My name is Tom Noonan and I am the Veteran Liaison at Albertus Magnus College. I am also an Army Veteran of eight years including one tour in Iraq.
What is the role of a Veteran Liaison at the College?
My role at the College is multidimensional, meaning I am responsible for enrolling students that have a connection to the United States Military
(Active Duty, Reserves, National Guard, Veterans, military spouses, and dependents) into either an undergraduate or graduate program. While the military-students are taking classes I ensure their courses are going well, I make sure there are no issues with their military-educational benefits, and verify they continue to register for future classes to complete their program. Lastly, when military-students near graduation I make sure they are connected with Career Services, providing them with proper resources that ensure they find a job they are happy with and passionate about.
My role as Veteran Liaison is new to Albertus Magnus College and I have been very excited to help fellow Veterans achieve their educational goals and to show our surrounding communities that the College is taking sincere strides to truly be ‘Veteran-friendly’.
What is the latest news in Veteran Affairs here at Albertus?
In November of 2018, the College had been recognized by Victory Media for earning ‘gold status’ in regards to being a military-friendly college. I recently spearheaded a book drive for service-members overseas, which resulted in students, faculty, and staff donating over three hundred
books, and I organized a ceremony that recognized the College as Connecticut’s first Purple Heart School by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. I have joined several local military inspired groups/organizations, such as the Military & Veterans Support Coalition, the Hamden Veteran’s Commission, the New Haven Chamber of Commerce Leads Group to raise awareness of Albertus Magnus’ military representation.
What is next for Veteran Affairs at Albertus?
I am currently working on a project with the Albertus IT Department to create an online forum for student-veterans, which would serve as the platform for our student-veteran association. Since the greater majority of our veteran population takes classes during the evening or strictly online, it is a challenge to find them in one place to collaborate. My intentions for the online forum is to connect the student-veterans at Albertus Magnus College with one another to network, share stories, ideas, and to simply support one another as veterans going through the similar challenges that higher education presents.
About Tom Noonan
Tom Noonan has been with Albertus Magnus College since November of 2018. Tom is an Army Veteran who served eight years, including time on active duty and in the Army Reserves. During his time on active duty Tom earned the rank of Sergeant and earned the Soldier’s Medal, which is the highest medal awarded for heroism in a non-combat situation. Tom spent one year overseas in Iraq from 2007-2008 as part of a counter-rocket-artillery-mortar (C-RAM) team. After arriving home, Tom transferred to the Army Reserves, reclassified as an Administrative Specialist, and re-enrolled into college where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Southern Connecticut State University. Tom currently lives in Shelton, CT where he spends most of his time hanging out with his dog, Crash.