The Aurora Foundation

Aurora President Tom DeWitt (left), joined by Kate Campbell, congratulate David on his success.

On May 4, 2012, the Aurora Foundation hosted its second official internship graduation for Mr. David Campbell. David, a former Marine, interned with CACI’s Department of Disabled Veteran Recruiting.  His efforts led CACI to put submit a case for a full-time position for him once he graduates from college.   On May 18^th, David will graduate from George Mason University with his Bachelor’s in Global Affairs, and his minor in Communications.  His goal is to eventually get into the Intelligence field, and through meeting the right people at CACI, he hopes to be on his way. His presentation on May 4th outlined both the things he learned while interning with CACI, as well as the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People curriculum he learned about through a mentorship with Reginald Williams, a veteran himself and currently the Vice President of Human Capital Solutions at SNVC.

The internship was funded through a grant from Aurora to CACI, who is also a business partner of SNVC, the for-profit parent company who founded the Aurora Foundation.  Attending the graduation to congratulate David were CACI’s Denyse Gordon, his immediate supervisor and Senior Recruiting Manager, as well as Denyse’s director, Tara Winesett.  Both noted that David was an invaluable help to their organization, but also got to meet several high-ranking executives in the company who were former veterans themselves.  These types of relationships taught David the value of networking maintaining relationships with those one meets along the way.

Celebrating with David were those who helped make the internship possible, including his wife, Kate; David noted that it was her encouragement which lead him to take the internship in the first place. Along with Ms. Gordon and Ms. Winesett of CACI, David was joined by members of the Aurora Team; Mr. Reggie Williams, David’s mentor throughout the entire internship; Mr. Tom DeWitt, President of Aurora; and Aurora staff members Beth Miller-Herholtz, Ellen Hembree, and Kiara Girkins.

David is the seventh intern to come through Aurora’s internship program.  The opportunities Aurora finds for student vets continue to grow as our internship program will host eight more interns this summer, totaling 15 student veteran interns since our program’s inception.  For more information on Aurora’s internship program, please contact Ellen Hembree, Internship Coordinator, at ellen.baumgardner@aurora4vets.org.

On a beautiful spring day, the softball field was set up directly opposite of the Washington Nationals’ home plate.  The Warriors warmed up with ease, oftentimes catching the softball with a hook, or swinging the bat with one arm.  The first baseman, who had two prosthetic legs, was able to basically do a split to catch the ball and get the runner out.  Pop-flys were caught and thrown into home plate by players with prosthetic arms, and tasks that we might think require two hands were completed excellently with one.

Aurora had the opportunity to watch the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball game on Tuesday, 3 April after the Nationals’ exhibition game against the Red Sox; it was both moving and inspiring.  The teamwork visibly displayed on the field brought to mind the same sense of teamwork that veterans find when they’re together, whether in an effort to win a game or when bonding together on a college campus to excel and successfully graduate into the civilain world.  Aurora’s grants support such teamwork, and it was a privilege to watch the Warriors in action as a softball team comprised of former Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines took the field to play and defeat a team of celebrity softball players, including DC Mayor Vince Gray, and former Redskins player LaVar Arrington.  The Warriors played with a lot of heart; no one had time to pity the them, as it was obvious they’d moved on from their injuries and taken charge of their lives through making the prosthetic limbs work for them.  Througout the game, plays were made by the Warriors that caused the crowd to sit in awe as the Warriors proved nothing was going to set them back, and losing was not an option.

The game finished with a win for the Warriors – 17-4.  The crowd that watched was left with not only a deep respect for these men and women who sacrificed so much, but a strength to never give up, even when all odds seem against you.

The Aurora Foundation announced today that its three most recently sponsored student veteran interns in the Washington Scholars program graduated this past Friday. Tomo Takaki, Robert Frese, and Michael Stevco were accepted into this summer’s scholar class and took on internships throughout the D.C. area. Since last summer, the Aurora Foundation and Washington Scholars have proudly partnered together to sponsor five student veterans in the prestigious internship program.

The three veteran scholars began their internships this past June, and have supported various government agencies based on their individual career goals. Tomo Takaki graduated from Tufts University in May 2011 with a degree in International Relations and a minor in Arabic and spent his summer interning for the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. During his time at college, he was simultaneously enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Army ROTC program, where he commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate ranked in the top 5% of graduating seniors. Takaki is currently serving as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve out of the 203rd Military Intelligence battalion based out of Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. In 2003, Robert Frese enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. During his first two years, Frese performed various administrative duties and served as the flag coordinator for the Iwo Jima memorial. Upon his honorable discharge in 2008, Rob began his attendance at the University of Maryland, College Park where he graduated with a double degree in Persian Studies and International Business and is currently working on his Masters in Persian Studies. Robert Frese spent the summer interning at Military Families United. Finally, Michael Stevco proudly served in the U.S. Navy for four years, and then received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Political Science and his Masters from Georgetown University in Policy Management. For the duration of the Washington Scholars program, Stevco served on the staff of Congressman Tom Graves of Georgia. “The partnership between Aurora and Washington Scholars has been instrumental in placing qualified student veterans into some of the most competitive internships in Washington.  Doing so provides them the opportunity to network with key executives and senior officials who help them successfully transition into the civilian workforce,” stated Aurora’s Chairman, Tom DeWitt.

The scholars graduated from the program on July 29, 2011 at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington D.C. in front of an audience filled with government and industry leaders, as well as family and friends. Takaki, Frese, and Stevco have each proven themselves to be exceptional student leaders, and the Aurora Foundation is proud to serve these students who have so selflessly served their country. 

Michael Stevco, Fernando Cortes, Tomo Takaki, and Robert Frese at the Capitol Hill Club.

About the Aurora Foundation:

The Aurora Foundation, based in the Washington D.C. area, seeks to enable veterans to successfully complete their college education and transition into the workforce. Through various programs and partnerships with academic institutions and industry, the Aurora Foundation assists veterans in their transition from “Boots to Books to Business.”  Funded largely by charitable donations, the Foundation works with institutions like George Mason University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Longwood University to support programs designed to assist veteran students who pursue a college degree under the GI Bill.

For more information, contact: Beth Miller-Herholtz, Director of Communications at the Aurora Foundation, at: beth.miller-herholtz@Aurora4Vets.com

As you’ve read on our facebook page, we’ve talked a lot about internships and the value they add when searching for your first job out of college. A lot of interns are able to find jobs with the companies they’ve worked with in the past. But what about those internships that don’t always provide a job offer after graduation? Some people intern for non-profits or government agencies where funding has been cut, or the candidate you interned with did not get re-elected. What then?

Internships should be structured to the point where you still gain valuable skills and experience to get your foot in the door somewhere else. Whether you take that experience to another employer or you wait until the company with which you interned has a job opening, the key to making your internship work for you is taking the initiative and doing your absolute best. Impress the heck out of the people you work for. Invest in yourself and go the extra mile of researching things you don’t understand on your own, and coming back to the office equipped to have a conversation about it. Making the internship work for you is all about your mental attitude; think of the internship as a job offer and always come to work prepared to give your best impression. People will want to meet you if you simply put your best foot forward, and whether the job comes through after graduation or not, you have still built contacts and a strong reputation for yourself. People will be happy to recommend you to their colleagues as someone who deserves to be hired.

There are many students who can testify to the power of an internship, and the added advantage it can give when looking for those entry-level jobs. Aurora posted an article yesterday published by NACE (the National Association of Colleges and Employers), stating that in 2010, 42.3% of seniors who had interned in college received at least one job offer, as opposed to only 30.7% of seniors received a job offer if they did not have internship experience. The advantage of gaining employment is a given, but the advantages of learning to make the best impression, building contacts and connections, and preparing for anything are extra edges that are sharpened through an internships and can be used in job interviews anywhere.

So take our poll and let us know what you think! Are internships that added advavtage you need to succeed in your particular career field? Vote below, and let us know a little about your future career plans as well!

As concern over college graduation rates grows across the country, so does our need for innovative workforce development initiatives. Government leaders throughout the United States are beginning to face the issue head-on, and are looking for the necessary solutions for making higher education more accessible, affordable, and relevant. This past September in Virginia, Miller/Wenhold Capital Strategies, LLC. hosted the 2010 Small Business Summit where Aurora Chairman and President, Tom DeWitt, joined forces with Lieutenant Governor Bill Bowling and business leaders across the state to address the issue of workforce development. The fear remains that, while the United States hosts some of the best colleges in the world, it is underutilizing its development potential. Small businesses in particular rely on the preparedness of job candidates to successfully compete against larger companies. The challenge that lies ahead is developing innovative strategies and solutions that address not only dropout rates, but the means through which we engage and develop our workforce. As soldiers begin returning to the US from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a growing need to support these men and women in their transition from military service to the civilian job sector. With a mere estimated10% college graduation rate, our educational system has failed our heroes in providing this unique student population with the support and services they need to graduate. It is for this reason that, more than ever, Aurora is committed to helping student veterans successfully graduate from college and enter the workforce.

Now we want to hear from you! Take our poll and let us know what you think about workforce development in the US: