Duquesne Media graduate student photographs Veteran’s Day Breakfast

By Julie Pawlikowski, second year graduate student in the Media Management program

This past Saturday was Veteran’s Day, the day we honor military veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Veteran’s Day marks the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. For 98 years, Americans have remembered those who served our country in uniform on 11 November – first as Armistice Day, and then as Veterans Day since 1954. In this 99th year of commemoration, the Department of Veterans Affairs is broadening that tradition of observance and appreciation to include both Veterans and Military Families for the entire month of November.

Duquesne University’s annual Veterans Day breakfast, one of the largest of its kind in the state of Pennsylvania, attracts 600-700 participants each year to raise money for local Veterans organizations, including Duquesne’s Office of Military and Veteran Students. Duquesne Psychology Professor and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder expert Dr. Roger Brooke gave the keynote address. The breakfast was open to the public and the audience was invited to stay afterwards to hear Veterans share their experiences.

The Office for Military and Veteran Students reached out to the Media Department to see if any student was available to shoot photography for the Breakfast event. I volunteered because I’m always striving to improve my photography skills and because I couldn’t pass up a chance to support and pay my respects to our military men and women. Through my camera lens I was able to capture intimate moments between friends, signs of thanks and appreciation, and symbols of patriotism.

The Office for Military and Veteran Students understands the unique needs of our active duty, reserve, guard and veteran students. It is their mission to help military and Veteran students reach their goals. The Office for Military and Veteran Students and the Veteran Center are located in 703 Libermann Hall and can be reached at 412.396.5366.