Once again, the College of Staten Island has received recognition as a Military Friendly® School, with a rank of No. 1 in the Small Public category for the 2024-2025 academic school year.
“We are proud of our designation as a top Military Friendly® school,” said CSI President Dr. Timothy G. Lynch. “Servicing our veteran student body and their families and seeing them succeed academically remains a strong priority and we are proud of the efforts made by our staff and community to further their life goals and achievements.”
A long-standing Military Friendly® school, CSI’s latest ranking of No. 1 symbolizes the continued commitment to student-veteran support services at the College. According to Laura Scazzafavo, Veteran Support Specialist at the College, receiving the recognition means that the College has put forth exceptional efforts in forming a dependable and purposeful path of education for its community of student-veterans, and their experience at CSI is greatly improved due to greater standards of services and resources intended to aid student-veterans.
“We are proud of our enhanced reputation, increased enrollment of student-veterans, strengthened community engagement, and potentially higher graduation rates,” said Scazzafavo, noting that better experience and support leads to greater success for veteran cohorts of students.
The Office of Veterans Services at CSI offers various services for their student-veterans. An important aspect of these services includes academic advisement, which helps students in selecting their courses at the College. Additionally, CSI has a Veterans Resource Center, a space where students can network with one another and acquire more specified, one-on-one, support of their needs. Of course, financial aid needs also plays an important role. The Office of Veteran Services provides an important resource to their students by guiding them through financial aid options and benefits that are available, such as the GI Bill. Equally as important are other services they provide such as mental health support through counseling, career services, peer support groups, accessibility services, and community outreach partnerships with local organizations.
Through the Office of Veteran Services, and their collaborations with different College departments and offices to enhance resources, CSI’s support of student-veterans is directly evidence through its Military Friendly® ranking, one that is often followed by the organization’s designation of CSI as a Military Friendly® Spouse School as well.
For Military Friendly’s® complete list of acknowledged schools, visit their Website.
By: Jacky Zhao
