# data[].attributes.body
Upon completion of my Masters of Education in Student Development and Leadership in Higher Education, I would like to find work as a student affairs professional in advocacy and support programs. Advocacy and support programs served historically marginalized students such as students of color, LGBT students, veterans, women, adult learners, and students with disabilities (Love, 2018).
Pictured below is a Unity Day March, which took place at Miami University (2019)

# data[].attributes.body
American Council on Education
House Democrats recently presented the latest version of the Dream Act, which protects students who are undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. This updated version is meant to give permanent legal protections and a path to citizenship for these students (American Council on Education, 2019).
The bill gives these students, called Dreamers in-state tuition, federal financial aid, and also allow eligible individuals deported by the current administration to apply for relief. It would assist millions of Dreamers, including over 700,000 who have been shielded from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program (American Council on Education, 2019).
Legislation was recently passed allowing for expansion for student veterans of the GI Bill. The expansion is called the Forever GI Bill and when fully implemented includes several changes. First,  educational benefits will be restored for student veterans forced to stop educational training due to the temporary or permanent closure of a school.  This also includes students unable to transfer credit hours to a new institution. This protection was added when thousands of veterans were impacted by the demise of ITT Tech and Corinthian Colleges.  Second,  full GI Bill benefits are now extended to all Purple Heart recipients. Currently, a veteran must be medically retired from the military or have three years of active-duty service to be eligible. Approximately 1,500 Purple Heart recipients were  ineligible previously for full education benefits. Third, the bill now provides a potential fifth year of Post-9/11 Bill eligibility to student veterans pursuing degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics Fourth the bill's passage eradicates the time cap on accessing education benefits for veterans meeting the requirements after Jan. 1, 2018. Previously, vets receiving Post-9/11 benefits had a 15-year time limit on accessing education benefits. Fifth, the Yellow Ribbon program is now expanded to include surviving spouses and children of service members killed in the line of duty. Finally, the Forever GI Bill enables veterans to attend schools or enroll in programs surpassing the cost of the GI Bill tuition limit (American Council on Education, 2018).

# data[].attributes.body
NASPA's Plans to Protect Trans Students' Rights
To ensure the protection of the rights of trans students,  NASPA plans to first reinstate Title IX protections made into law during the Obama administration. They also plan to oppose federal or state policy which restricts the rights of any trans individual to be treated in any form not consistent with their gender identity. Regulations which restrict the rights of trans individuals to access public bathroom or changing facilities or to require identification documentation to treat trans individuals consistent with their gender identity is discriminatory (NASPA, 2018). In addition, NASPA plans to oppose discrimination of these individuals under the reason of religious freedom. Finally, NASPA supports laws which establish the protection of the rights of trans individuals. The protection of rights of trans individuals are included as part of the Fourteenth Amendment. NASPA (2018) states Student affairs professionals see or themselves the daily experiences of  colleagues and students. Sharing their stories is a strong policy advocacy tool, both in state legislatures and in campus leadership meetings.
NASPA's Position on Immigration and Higher Education (2015) states they support laws that foster the full participation of immigrant students, faculty, and staff in affiliated institutions. This in turn lessens ambiguity and negative impacts on students, and the services to support them, and that creates a stronger and more inclusive higher education community. Their priorities include establishing a permanent pathway to citizenship for over three million undocumented immigrants who qualify. These people are also known as "Dreamers". This includes creating a pathway to those benefitting from the DACA program, and developing or reinstating programs to those who have resided in the United States for long periods (NASPA, 2015).

# data[].attributes.body
Out of everything selected from NASPA and the American Council on Education, I have chosen to advocate for students receiving schooling under the Forever GI Bill. I chose this because I am the daughter of retired, deceased military personnel who began her higher education journey under Veteran's Affairs.

# data[].attributes.body
Heineman, J. A. (2017). From boots to suits: Women veterans transitioning to community college students. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2017(179). 77-88. DOI: 10.1002/cc.20264

# data[].attributes.body
American Council on Education. (2018). Forever GI Bill set to go into effect in August. Retrieved from https://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Forever-GI-Bill-Set-to-Go-Into-Effect-in-August.aspx

American Council on Education. (2019). House Democrats renew effort to protect Dreamers. Retrieved from https://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/House-Democrats-Renew-Effort-to-Protect-Dreamers-DACA-Recipients.aspx

Columbia University. (2019). Free MOOC to help student veterans transition from active service to higher education. Retrieved from
https://news.columbia.edu/news/free-mooc-help-student-veterans-transition-active-service-higher-education

Heineman, J. A. (2017). From boots to suits: Women veterans transitioning to community college students. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2017(179). 77-88. DOI: 10.1002/cc.20264

Love, P. (2018). Considering a career in student affairs. ACPA College Student Educators International. Retrieved from http://www.myacpa.org/considering-career-student-affairs

Miami University. (2019). Unity Day March [Online image]. Retrieved 21 March 2019 from https://miamioh.edu/student-life/diversity-affairs/cultural-center/

NASPA. (2018). NASPA position on protection of trans individuals’ rights. Retrieved from https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/NASPA_Priorities_re_Title_IX_Trans_Rights_FINAL.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
Columbia University. (2019). Free MOOC to help student veterans transition from active service to higher education. Retrieved from
https://news.columbia.edu/news/free-mooc-help-student-veterans-transition-active-service-higher-education

# data[].attributes.body
Over two million members of the United States military have returned home from serving during wartime in recent years. They return home looking for a chance to secure their futures for themselves and their families in addition to new opportunities (Heineman, 2017). Of these over two million, nearly a fifth are female. This topic is important as according to Heineman (2017) because practitioners must be prepared to address the needs of this special student population. Women veterans face stressors such as post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, homecoming adjustment, and interpersonal stressors such as gender harassment, where behaviors are degrading or hostile based on gender. They also face stressors such as their military identity not being fully accepted because they are women. When practitioners have the tools to address the needs of female student veterans, they can adequately provide the appropriate welcome and support in the present day and both near and distant future. Practitioners who can adequately support their student veterans provide the advocacy and support for this marginalized group.

Student veterans in general require specialized support to transition from military service into higher education. Columbia University offers a free massive open online course (MOOC). The course is open to anyone wishing to take it, but the content is specifically written for student veterans actively working toward a college degree at a community college or university (Columbia University, 2019). The MOOC is important because it will ensure students understand the rules of college and offers strategies to ease the transition, to help service members and veterans reach their academic goals and make the most of their college education. This course currently can also be used as an orientation for other student veteran success programs. It is not only a library of academic success strategies, but a resource for flipped classroom pedagogy, and lastly a guidebook for on-the-ground transition courses (Columbia University, 2019). This also ties into support and advocacy for marginalized student populations as the course helps support transitions into academic life for this particular group. Implementation of this course or courses like this one offered at Columbia University will better support and give equity to students at Angelo State University.