Brown University is this month’s Featured Campus! “Their Peer Advisors do a great job of connecting personally with their advisees, and the team has been hosting regular PAVE events that are well attended, including a Halloween party,” says PAVE Program Coordinator Riva Szostkowski.

Brown’s nine Peer Advisors are led by Team Leaders Katie Yetter and Nikhel Sylvain, and Veteran Services Coordinator Kimberly Millette. They serve about 36 student veterans as well as about 36 ROTC students.

“Everyone is really excited about PAVE and so many people are utilizing resources that their mentors are giving them, so I see more connection to student groups and other campus services in addition to the stronger community that we have because of it,” says Katie. Nikhel adds, “PAVE has really helped with bridging the gap between the nontraditional veteran community and Brown… Some of the students said they wouldn’t even have picked Brown without their PAVE mentor.”

One new student veteran Katie’s working with initially had a challenging transition into academic life at Brown, but Katie was able to connect him with multiple resources on campus. “He’s been at every PAVE event we’ve had and he’s doing a lot better and is really getting used to school and enjoying his time here.”

Having a smaller military-affiliated community doesn’t keep their team from going big on programming, as they plan and host at least one event per month. “I’m really happy with veteran turnout at our events. I’ve been shocked at how many people we’ve had showing up. It speaks volumes to the program,” says Nikhel.

Katie and Nikhel credit the strength of the program at Brown with their team’s constant willingness to help fellow student veterans: “We’ve gotten 100% from them. Everyone’s been putting in their logs, attending meetings, and attending our events,” says Katie.

Great job, Brown! We’re excited to see what you do next.