Today, I salute Veteran Pamela Pfeil. When a friend lost her firefighter dad on 9/11, Pamela asked, “What can I do?” What she did at the age of 17 and with parental consent was enlist in the Army National Guard. At just 19, she deployed to Iraq during the early years of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She turned 20 overseas, and her return home was harder than she expected. She felt she had lived a totally different life from other people her age. Her struggle to readjust ended when she found support through Stony Brook University. Under her leadership at the Office of Veterans Affairs, the university opened the Military-Connected Student Lounge, giving Veterans a physical and emotional home on campus. She also helped launch mentorship programs like Vets-for-Vets, connecting incoming students with peers who have already made the transition. Thank you for helping Pamela, and THANK YOU for your service.
