PSC Celebrating Veterans Throughout November

In honor of Veterans Day, Prairie State College (PSC) will be celebrating veterans
throughout the month of November with several activities. All activities will be held
at the college’s main campus, at 202 S. Halsted Street in Chicago Heights.

A Missing Man Table will be displayed, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 10, in the atrium.
The purpose is to honor missing comrades in arms. The empty table will be left up
for the remainder of the month. The table is to represent the five services: Army,
Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Nov. 10, a Veterans Day celebration will be held in the
in the Barnes & Noble College Auditorium. The keynote speaker for the event is Illinois
Department of Veterans Affairs Senior Program Manager Nicole Mandeville, a Desert
Storm Veteran. During the ceremony, PSC Professor Andrew Schott and PSC student Kyle
Brodnick will be recognized for the ongoing support of student veterans.

At 2 p.m. on Nov. 10, as a Commemorative Partner, PSC will partner with the City of
Chicago Heights, the Village of Park Forest, and the Village of South Chicago Heights
to honor Vietnam War veterans. The Welcome Home Vietnam War Commemorative Ceremony
will be held in the Barnes & Noble College Auditorium. The commemoration will feature
a keynote address by Congresswoman Robin Kelly from Illinois' 2nd District, as well
as a ceremony recognizing the veterans and their spouses with commemorative pins and
certificates.

On Nov. 15, from 1 to 3 p.m., in the Barnes & Noble College Auditorium, there will
be a screening of “The Invisible War.” The movie deals with the issue of the systemic
cover-up of military sex crimes and conveys survivors’ struggles to rebuild their
lives and fight for justice.

The PSC Athletics Department will have a Veterans Night program during its Women’s
and Men’s Basketball Games versus South Suburban Community College on November 15.
During halftime of each game, there will be programs honoring those that have served
and currently serving in the military. The games start at 5 p.m.

From 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 16th, there will be a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) Forum, a panel discussion led by PSC faculty members. CEUs and PDs are available.

Lastly, the college is conducting the seventh annual supply collection for the male
and female veterans living at the Manteno Veterans Home through Dec. 15. All donations
can be dropped off in the Student Veterans Center. The home needs t-shirts, underwear,
socks, toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste and other toiletry items. These are the items
that the veterans are not supplied by the Veterans Administration. If the veteran
does not have family that brings these items, they are forced to do without or recycle
what they have.

“Prairie State College is proud of its commitment to veterans, and supports them throughout
the year,” said PSC Board of Trustees Chair Jacqueline Agee. “It is our way of giving
back to those who served our country.”

Student veterans are eligible for early registration, in-district tuition rates (regardless
of where they live), and one-on-one assistance navigating college life. These services
extend to all service members, regardless of when they served or whether it was active,
reserve, or National Guard component. Whether an individual is a new student, returning
student, or deployed on active duty, PSC offers assistance so veterans can achieve
their academic goals. PSC also has a Student Veterans Center, which offers veterans
a place to study and socialize with other veterans and find out information on services
available to them both at PSC and in the community.

For more information on the Veterans Day celebrations being held on campus or for
more information about the services PSC offers to veterans, contact Georges Sanon,
coordinator, student veterans center, at (708) 709-3567 or gsanon@prairiestate.edu.