Ivette Amaya of Rutgers University is our Team Leader of the Month! Ivette served four years in the Marine Corps working as a supply admin. She is now studying biological sciences with a minor in nutritional sciences and plans to pursue a career in pharmaceutical research. Rutgers’s Veteran Services Coordinator, Urszula Echols, says, “Ivette is a great source of support for her Peer Advisors and has done a thorough job training her team and data tracking. Ivette is an exceptional person and we are very lucky to have her as a part of the Rutgers PAVE Team!” We can add that she has been a hard-working, dedicated Team Leader since she took on the role and has helped take the Rutgers PAVE Team to the next level.

Ivette credits her experience as a Team Leader with helping her grow as an individual by forcing her to break out of her shell as she’s become more comfortable approaching and talking to people. She says she’s enjoyed talking to fellow student veterans and letting them know about all of the resources available to them, especially since she remembers what it was like her first year in school when she struggled to succeed, in part because she had no mentors to support her at that time. She says that she and her team “see how PAVE impacts people,” and she thinks that has helped the team. Ivette’s total pride for her PAVE team shines through, and it’s clear that the team’s cohesion and success is due in no small part to how well Ivette has led it. We are so pleased with your great leadership, Ivette!