In his final semester at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Patrick O’Neal ’19 is passionate about recruiting veterans to Cornell. Prior to Cornell, Patrick, a Sacramento native, spent six years in the US Navy as a Search and Rescues Helicopter Crew Chief.

After separating from the navy in August of 2013, Patrick spent the next two years undergoing surgery and rehabilitation from injuries suffered during his enlistment. Following his recovery, Patrick decided to attend college.

“I‘d never been good at school. I have dyslexia and it made things very hard. In fact, my high school GPA was something around a 2.1. I made up my mind that I was going to do it and apply the same work ethic that I used in the military.”

After attending community college for two years, Patrick graduated Phi Theta Kappa from the College of San Mateo with an Associate’s Degree in Communication in May of 2017. Following graduation, Patrick transferred to Cornell.

“It was crazy! I never imagined that I would attend one of the greatest universities in the world.”

Patrick hit the ground running at Cornell by making the dean’s list every semester. Eventually, Patrick became the President of the Cornell Undergraduate Veterans Association and later an admissions intern working with veteran recruitment.

Patrick is passionate about getting the word out to veterans about Cornell. “I believe many student veterans are underselling their ability. They don’t think attending an Ivy is attainable and I am fighting to change that belief.”

Patrick will be the first in his family to graduate from college. After graduation, he hopes to begin a technology consulting role with one of the top firms in the US.

 

A Dallas native, Alexandra Kemp joined the Navy in 2004 to save lives. She spent her career specializing in combat medicine and pharmacy, but her true dream was becoming a leader. After advancing through enlisted ranks, she became devoted to the personal and professional development of her junior Sailors. In 2017, an unexpected illness halted her career and forced her to medically retire after 13 years. Searching for a new purpose, she applied and was accepted to Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. Immediately upon acceptance, she was embraced by the small veteran population at Cornell and was appointed Secretary of CUVA (Cornell’s Undergraduate Veterans Association). Along with all student veterans at Cornell, and the Ivy League Veterans Council, she plans to empower military veterans as they transition from the battlefield to a rigorous top-tier university. 
 
“I want veterans to know there is life after the military,” said Alexandra. “They need to know there are opportunities that aren’t being disclosed to them. Their experiences in the military have prepared them to succeed at an Ivy League university like Cornell, they just aren’t being informed. It's a shame that the majority of veterans never use their GI Bill or waste their hard-earned benefits on ‘for-profit’ schools. Non-profit organizations like Warrior-Scholar Project, Service2School, and many others were created by veterans for veterans to provide transition support. Not to mention the incredibly strong networking groups they become a part of for the rest of their lives.”   
 
Kemp was one of five student veterans who participated in Cornell University’s first Veterans Summer Bridge Program. The program was designed to support veterans to pursue a world-class education and earn a Cornell degree. It consists of three tuition-free credit-bearing courses, including a Strategies for College Success for Veterans course, and several community-building activities in collaboration with CUVA. She encourages veterans to apply to Cornell, and if accepted they can expect a strong foundation to build on through their academic program, and the opportunity to become a trailblazer in the efforts to recruit more veterans to Cornell. She hopes to empower veterans to take that leap now, not later.

Chris Gyurgyik is from Cleveland, Ohio and served in the Marine Corps for 4 years, primarily as a Field Artilleryman under the Kings of Battle, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines. In 2017, he separated honorably as a Sergeant. When not training with his unit, Chris, an avid marksman, spent his free time participating in marksmanship matches, as well as teaching both civilians and military personnel as a small arms weapon instructor.
 
One important aspect Chris learned during his transition from the military to higher education is to keep on pushing. The stressors of being an undergraduate student (while vastly different from the military lifestyle) are still barriers from achieving one’s goal. It is important to research the myriad of resources offered to veterans both on- and off-campus. Currently, Chris is pursuing an undergraduate degree in computer science and is a member of the Aerial Robotics electrical team.

With his Cornell degree in sight, Luke Opyd ’18 has a message for military veterans who may be wary of their chances for success at an Ivy League university.

 

“I would tell them ‘You belong here,’” says Opyd, who served in the U.S. Navy for six years. “Veterans don’t think that they belong at these top institutions. They think that it’s completely unobtainable, but I think that when you remove that idea from the equation, then they are very competitive and can bring a lot to the table as a student at a university such as Cornell.”

 

Opyd enlisted in the Navy in 2008 as an aviation electrician, serving in Japan for four years and then in San Diego, completing his military service as a petty officer second class. He received several awards and decorations, including the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for his participation in Operation Tomodachi, the U.S. military’s relief operation after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. While enlisted, he earned an associate’s degree in accounting from Post University.

 

He became interested in Cornell after learning about the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

 

“I thought that it would be a challenge, and it also combines all of my favorite subjects into one major, be it economics, statistics, labor relations, collective bargaining, labor law, labor and employment law,” he says. “That’s a diverse set of subjects, and I had a profound interest in all of them.”

 

During fall 2017, Opyd worked as an intern at a San Diego law firm. After graduation, he plans to return to the firm as a project analyst and hopes to earn his law degree.

 

“Receiving professional advice from the incredible professors in ILR helped me discover what my professional interests actually are,” says Opyd. “There are many different areas of the law, of course, but taking a wide range of classes helped me fine-tune my professional trajectory by exposing me to many facets of the law.”

 

At Cornell, Opyd has promoted the interests of veterans in higher education as a participant in the Warrior-Scholar Project, which helps veterans transition from military to university life; as an ambassador for Service to School, a national organization that consults veterans applying to college; and as a member, and now president, of the Cornell Undergraduate Veterans Association (CUVA).

 

Veterans arrive at college campuses with several qualities that can help them, Opyd says, such as professionalism gained on their military assignments and experience overcoming challenges.

 

“They’ve been through boot camp, right? The military is a mental, emotional and physical test and you really learn who you are after that experience,” he says. “I think that experience in itself, not to mention being older and being exposed to other parts of the world that maybe younger students haven’t experienced, gives veterans unique assets to succeed at a place like Cornell.”