Whitworth’s continual support for military students has been recognized once again, and the efforts put forth are undeniable. For the ninth consecutive year, Whitworth has received the title of being a top ten military-friendly school by Victory Media and has also ranked number five in the top schools for military spouses. This title of recognition has been earned through Whitworth’s outpouring of events and resources towards military students at Whitworth.
Phil Labrie, the military & veterans associate outreach at Whitworth, lists the efforts made by the University to support military students. “We try to do, you know, events throughout the year, like we have our big military appreciation game in the fall, and we do a Veterans Day ceremony every year,” says Labrie.
The MAVRC house, recently constructed in 2021, offers military students dedicated support services and resources. “The Maverick is pretty monumental to the military student life on campus for us, because there’s a house where we can hang out and do homework at all the time,” says Molly Hanson, a current military student. The house also puts on events and is equipped with a gym, massage chair and kitchen to further support students.
The source of Whitworth’s efforts to support military students begins with the University’s administration, which puts in place these resources to look after veterans. “The school generally cares about our military and we’re appreciative of the service,” says Labrie. “They hired me to be military outreach, to go out in the community and show the community that Whitworth cares about you.”
“I just haven’t seen any ROTC program in the nation that, like, works side by side with cadets as much as Whitworth does,” says Hanson. Students are supported financially through Whitworth’s free housing for veterans and also by having dedicated personnel to help navigate benefits. The school’s military service scholarship is also available to students who have served or are serving.
Opportunities to partake in special events are also offered to military students. Hanson was deeply moved by her experience with the Honor Flight program, which was funded by the MAVRC and allowed her to travel to Washington, D.C., where she joined veterans in visiting memorials that honored their service. She is thankful for the experience and appreciates the support she has received.
Being a military student can be very stressful and busy, but Whitworth’s mission to support veterans has made a difference in their education. Hanson makes note of the reduction in ROTC scholarships due to the changes made by the federal administration. “I just think that because of funding and everything else, it’s just going to be harder to recruit people, and so there might just be less cadets on campus,” says Hanson.
Despite this change, Labrie anticipates greater enrollment from DODEA students because of the new DoDEA student guaranteed & admission program, which hopefully will attract resilience, leadership and a global perspective to the community
