Editor’s Note: The Point previously reported that Anya Standrowicz served on command on Coronado Island, but per Standrowicz’s request, the article was edited to reflect more accurate information.
Point Loma Nazarene University has around 600 military-connected students across all of its programs and campuses. While the university doesn’t have Veterans Day off, the Student Veteran Organization (SVA) strives to honor each other in their own way, according to Alex Lugay, PLNU’s SVA president.
The SVA is a nation-wide organization dedicated to building a community of student veterans, according to their website. The goal is to create the best educational experience for student veterans and be a moral support group to provide needed resources, according to Jerome Brown, PLNU’s chapter vice president and third-year business administration major who is an eight-year Navy veteran.
“We want to bridge the gap between students and veterans,” he said. “It can be a little difficult for these kids [younger college students] to interact with us, and we totally get it – a lot of us are a lot older and some of these kids are coming out of high school, but we want to make them comfortable around us.”
They host monthly events and workshops, including how to build resumes, hiking and hanging together at bonfires, according to Lugay, a fourth-year dietetics major, who served in the Marine Corps for four years as a machine gunner.
Bubba Smith, a first-year business administration major, said he appreciates the safe space the SVA creates as a student new to college coming out of the service.
Smith served in the Navy for four years on nuclear-powered submarines as a culinary specialist, or chef, and was on the emergency medical assistance team. The military took him all over the world including Connecticut, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Guam, Hawaii and San Diego.
The longest he’s been underway, or submerged under water, was 86 days with roughly 140-250 people on board.
“I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” he said. “I got on average four hours of sleep every night, and that was a good day.”
From his experience, Smith said he learned a lot that he’ll take with him as he pursues owning a business one day, “Perseverance and tenacity are things you have to have working on a submarine and for me, they are key things for a business owner to have.”
As a Puerto Rican, Smith plans on owning his own restaurant specializing in Puerto Rican cuisine. He completed culinary school while he was in high school, through Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, prior to joining the Navy.
Smith said going to college out of the Navy, joining students coming out of high school, created a divide. The SVA has helped him find a community, he said.
“They’re really good at bridging the gap,” he said, “of non-military and military, and I think that’s super key and important.”
Brown said the SVA served as an outlet of people he could go to when he needed help.
“The SVA was there for me when I was in a really dark place,” he said. “What makes us unique is the … bond we share. A lot of people don’t understand the deepest bond between us: We all wore the flag on our shoulder at one point; now we all just carry it in our hearts.”
Anya Standrowicz, who graduated last May with a degree in international studies, served in the Navy for four years as a yeoman or administrator and is one of the few women in PLNU’s SVA.
She grew up with her dad who served as commander in the Navy, which inspired her to follow in his footsteps, she said.
Standrowicz’s experience in the Navy was unique in that on orders to Japan, she got pregnant, becoming a young mother, which made it difficult for her to then be seen as reliable, she said.
“I had to fight almost 10 times harder than I think I would’ve if I was single and I didn’t have a kid to earn respect,” she said. “And I was able to do that.”
Sent to San Diego because she was pregnant, Standrowicz served at an air squadron at the Naval Air Station North Island and balanced her duty as an officer and a mother.
Coming out of the military, she said she was lost because she didn’t have a team of soldiers behind her like she was used to but she earned an associate’s degree and decided to attend PLNU for her bachelor’s.
Standrowicz said it took her a while to start attending SVA’s meetings because she didn’t know what it was about, but once she took the step to go, her experience took off. She became more involved with the members, and found the team she had been longing for, she said.
“[SVA does an incredible] job of getting us together,” she said. “There’s other vets out there; we’re not alone [and] we could just lean on each other.”
As the only female veteran who was a part of SVA last year, Standrowicz said that she is used to being around primarily men, so she sees it as normal.
“It’s just very normal for me to be around [a lot of men],” she said. “[Outside of boot camp] the women in all divisions and wherever you go just dwindle down and just get used to being around men most of the time.”
PLNU Doesn’t Observe Veterans Day
PLNU, a military-friendly establishment, does not observe or give the day off for Veterans Day due to it being a private university and not federally funded, according to Tom Egan, PLNU director of military programs and services and SVA advisor. He also said it may have to do with the number of days class is in session.
Egan, a 30-year Navy veteran, said it’s not unusual for companies to not observe the day. He said that it goes beyond a free day to honor it – it’s how they celebrate veterans on that day.
“The day off isn’t necessarily an indication of support or non-support,” he said. “It’s just how do you celebrate your military-connected community and Point Loma does a very good job.”
However, some student veterans said they would feel more appreciated if they had the day off.
“I don’t like that,” Smith said. “As a country that’s built by patriots, for patriots, I think that’s something every establishment should honor. As a veteran, I did my time and I think we’re under appreciated in a lot of ways.”
With PLNU being located near a naval base, Brown was surprised to find out they don’t observe the national holiday.
“That’s really disappointing,” Brown said. “It’s such a military-friendly school … we’re in a big military town and that’s kind of a bummer. It’s not about us; it’s about everyone that’s come before us. I think the school should observe Veterans Day.”
While the day isn’t observed, Lugay said he knows PLNU still honors them.
“With my time being on campus, I know that the appreciation is there,” he said. “We’ll be able to celebrate in our own way.”
In the past, to honor the veteran community that day, PLNU and the SVA have had a week-long observance, honoring a different branch of the military each day. This year, they decided to condense it into one day – on Veterans Day, according to Lugay and Egan. They had a table set up on Caf Lane where students could learn more about their mission, hear their stories and receive a small United States flag.
There will also be military appreciation day at the men’s and women’s basketball games next week on Nov. 15 and the following week on Nov. 19.
How to Honor Them
Smith said he would feel most honored on Veterans Day if people thanked him for his service.
“That’s such a simple yet powerful way to take your time, go out of your way, to make other veterans feel appreciated and honored,” he said.
Standrowicz said she’s learned the importance of acts of service from her time at PLNU. She would feel most honored by seeing others reach out to veterans they know to check on them or donate to a charity that gives back to veterans, she said.
Brown said honoring those on Veterans Day is a community act.
“It’s not about recognizing individuals, it’s about recognizing the community,” Brown said. “A community that gave a big sacrifice, some the ultimate sacrifice, to the freedoms we experience now. … I think a lot of people have forgotten what it means to do that.”
Tessa Balc 
Grace Chaves 
Grace Barrera