From Mark Canett, Director of Veteran Services, Santa Ana College: “Alyna has been an instrumental Team Leader. Our campus and center has gone through tremendous shifts in staffing during COVID. We didn’t have a permanent coordinator, and Alyna, as a Team Leader, singlehandedly kept PAVE afloat.”

From Rebekah Miller, co-Team Leader: “Alyna has been an integral part of the success of PAVE here on our campus. She is always going above and beyond to ensure that our team of Peer Advisors is set up for success. Her dedication to students and their unmet needs is unparalleled. We have had several student veterans who have received such quality of care that they were inspired by Alyna to become an advisor themselves. Alyna is a leader of the highest caliber and should be recognized for the incredible work she has done.”

From Alyna Suarez: “The proudest accomplishment my team and I have contributed to is an increase in the amount of participation from new student veterans on campus. Specifically, an increase in participation within the SVA group on our campus, because as we have seen statistically, the more students are involved on campus, the higher their GPA. My favorite part about being a Team Leader, simply put, is being able to lead a team of such committed and caring student veterans. I am able to help cultivate a community of trust, support, and camaraderie within our PAVE team. In addition, this semester I have had the pleasure of reaching out and collaborating with other PAVE teams to further grow our network and community. I look forward to remaining a Team Leader next semester and possibly have events with these other PAVE teams!”