Veterans Day

A Special Veterans Day Message

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 18:32:20 +0000

A Special Veterans Day Message Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/01/2021 - 14:32

LR: Emily Fasick (Program Assistant), Dr. Niyati Dhokai (Program Director)

Happy Veterans Day! As we honor and celebrate the service of our Veterans and their families, we also look back at the past year and the amazing community we have sustained virtually through the Hylton Center's Veterans and the Arts Initiative. Through countless music and art workshops, we have played guitar and ukulele, taken smartphone photos and videos, and created mixed media. We have not only reflected on our own community's service through the arts, but also inspired others by sharing our work at the Virginia Women Veterans Summit and through the release of an innovative Tele-Arts Engagement Guide. The implementation guide shares how the Initiative created a virtual Ukulele Workshop Series that is inclusive and accessible to our diverse, intergenerational, military-connected community, and provides a template for others to create similar programming in their communities.

As we return to the Hylton Center for hybrid workshops this fall and into 2022, we draw upon our resilience as individuals and especially as a community. As Program Director of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative, I look forward to reflecting on this resilience joyfully through the music of husband-and-wife duo, Michael Trotter and Tanya Trotter of The War and Treaty on Sunday, November 14. The couple first met in 2010 at the aptly titled Spirit of Love festival in Maryland, where their artistic-romantic partnership began. Today, the couple continues to bring their very relatable struggles to their music including Trotter’s battle with PTSD as an Army Veteran. Their music speaks truthfully about their journey, including challenges encountered and the hope that they have sustained.

If you haven't heard about The War and Treaty yet, please read more about them and grab your tickets now! Tickets are free for Veterans and Servicemembers with ID (up to 2 tickets each, must be claimed in-person at the Hylton Center Ticket Office).

I look forward to seeing you at the Hylton Center!

Dr. Niyati Dhokai
Program Director, Veterans and the Arts Initiative, Hylton Performing Arts Center, and Research Associate Professor, College of Visual and Performing Arts

Topics

Hylton Center

veterans and the arts

Veterans Day

Mason alumnus Michael A. Bills reflects on his 42-year career in the U.S. Army

John Hollis — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 10:30:00 +0000

Mason alumnus Michael A. Bills reflects on his 42-year career in the U.S. Army John Hollis Tue, 11/10/2020 - 05:30

Scholarship helps Mason veteran realize his dream to serve America

John Hollis — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 10:30:00 +0000

Scholarship helps Mason veteran realize his dream to serve America John Hollis Tue, 11/10/2020 - 05:30

First-year graduate student Michael Manges continues to serve with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard while going to school and working full-time. Photo provided.

A strong sense of duty is what led Michael Manges to George Mason University, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship is helping him realize his dream.

A first-year graduate student in the international security program within the Schar School of Policy and Government who also works full time, Manges is one of 158 veterans and active-duty service members awarded a Help A Hero Scholarship this semester. The scholarship is funded through donations collected annually during the Help A Hero campaign at Sport Clips Haircuts locations around the country and has provided 1,750 scholarships totaling $8 million since 2014.

“I didn’t expect to get it when I first applied,” said Manges, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown last spring with a degree in political science and geography. “It’s just been fantastic. That financial stability has been really crucial for me.”

Manges, 23, grew up in Central City, Pennsylvania, which is just a few minutes from the site where ill-fated United Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, killing all passengers on board after they resisted terrorists who had hijacked their plane. Growing up there instilled strong feelings in Manges about the importance of protecting the nation.

One weekend a month and two weeks out of the summer didn’t seem like much to ask in return for his education, so Manges joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard after he graduated from high school. He spent a year deployed to Jordan from 2016-17 and has been activated in 2020 along with several other members of his unit to help in COVID-19 relief operations.

But his dream of ultimately serving his country in the intelligence or federal law enforcement fields never wavered. Mason’s international security master’s degree program and proximity to Washington, D.C., made it the right choice for him.

“I wanted to find something that would benefit me or my career path,” Manges said. “The Schar School really stood out when looking at programs.”

In addition to taking three classes while fulfilling his National Guard commitments, he’s also working full-time as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Army and contractor for the Department of Justice.

Now a sergeant, Manges recently signed up for another six-year stint with the National Guard.

“I think things have been going really well,” he said. “It’s been a pretty good experience, and I’m enjoying it. I’m making the best I can of going to school, working full-time and fulfilling my National Guard commitment.”