“The University of Washington – Tacoma PAVE Team has shown a great deal of consistency and creativity in supporting their military-connected students through the fall term. They have successfully held several events, recruited new Peer Advisors, and connected with community resources. Their consistent outreach and dedication to their military-connected students have made it possible for the UW-Tacoma PAVE team to have a lasting positive impact on campus,” says Emma Czajka, PAVE Program Coordinator.

The UW-Tacoma PAVE team is made up of five Peer Advisors: Alexis Perez, Jordan Hinzman, Dennis Quiocho, Antonio Krebbs, and Heiko Grant; as well as three Veterans Services Coordinators: Kaily White, Juanita Murillo Garcia, and Jessica Calalay. Together the PAVE team serves 886 military-connected students on campus.

The UW-Tacoma PAVE team understands the importance of creating and maintaining a strong sense of community, both within the team and across the military-connected population they serve. They work closely with the campus Student Veteran Organization and the Veterans and Military Resource Center to provide resources, host events, and share a community space where students can come to study or hang out. Building community allowed for successes like one described by Heiko Grant, who found a way to connect with a student veteran who had been unresponsive to email outreach. Once Heiko was able to make a more personal connection, the student began showing up to the VMRC more frequently and now stops by regularly to hang out and make connections.

The initial hesitation to engage is not unusual and Dennis Quiocho summed it up saying, “I think a lot of student veterans are afraid to seek help, and PAVE fosters a supportive community because the people who provide support to them are veterans themselves.” Jordan Hinzman added, “But, for the times people do join in, it definitely helps build up a sense of community and shows that you are really not alone here on campus.”

The UW-Tacoma PAVE team has taken a personalized and community-oriented approach to supporting military-connected students and applied it with great success. According to Kaily White, the team has had double the outreach and interactions that they had at this time last year. “The team is a family and we treat it like a family and the strong leadership really keeps it going,” Heiko said.

Keep up the fantastic work, UW-Tacoma PAVE team!