Dallas College hosted a Military Connected Student Week featuring a series of events dedicated to service members and veterans. The events lasted from Nov. 4-8 at different campuses with varying themes at Brookhaven, Eastfield, El Centro and Mountain View campuses.

At Brookhaven, the Battle of the Branches gathered attention from students, staff and faculty in the International Courtyard. Participants tried to topple the highest scorer for pull-ups and rower machines.

“We wanted to have a day every day of the week at different campuses where we can celebrate our veterans and our military-connected students,” Maribel Cruz, Military Connected Services program lead at North Lake, said. She added that they intended for the Battle of the Branches to have a friendly competition between different branches. More importantly, the program leads wanted students to feel the camaraderie and a sense of belongingness.

Dallas College veteran shirts and camouflage drawstring bags were given to handed out to veterans and service members. Cruz said, “We did the whole week to celebrate veterans with Dallas College leading up to Veterans Day.”

Sheniqua Austin, Military Connected Services program lead at Brookhaven, led the event. Students were requested to register for the event a week before the event to ensure a smooth celebration. Austin mentioned that they wanted to do something for veterans in recognition of their service and because classes were canceled on the day of Veterans Day, they had to come up with something. This led them to organize the Military Connected Services Week.

Sean Guinyard, Brookhaven coordinator of Multicultural Affairs, assisted with the event and gave the students a warm welcome. He said, “I believe this is a good event not just for military students but also for other students as a whole.”

The event also included a resource booth that offered on-campus services for all students. Army recruiters were present at the event, challenging students to do pull-ups and answered questions students had regarding becoming a soldier.

Guinyard said, “Even if somebody isn’t looking to go into the military themselves, they may know somebody who is looking to go [enlist] in the future. So, if they are able to get this information and take it to that individual, it strengthens their chance of getting in the military.”