Dionte Berry
Editor-in-Chief
dberry11@murraystate.edu
After relocating to Blackburn Science Building in 2021, the Veteran Affairs Office is now under a new coordinator, who is working toward revamping the Office’s space and outreach making their presence known on campus.
AJ Cunha retired from the Navy on Oct. 28 2021, after serving as active duty for two decades. Following his service, Cunha took on the role as coordinator for the Murray State Veteran Affairs Office in February.
“When I took off the uniform in October, I knew that I wanted to be connected to the service in some way,” Cunha said. “And I just thought when this job became available, I would be able to utilize a lot of my experiences in the last 20 years in a positive way to help veterans and not just put them in the corner.”
During part of his time as active duty, Cunha served as an educational officer, so he had prior experience of the intersection between the military and higher education. Cunha said he was familiar with helping soldiers receive and use their educational benefits.
“I just figured that if I had this knowledge, taking on this position would be a great way to give back naturally,” Cunha said.
With the Veteran Affairs Office moving from Wells Hall to Blackburn Science Building, there is more space available to the Office, and Cunha wants to take advantage of that space.
While the Office’s amenities were formally separated in Wells Hall, in Blackburn the Office is right across from the Veterans Lounge, and there are resources for veterans, such as a conference room, kitchen, larger conference space and a new printer.
“What we’re trying to emulate is basically what a USO [United Service Organizations] office is,” Cunha said. “It’s a place in an airport where you can show your ID card, and you walk in and just relax in between flights.”
Along with revamping what the Office has to offer, Cunha says he wants to make their presence known in the Murray State community.
“We’ve already revamped the communication process with prospective Racers, or those that are going to be using their benefits come fall semester, so there’s been more email communication and more picking up the phone to answer questions,” Cunha said.
With the addition of Cunha to the Office, Veteran Affairs Certifying Official Colleen Anderson says she is happy with the spatial and outreach improvements being made in the Office.
“Since AJ came on board, we’ve very much ramped it up as far as the decor and trying to really be more hospitable to veterans and working with them, and making our campus presence known,” Anderson said.
Focusing on veteran outreach, the Office is also trying to get more students involved. Cunha and Anderson are working toward rebooting the Murray State Chapter of the Student Veterans Association.
The Chapter would serve to address the needs of veterans in higher education.
Jadeline Morrow is a junior biology major and a Veteran Affairs student worker, as well as a military dependent. Morrow said she enjoys being on both sides of the Office’s operations.
“I’m using veterans’ benefits, so getting to see a freshman or somebody who’s a prospective student walk in here and talk to us about all their options about going to Murray State and seeing their faces light up when they see what we have and what we can offer them and how we can help them is amazing,” Morrow said.
Morrow has worked with the Office since August 2021, has been witness to a lot of the Office’s changes and is looking forward to the future of the Office.
“After meeting AJ, I just knew that there were so many changes to come,” Morrow said. “I knew that they had what was best for veterans, so I was really excited about that.”
With the Office revamp, Cunha said he looks forward to creating a more prominent and supportive community for the nearly 600 students using veteran benefits.
“I think the end goal for the revamp that we’ve set in this office is that every day is Veterans Day,” Cunha said. “The way veterans are treated, the communication they receive and what can be done for them should mirror the treatment they receive on Veterans Day.”
The Veteran Affairs Office is located in Room 456 of the Blackburn Science Building.