From Juanita Murillo Garcia, Veteran & Military Resource Center Director, University of Washington – Tacoma: “I am proud that Ivan Lievanos continues to show the University of Washington-Tacoma’s ethos, which led him to other leadership roles within the campus and the community. Throughout 2020-21, he took over the Team Leader role. He trained Peer Advisors to help them navigate college life, address challenges they may face, refer them to appropriate resources on and off campus, and provide ongoing support. He went above and beyond to help Pierce College’s leadership to help launch their PAVE program and recruit mentees. Mr. Lievanos has assisted with event ideas and has volunteered for every virtual orientation and information session for interested mentors and mentees.”

“Mr. Lievanos became the 2022-23 Student Veteran Organization (SVO) President, making successful corporate partnerships with Gesa Credit Union’s community outreach team and supporting the VMRC events and programs on- and off-campus. He also coordinated with Alaska Airlines to obtain airline tickets which were used to send six Military-Connected Students to the Student Veteran Association (SVA) National Conference (NATCON) in Orlando, Florida. At NatCon our student veterans participated in veteran policy discussions with foundation members and committees representing veterans’ issues on Capitol Hill.”

From Ivan Lievanos: “I am extremely proud of our team for their hard work in fundraising and networking. Working with the university staff resulted in our group receiving sponsorship from Alaska Airlines to attend the 2023 Student Veterans of America NatCon in Orlando. Additionally, the work of our PAVE advisors who are members of the SVO chapter on campus has been recognized by our local Black Student Union with the Organization Dream Award. My favorite part of being a Team Leader is witnessing our advisors sharing their experiences participating in the program. I love sharing my story on how my first two years of college were a struggle because I had no sense of belonging and no idea of the number of resources and groups that support students. My drive to change drove me to participate in PAVE. Often students identify with my experience, and it is has helped me recruit students to join PAVE. Most important is the interactions with students who often are looking for a sense of belonging within the university.“