UTSA welcomed the first official Student Veterans Association (SVA) this past semester.
The organization offers support and guidance for all individuals returning from deployment attempting to re-enter their normal lives. The society involves people from all backgrounds ranging from certified dentists to aviators.
One of the appealing aspects of Texas is that it possesses a large number of military bases including the Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base and Fort Sam Houston Base.
 It would only seem natural to welcome those veterans that may have first began their military journey in San Antonio or want to begin a new journey in this city. UTSA is also part of the new act passed in Texas, the Hazelwood Act.
The Hazelwood Act provides qualified veterans, spouses and children with an education benefit of up to 150 hours of tuition and fee exemptions at state supported colleges or universities. The recently passed G.I. bill which, if veterans are eligible, mandates that the department of Veterans Affairs pay for full tuition, provide a housing allowance, and funds for books and supplies. 
All of these benefits offer great opportunities for returning soldiers as well as a strong supportive community of fellow veterans; however, returning soldiers face many difficulties when trying to enroll at UTSA. 
Many find themselves having to sacrifice 21 to 30 hours of credits in exchange for just three semester credits. While some returning veterans may have only completed basic courses, other veteran students gained their graduate degree and wish to pursue a higher degree. 
Having to sacrifice earned credits can lead to frustration. Issues such as these are constantly being worked on by SVA.
SVA President Lorna Lewis hopes to establish a recognized and admirable organization on campus.
 “I hope to move the SVA into a direction of greater empowerment, belonging and connectedness.  The members need to realize the potential for the organization, take the idea behind it and run with it,” Lewis said.
SVA also held a special leadership summit last semester. The Summit aimed to gather information from other successful organization from the surrounding communities.  SVA struggles to make the group one of the best organization on campus.
“The summit went extremely well.  We had three other schools attend: UIW [University of the Incarnate Word], Texas State and Sam Houston State.  We each gave a presentation about our program and were able to generate ideas for use in our organization,” Lewis said.
SVA encourages all students to come and sit in on one of the meetings which are bi-monthly at the new section of the University Center. SVA also plans to hold elections for positions of president, vice president, secretary, community liaison and SGA Representative in February for the fall semester. All currently enrolled students are encouraged to run for positions.
Whether the student has already served or plans on serving, SVA will attempt to assist as much as possible.
“We want to schedule service projects around our motto of ‘Vets helping vets’ as well as planned social opportunities for our members,” Lewis said.
If you are interested in more information visit the Web site at http://alamovets.org.