March Newsletter

As we push on into March, and into the months of spring and warmer weather, the Office of Student Veterans hopes you are doing well!

With graduation coming ever closer, we are sharing ways to recognize our community with graduation cords as well as information on how to stay connected with our community through an OV March Madness Bracket Challenge. We are also resharing a link to a graduate assistantship position for your consideration.

We wish you all a great rest of the month and the semester and remind you to reach out with any questions or concerns. Our office is always open!

Best,

The Office of Student Veterans

S. Clay Adams, Assistant Vice President
Dalton Dey, Assistant Director
Chandler Cole, Graduate Assistant

March Madness Bracket - 2025

The Duke Office of Student Veterans is hosting a March Madness competition for our community. We are awarding prizes of Duke Gear to the top three Duke students with the highest scores. To be considered, please utilize your NetID in the bracket name so we can contact the winners. You will need an ESPN account to participate. Links to join the Men's and Women's Tournaments:

Join the Men's Bracket Challenge

Join the Women's Bracket Challenge

Password for both is OSV. If the page shows a 404 error, please try refreshing the page.

The last day to submit brackets or make changes for the Men's Bracket is Thursday, 3/20 @ 12:15p ET.

The last day to submit brackets or make changes for the Women's Bracket is Friday, 3/21 @ 11:30a ET.

As a virtual event, ALL military-affiliated students (in-person and remote) are welcome to join, and staff as well! No experience is required. If you need some pointers filling out a bracket, click here for some tips.

OSV Graduate Assistantship

Do you enjoy being a part of this military-affiliated community and want to help it grow and prosper? Consider applying to work for the Office of Student Veterans!

Work in cooperation with the Dean of Students Office staff to create, execute, and support programs and services for military-affiliated students enrolled at Duke University. Using the OSV's three pillars, the graduate assistant will assist fellow military-affiliated students by advocating for them university-wide, creating community-building opportunities, and connecting them to resources that can make their time at Duke a great and memorable one!

This position requires in-person hours during business hours and some nights and weekends. If you are interested, please email us with an attached resume. We look forward to hearing from you all and are excited to add another member to our team!

The job description can be reviewed here: https://duke.box.com/s/0dw9tqclwoyl5d9gmt39nbxaauy3dara

Graduation Cords

Each semester, the Office of Student Veterans hands out cords to our graduating students to celebrate the occasion. If you are graduating this semester and would like a graduation cord, please email the Office of Student Veterans. Remote students can send us an address where you would like the cord mailed. For students who are in-person, we will work with you to coordinate a time to give you a cord.

There will also be an End of the Semester Chapel Climb in late April (date TBD). This will also be an opportunity for you to pick up graduation cords in person. We ask that only students who are graduating this semester request cords as it allows us to better track our inventory.

If you cannot attend and would like to request a graduation cord, please email the Office of Student Veterans. Remote students can send us an address where you would like your cord mailed. For local students, we will work with you to coordinate another time on campus to give you your cord.

DoD and MCTO Feedback

Duke is a member of a consortium of schools working to provide insights and recommendations to the Department of Defense Military Civilian Transition Office (MCTO). To that end, we would appreciate your participation in a survey to report your experience and satisfaction with military-to-civilian transition programs and support services. It is important to hear from you about how MCTO is doing, and your feedback is valuable.

To do so, simply follow this link to the Survey.

It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

The survey is anonymous. Your individual answers will be compiled with those of other students and results presented in aggregate. Your participation is voluntary.

Your feedback will help improve government transition services for fellow military veterans. The survey link will close on April 15, 2025.

Tax Season Guidance for Veterans

The Veterans Benefits Administration recently highlighted an article discussing the importance of knowing what VA benefits are exempt from taxes, where to seek tax-free assistance, and how to safeguard personally identifiable information to avoid tax-related identity theft scams.

During tax season, Veterans and their loved ones should review the following tips and resources to help avoid tax scams. More information can be found by clicking here.

Questions about Financial Assistance and Veteran Benefits?

The VA Education Benefits Coordinator in the Office of the University Registrar is happy to assist you with any questions regarding:

GI Bill
Yellow Ribbon
Chapter 31 Benefits
Chapter 35 Benefits
Tuition Assistance
VA Benefits

Questions can be directed to veteranseducation@duke.edu.