Veterans and military service members take up much of the University of Iowa’s campus, whether it’s through teaching and leading classes, participating in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, also known as ROTC, or just being a community member.
Now, the university has created a Veteran and Military Council to strengthen spaces for military service members on campus.
“We see some of the unique struggles that veterans have and that they’ve struggled through some maybe even ourselves, and trying to build that community,” Eli Hotchkin, a member of the Veteran and Military Council leadership team, said.
Hotchkin originally came to the university as a police officer in 2012. Before that he served in the Marine Corps and did a tour in Iraq in 2008. His experiences there made him want to give back to the strong military and veteran community present at the UI.
“I think [the council] will bring a space in our community for veterans on campus. To connect and support each other,” Hotchkin said.
Alongside Hotchkin on the leadership team is Adam Potter, a human resources specialist for the UI, and Matthew Miller, the director of Student Support Services at IVETS. All make up different parts of campus but share the same experiences in the military.
The leadership team makes up different aspects of the university, but at their core, they have all served in the military and are using that foundation to give back to the community at Iowa.
“The primary purpose and mission is to build a community for military veterans and current service members that are on faculty and staff here at the university — to provide a community support network, and then also to help mentor and support our military and veteran students here on campus,” Miller said.
Miller retired from the army in 2015 after serving for 21 years.
The council is starting to create a foundation of veterans, active military, and community members and is hoping to provide a space for members to speak with each other about similar experiences serving.
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“Sometimes you can be viewed as like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re in the military. Oh, what was that like?’ I think it’s really hard for community members to kind of communicate that to others and to communicate their experiences,” Hotchkin said.
Although this new council was just announced on Nov. 1, the leadership team has been trying to get the word out through press interviews and by participating in Veterans Week events that took place throughout the week of Nov. 10 to 16.
“We started working on this idea back in the late spring, and it finally just took off this fall. So our goal for the year one is to develop our membership base,” Miller said.
The council is actively recruiting and looking to build a membership base with future plans to have monthly meetings and social events throughout the year. Those interested in getting involved can visit their website.
Once the foundation is built, the council will facilitate and aid in the challenges faced by many veterans and people with connections to the military. For Jakelyn Leycock, a child of a navy veteran and the niece of veterans, supporting the military and being a part of a campus that supports the military is important to her.
“Supporting veterans is important because they supported us. They are the backbones of our country, so it’s good to give back and support them in any way we can,” Leycock said.
The leadership team is hoping people like Leycock and her family will utilize this new council.
“All of us have a connection to the military, and there’s this part of like, ‘Oh, is it scary, or is it not?’ We need to have conversations and be given space to be able to let people speak about their experiences,” Hotchkin said.
