Serving those who serve
Jay Derrico, Assistant Director of Veterans Affairs & Commuter Programs
By Marya Jones Barlow
Jay Derrico has earned the respect of CI鈥檚 military veterans by doing what comes naturally to him: listening and caring.
A former college career counselor and church pastor with degrees in psychology and student affairs, Derrico draws on that background to help CI鈥檚 115 student veterans and their 150 dependents navigate veterans鈥� benefits, deployments, and paperwork, and adapt to college and civilian life.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all thankful to have someone like Jay Derrico at CI,鈥� said William Vaughn, President of the Student Veterans Organization, Navy veteran, and fall 2015 graduate. 鈥淗is dedication to our veterans goes well beyond anyone else I have ever seen. It鈥檚 people like Jay that help our veteran population transition into the university lifestyle and obtain our ultimate goals in graduation.鈥�
Derrico came to CI as a career counselor in 2007. After being asked to start CI鈥檚 Veterans Resource Center in 2011, Derrico set out to create a place where veterans would feel at home. He interviewed CI鈥檚 veteran population, researched issues faced by veterans in university settings, and adopted practices from the nation鈥檚 best Veterans Resource Centers.
鈥淭he most important thing was building trust so veterans would see the center as a place where they鈥檇 find the answers and resources they needed,鈥� Derrico said. 鈥淢y philosophy is to deal with the whole person and not just the student. I see my role as helping them achieve positive change and reach their goals鈥攚hether in their personal lives, academic lives, or their lives after CI.鈥�
Partnering with Career Development Services and the Henry L. 鈥淗ank鈥� Lacayo Institute, Derrico developed an internship program matching student veterans with employers for paid internships that often lead to jobs. He helped launch the annual Medallion Ceremony, where graduating veterans are honored by President Rush, the CI community, members of Congress, and military and local dignitaries. He also runs a mentoring program, organizes career development workshops, serves as advisor to the Student Veterans Organization, conducts outreach at community colleges, and hosts a week-long series of events for Veterans Day.
Derrico鈥檚 dedication has helped CI earn national recognition five years in a row as a 鈥淢ilitary Friendly School.鈥� It also earned Derrico a 2014 Maximus Award鈥攁n honor awarded to one outstanding staff member each year by students. Derrico鈥檚 most recent efforts include creating a scholarship for veterans and pursuing grants to fund more internship programs and staff to serve veterans.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a 9-to-5 job for Jay. He genuinely cares about the well-being and success of every student that approaches him,鈥� said 2014 CI graduate and U.S. Marine veteran Mark Scott. 鈥淛ay went out of his way to find me an internship with a veteran-friendly employer that matched my career goals. You could say that it changed the course of my career because I am a full-time employee at that same place two years later.鈥�
鈥淥ne of the privileges of my job is seeing people grow,鈥� Derrico said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not advising. It鈥檚 more about listening and bringing the answer out of them instead of telling and suggesting things.鈥�
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漏 Fall 2015 / Volume 19 / Number 02 / Bi-annual