OU student veterans to march in Rochester's Memorial Day Parade

Oakland University’s Student Veterans of America chapter plans to be among the organizations taking part in the city of Rochester’s 2012 Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28. To mark the occasion, group members will present decorative wreaths in honor of those who lost their lives in service. 

“It’s an opportunity to pay our respects to the fallen,” said Robert Rietze, a chapter member and veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard. “I think it’s important to recognize that the freedoms we enjoy are the result of sacrifices made not just by our generation, but by those who went before us.”

Through the Office of Veterans Support Services, the university strives to serve veterans and their dependents year-around and can direct students to many resources, including the registrar’s office, the Academic Advising office, Graham Counseling Center and Pontiac Vet Center. For the winter 2012 semester, a total of 222 veterans or veteran’s dependents were enrolled in classes, with nearly 200 certified to receive Veterans Administration benefits.

“When a veteran is transitioning from the military to college life, they deal with a variety of issues,” Rietze explained. “It helps to have someone here who understands where they are coming from.”  

The work of the entire support team has helped establish OU as a leader in providing exceptional services to veterans and their families. For three consecutive years, Oakland has been named a “Military Friendly School” by G.I. Jobs magazine, an honor reserved for the top 15 percent of all colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide. OU is also a charter member of the Michigan Educators Veterans Support Consortium and participates in numerous veterans support programs across the state and nation.  

In addition, OU veterans have access to priority registration and are provided with red, white and blue honor cords at graduation. Recently, the university reinstituted evaluation of veterans’ transcripts based on American Council on Education guidelines, a process that provides transfer credit recommendations to military personnel. Service members can receive credit for courses taken as part of military training.

In late 2011, Oakland’s Veteran Transfer Student Services program was recognized with the Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrar and Admissions Officers Outstanding Transfer Program Award.

For more information on veteran services, e-mail veterans@oakland.edu, call (248) 370-2010 or visit the website at oakland.edu/veterans.

Memorial Day ceremonies for Rochester and Rochester Hills are at 9:15 a.m. in Mount Avon Cemetery, located at West Third and Wilcox in Rochester. They are followed by the 10 a.m. parade to Veterans Memorial Pointe, located at the southeast corner of Avon and Livernois in Rochester Hills.