Mr. Al Vargas, who assisted in the creation and rapid development of our new City Tech veteran brochures.

There are various services that we perform for our veterans. Here are a few of the main ones of which you should be aware;

Assist veterans in filing out benefit paperwork and answer any benefit related questions
Write correspondences on behalf of veterans for all types of veteran issues
Promote various types of club events to enhance college experience for veterans
Keep veterans updated on new and existing benefits
Assist veterans in planning academic goals so that they can fully utilize benefits

Here are Our New Office Hours

The City Tech Veteran Services Office will be open 5 days a week

MONDAY	9:30 a.m.- 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY	9:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY	9:30 a.m.- 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY	9:30 a.m.- 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY	9:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.

*As of November 29th, 2007, all Veteran Club meetings will be held in the Veteran Services Office. Come on down. It is a great opportunity to network and get to know your fellow veterans on campus.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if you would like to tell us something that you think might be beneficial to other veterans, please do not hesitate to contact me at
aluna@citytech.cuny.edu

I will do my best to answer all of your inquires in a timely manner.

Remember, we all can learn something new each day! Knowledge is power and we want to share as much as we can with our brothers and sisters in arms.

Coordinator's Column

Here are Our New Office Hours

The Veterans Office on Campus