On a crisp morning, members of the Emory — and wider Atlanta — communities gathered on the Quad to pay respects to those who have served in the nation’s uniformed services during the university’s 16th-annual Veterans Day Ceremony.
“At Emory, we talk a lot about ‘in the service of.’ In the service of our students, in the service of scholarship and in the service of humanity, of course. But today, we recognize those who have given so much to the service of our country,” said Ravi V. Bellamkonda, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Andrew Nelson, Army sergeant and president of the Goizueta Business School Veterans’ Association, served as this year’s emcee. Nelson welcomed attendees and initiated a moment of silence for all those who have served.
In addition to emphasizing the service and sacrifices veterans and active duty members have made, Bellamkonda shared the history of the “Emory Unit.” In 1917, as the U.S. entered World War I, the U.S. Army Surgeon General asked for medical personnel to assist. The unit consisted of 24 officers, 65 nurses and 154 enlisted personnel who had ties to Emory.
“The Emory Unit was formed, as they were called, and operated a 500-bed hospital and treated more than 9,000 patients,” Bellamkonda explained. “We are proud of our service members, those who have answered the call both then and now.”
At the event, Bellamkonda also announced a new position: the executive director of veterans initiatives. The role will work directly with veterans in Goizueta and will support veteran initiatives at the university level, ensuring they are supported across the entire institution, regardless of their academic program.
This year’s keynote speaker was Vonetta Daniels, president of the Emory Alumni Veterans Network, a U.S. Air Force veteran and a 2002 Emory College graduate.
Daniels has remained connected with Emory since graduating and has advocated for veterans and their experiences here.
“It’s important to understand how veterans in the Emory community, whether they be student, alumni or staff, embody the mission and principles of Emory,” said Daniels, a fifth-generation veteran.
“The Air Force core values are integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do, and we carry those values into the community. These complement Emory’s mission to create, preserve, teach and apply knowledge in the service of humanity. The distinct purpose of thinking beyond oneself is foundational to the military experience,” said Daniels.
Now, Daniels is working to engage groups across Emory and the Atlanta metro area to build a community of veterans and a university experience of choice for veterans. “We’re all very committed to this work because we know this hallowed place has a unique opportunity and responsibility to do so.”
Service and gratitude
Ceremony attendees encompassed a wide range of lived experiences — but they shared the common thread of service and gratitude.
Felicia Warren, who graduated from Oxford College in 1999, Emory College in 2001 and Rollins School of Public Health in 2008, is now a commander in the U.S. Public Health Service and works at the CDC
“My parents are Army veterans and my grandfathers were both in the Army, too,” says Warren. “Service was part of my upbringing and I wanted to serve in a way that made sense for me. Being a public health practitioner and combining that service was ideal for me.”
Warren explained she also attended the ceremony to support Daniels as a fellow Emory Alumni Veterans Network board member.
For current students, the ceremony offered community in more ways than one, including support from non-veterans, the chance to bond with those having similar experiences and the opportunity to connect with more experienced military members.
“I enjoyed meeting the older officers and getting to know them and hear about their experiences,” said Christian Coon, a junior in Goizueta Business School. Part of ROTC and a participant in this year’s Honor Guard, Coon leads the third squad and is cross enrolled with Georgia Tech through the ROTC program.
This year’s Honor Guard included veterans from the School of Business, School of Medicine, Emory College, the Public Health Service, Army ROTC cadets from Emory and Georgia Tech, and NROTC midshipmen from Morehouse College and Georgia Tech.
Raymond Posey is a midshipman 4-C and a first-year student at Morehouse College. “Right now, we’ve been learning about the Morehouse Battalion and attending our classes as well as preparing for being commissioned as an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps,” Posey said. “This ceremony means a lot and it was nice to see other folks across the service branches in roles we’d like to be in someday, too.”
While Goizueta MBA student Nate Lundquist did not participate in the day’s Honor Guard, he was happy to attend the ceremony. An Army captain O3, he was most recently a company commander at Old Guard, the U.S. Army’s ceremonial unit, which oversees ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and funerals at Arlington National Cemetery.
“My reasons for joining the Army were two-fold,” Lundquist explains, saying he grew up around the military despite his family not being directly involved. “I grew up at Fort Drum in New York, which was one of the most deployed units during the Global War on Terror. I saw both my friend’s parents and my parent’s friends deploying in service. It was a calling from there.
“When I was looking at MBAs to apply for, I was astonished at how military-friendly Emory is and the organizations that Emory employs to both recruit veterans and provide resources,” said Lundquist, who has been in the service for just over seven years.
“This ceremony is a unique and amazing opportunity for bringing the Emory community at large together. We don’t often get to have gatherings like this so it’s a really cool opportunity to see all the people who serve across the Emory community.”
Resources for veterans
Many resources are available to veterans across Emory University.
The Yellow Ribbon program supports post-9/11 veterans by providing funding to supplement educational expenses beyond what is covered by the G.I. Bill.
Army or Air Force ROTC are options for undergraduate students interested in military careers. The cross-enrollment agreement with Georgia Tech allows students to complete their undergraduate degrees at Emory and military training at Georgia Tech.
Emory’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing was selected to participate in the Veteran Affairs Nursing Academic Partnership (VANAP), an elite program through which undergraduate and graduate nursing students gain valuable training in providing quality healthcare for our nation’s veterans.
In May 2024, Goizueta Business School officially welcomed the first cohort to the new MBA program designed for veterans. Across programs, Goizueta celebrated a record number of veterans and service members joining as students at the school this year.
Veteran employees across Emory University are welcome to participate in the Emory Veterans Employee Network (EVEN), designed to promote a sense of belonging by Emory veterans through organization, recognition, networking and resources.
The Emory Healthcare Veterans Program offers free, confidential mental health treatment to eligible post-9/11 veterans and service members across the United States, regardless of discharge status, deployment history or length of service. The program features a two-week intensive outpatient treatment program addressing post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, substance use disorders and other invisible wounds of war.
Photos by Avery Spalding, Emory Photo/Video