CHICAGO, ILL., Nov. 4, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The John Marshall Law School in Chicago is expanding its resources for student veterans after receiving a grant from the Student Veterans of America (SVA) and The Home Depot Foundation.
John Marshall was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Veterans Center Initiative program, a partnership between the SVA and The Home Depot Foundation. John Marshall was the only law school of the 50 schools nationwide chosen to receive the Vet Center Initiative grant. The funds have been used to build a new space for John Marshall's Student Veterans Resource Center, where law student veterans and active military can connect and study together.
The Student Veteran Resource Center is just one of many opportunities John Marshall offers servicemembers. The law school is home to the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC) and participates in the Veterans Affairs Yellow Ribbon GI Bill. Through the Yellow Ribbon program, John Marshall fully matches scholarship money student vets are offered.
"We are very proud of this expansion and what it represents," VLSC Director Brian Clauss said. "At John Marshall, we understand that veterans, reservists, and active-duty servicemembers confront a different set of challenges than our average student. By expanding the Student Veterans Resource Center, we hope to have created a space where these students can go and know they are in the company of others who can relate to these unique challenges."
The Center expansion continues the tradition of John Marshall students leading the charge to identify and fill the needs of veterans. Since 2007, when the VLSC was first founded by student servicemembers, the nationally recognized clinic has given students the opportunity to serve those who served, while earning degree credits. The clinic continuously works to provide an environment where student vets can thrive. John Marshall's admissions staff work with veterans, reservists, and active-duty servicemembers on a regular basis to provide direction through the admission process, as well as through other stages of their law school career.
Clinical students working in the VLSC established the John Marshall SVA chapter in the spring of 2012. VLSC Director Clauss, with students David Weiss, Aaron Koonce and Emily Van Dyke, noticed there wasn't an organization at the law school that catered to students who are or have been in the military, and petitioned the school to organize the SVA chapter. The chapter has been involved with the building of the new Student Veteran Resource Center space since day one.
For more information about this event or the Student Veteran Resource Center at John Marshall, please contact Christine Kraly at 312-427-2737 ext. 171 or ckraly@jmls.edu