Veterans Day Appreciation Reception: Honoring Those Who Served
by Lien Hoang, OTS and Catherine Hsu, OTS
On November 11th, 2008 the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational
Therapy at the University of Southern California (USC) organized a first ever on campus
appreciation reception in honor of the veterans in the USC community who served for our
country. The Division worked in partnership with the Marshall Military Veterans Association
(MMVA), an organization within the Marshall Graduate School of Business comprised of
students who have served in the armed forces.
The appreciation reception was held on campus in the pub room of the USC University
Club. Students from the USC Occupational Therapy graduate program gathered together to
transform the pub room into a festive environment. The atmosphere was classy yet simple. The
venue was wonderfully decorated in red, white and blue. Handcrafted banners adorned the entry
way and beautiful floral arrangements accented with American flags created a patriotic flair.
The overall energy of all who attended was pure and amazing.
In attendance were about 60 veterans from various generations and military branches. Of
the 60 veterans, there were 5 Vietnam War veterans, one of whom said that in the 20 years of
working at USC, he had never been recognized or thanked for his service. Many of the student
veterans also had the opportunity to connect with other fellow veterans for the first time. The
reception brought together the broader USC community including friends, family, and
occupational therapy faculty and students. The comfortable, informal nature of the pub room
allowed the attendees to relax and converse with one another and share their unique experiences.
In addition, the reception allowed the USC community to learn more about occupational therapy.
The evening included powerful speeches from Ryan Wilson, the president of MMVA,
who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Dr. John Wolcott from the USC Division of
Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, who served in the Vietnam War. The speeches
captured the undivided attention of the room and emphasized the significance of acknowledging
the service of veterans on Veterans Day and the importance of forging relationships within the
veteran community at USC. Dr. Florence Clark, chair and associate dean of the USC Division of
Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, delivered an energetic speech thanking the
veterans on behalf of the Division and shared a personal testimony of her experience as a wife of
a veteran, stressing the need for support from the community for our veterans.
The Veterans Day Appreciation Reception was initially inspired by a class community
project in the spring of 2008 prepared by Lien Hoang, Catherine Hsu, Charmaine Ugalde, and
Tritia Woo, four graduate students from the occupational therapy program at USC. The project
was proposed in response to an article published in the Daily Trojan, the student newspaper of
USC, about the needs of three USC student veterans. During the course of the project, the
occupational therapy graduate students discovered through a detailed needs assessment that the
student veterans on campus had a desire to establish a connection with one another. Instrumental
to helping the student veterans develop a network was the relationship that the occupational
therapy graduate students were able to build with the student veterans of the MMVA. Therefore,
the appreciation reception was an idea that sprouted from this initial community project proposal
and realized through the help and support of many individuals in the USC community.
With the number of veterans returning from the war in Iraq and many more scheduled to
return in the near future, there will undoubtedly be an increase of veterans returning and entering
colleges and universities across America. The Veterans Day Appreciation Reception was
successful in honoring the veterans and served as the first step in building a social network for
the USC veteran community to better support the needs of the returning student veterans.
Caption: USC Occupational Therapy graduate students who organized the reception with
members of MMVA
Caption: Vietnam War veterans from the USC Facilities Management Services
Caption: Dr. Florence Clark speaking to the reception attendees
Caption: Dr. John Wolcott and Ryan Wilson delivering their speeches