SBU Office of Veterans Services

St. Bonaventure Veteran Spotlight: Jeffrey M. Szymanski served on active duty from 1994-2017 in the US Army as both an enlisted soldier where he attained the rank of Staff Sergeant and a commissioned officer and was honorably discharged as a Captain. Jeff deployed to Iraq with the 10th Mountain Division and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the coveted Combat Medical Badge. Jeffrey has just begun his career at St. Bonaventure as a founding member of the School of Health Professions Physician Assistant Program. He is very involved in the Student Veterans of America chapter on campus and serves at the faculty advisor. Thank you Jeff for your support and mentorship to our student veterans.

Take a sneak peek into the Franciscan Veterans Wellness Pilgrimage.

The office of Veteran Service would like to thank St. Bonaventure President Dr. DePerro’s for his sentiments on Veterans Day.

St. Bonaventure student veterans have had the opportunity to partake in a pilgrimage in Assisi, Italy, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. In recognition of Veter...ans Day at noon on Nov. 11, 2020, the SBU community can experience a similar virtual pilgrimage to Assisi to learn about key moments in the life of St. Francis that are particularly relevant to veterans. This session invites pilgrims to La Verna, a place of spiritual contemplation for St. Francis and the site where he received the stigmata of Christ. This event will discuss the significance of Francis' experience and its contemporary relevance. Register for the event with Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs in order to receive the Zoom information: https://us02web.zoom.us//tZYvd-uvrTguGtKbZdlset1GPa0-eJE73

OPERATION FOOD FOR VETS: Free meals for Veterans. Proof of service required.

Veterans: Here is a glimpse of our Veterans Wellness Pilgrimage to Assis. All are invited. Hopefully you will want to attend this in person with us in the future. A Virtual Pilgrimage to Assisi! We have been asked for the last few months about creating an alternative to pilgrimage during the COVID-19. Next month, we will have just that! On November 7th, 8th, and 11th we will be having a Virtual Pilgrimage to Assisi!... The schedule will be as follows: November 7th - Porziuncola Noon (ET) - Brief 30 min ZOOM Discussion followed by a YouTube Virtual Pilgrimage to be viewed before the evening session. 8 PM (ET) - ZOOM Discussion about the Virtual Pilgrimage from YouTube link November 8th - Rieti Valley Noon (ET) - Brief 30 min ZOOM Discussion followed by a YouTube Virtual Pilgrimage to be viewed before the evening session. 8 PM (ET) - ZOOM Discussion about the Virtual Pilgrimage from YouTube link (The link for the YouTube Virtual Pilgrimage for Veterans Day will be given during the Zoom call on Sunday evening). November 11th - La Verna (Stigmata) Noon (ET) - Zoom Discussion about LaVerna and the stigma of PTSD in light of the stigmata of St. Francis. ***Evening Discussions on the 7th and 8th and the Noon discussion on the 11th will be broken into two groups of pilgrims and veteran pilgrims.*** You are invited to a Zoom meeting. When: Nov 7th, 8th, and 11th 2020 Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us//tZ0pc-GrrTosGNdAQGuyhO-FtQr9E2vGx After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.